Find Family in Mexico: Find someone in Mexico

Showing posts with label Find someone in Mexico. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Searching for a Person in Mexico Can Cost You

One of the best ways to get help with your Mexico family genealogy is to ask a question. Jeanette from Alabama asks:

"i am searching for a person in Mexico and i search every were [sic] and places i search is charging [sic] to find... this person or his family."

Jeanette provided several complete names of people, many with the surname Lucio. One key to asking for help is to always provide the city and state in Mexico where you believe these people are or were living.

Another key to successful Mexico genealogy is when you list more than one person, always explain who these people are relative to the person you want to find. In this case, we could assume that all of the names are of people related to each other, and we'd probably be right.

But it's always best to give as many details as possible including the relationship between the names you provide. You want your Mexico genealogy to come alive not just for yourself but also those who are working with you.

Jeanette commented that every place she looks for help wants to charge her. Free resources such as the Internet have limited capabilities to help you find someone in Mexico. In Jeanette's case, she wants to find people living in Mexico today rather than finding her ancestors. Information about most people living in Mexico is either not on the Internet or the information is so common you get too many results. For instance, let's say you want to find Juan Martinez and go to Facebook. You might find a thousand people with the same name and your particular Juan Martinez may not be one of them.

When the Internet fails, the other option is a company that offers a professional service because they have access to information that the public doesn't. So why is there a cost? This is like being sick. You can go online and find lots of advice, and a lot of it's good advice. But if you're really sick, no matter how much advice you find for free, you may have to go see and pay a doctor to get better.

If you are like Jeanette and have been online and haven't yet found the people, then you now need professional help to find them. BUT before you go spending your money, be sure the company handles Mexico and not just U.S. Companies such as Intelius and LexisNexis only have information for people in the U.S., not Mexico. You want a company that will be able to help you find relatives in Mexico so you'll be writing about having fun with your Mexican relatives instead of searching for them next year.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana, The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Family Genealogy Search Begins with a Name

Everything has a starting point. Your Mexico family genealogy search starts with the name of the person you want to find. The other vital piece of information you must have is the state in Mexico where this person lives or lived. These are the two building blocks of information from which to start your search. So let's look at the structure of the name.

Recently Chantelle posted on Facebook asking for help to find her son's biological grandparents in Mexico. She wrote that she only had the city and the one apellido. If you are unfamiliar with Spanish, apellido is the term for last name, commonly referred to as a surname in genealogy.

Now when I say that your starting point is a name, I'm always referring to a complete name that includes both the father and mother's last names. You should read my blog #3 Want to find family in Mexico? What you need to get started because it covers the structure of Spanish names in greater detail.

Let's say that you have only one surname and it's Hernandez, one of the top 10 most popular names in Mexico, then more information would be needed to have any real hope of finding this person. In the case of Chantelle, the surname of her son's grandparents is Gaimes. She also let us know that the grandparents are reported to be living in San Luis Potosi. Gaimes is not a very popular name so a search was done to see if there were indications of any records with this name in San Luis Potosi.

Unfortunately, no evidence was found that there are records for someone in San Luis Potosi having the surname Gaimes. The genealogy search was extended to several cities beyond San Luis Potosi. Nothing. At this point, the surname Gaimes is now suspect. I like the principal of Occam's Razor when it comes to a family genealogy search in Mexico. Simply stated, "when you have two competing theories making exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." In this case, which is the more likely, that all of the Gaimes family left San Luis Potosi or that Gaimes may be a misspelling?

When no records are identified, it often indicates that there is a misspelling of the surname. An expert in Onomastics, the study of proper names, was brought in to review the surname Gaimes. After an exhaustive search, no record could be found of Gaimes as a Hispanic surname. This search included surname origins from Spain and most of Latin America. The closest surname spelling was Gamez that shows up in many Spanish countries.

Of course, not everyone who lives in Mexico has ancestry in Mexico so it's quite possible that Gaimes is a legitimate surname from non-Hispanic origins. However, with no indication of the existence of current records with this surname, the probability is that Gaimes is a misspelling. The good news is that Chantelle now knows this and she can talk with relatives to see if Gamez is perhaps the correct surname.

Doing your family genealogy search should be fun and can be very rewarding and at times exciting. Keep in mind, though, that you may hit a wall with the information you have. If so, then it's time to step back and seek out help from experts who specializes in Mexico family genealogy. Chantelle was smart because she got help and advice from an expert in Onomastics to review her information and point her, hopefully, in the right direction.

Saludos,

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mexico Family Genealogy Resources: If You Offer It, They May Come

I received an interesting email from a genealogical society. I had posted some tips on their Facebook page. The woman explained that they don't have much need for Hispanic genealogy information. The writer commented that in 20 years they had never had anyone ask for such information. That got me reflecting on comments I've heard over the years from genealogists.

I remember an email from a woman living in Los Angeles who wanted to start her Mexico family genealogy. Her challenge was that the places she had visited had little or no reference materials to help her. She was shocked and frustrated that in a city with so many Hispanics that she could not find the help she wanted. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common complaint.

On the other hand, I had a genealogy society in Southern California ask me to recommend Hispanic genealogy resources. Someone had come in looking to do Mexico family genealogy, and the members realized that they didn't have much in the way of reference materials. I applaud this society for reaching out and wanting to be better prepared for the next person.

If libraries and genealogy societies in heavily populated Hispanic areas don't have resources available to help someone with their Hispanic family genealogy, should they expect Hispanics to show up? Maybe this is a chicken and egg situation. Do people show up because there are resources or should societies wait until they get a request?

Back to the email I got. The woman from the genealogy society mentioned that there is a significant Puerto Rican population nearby. We recently helped a woman of Puerto Rican descent locate relatives living in Mexico. Over the years, many people who were originally born outside of Mexico (think Russia) have come to us for help to locate family members in Mexico. We've helped people from as far away as Australia! The bottom line is that we're a mobile society. Anyone who is originally from outside of Mexico could still have Mexican ancestors that they want to find.

Adding that 1 out of 6 people in the U.S. are Hispanic and two-thirds are of Mexican origin, the interest in Mexico family genealogy can only increase. Maybe a good starting point for genealogy societies is to offer occasional advice about Hispanic genealogy. It doesn't have to cost. Tips can be made in a newsletter, blog or Facebook page. If genealogy societies want new, younger members, they need look no further than at Hispanic communities that are starving for genealogical help and resources. It may simply be a matter of letting Hispanics know that they are welcome.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to know the Top 3 Keys to Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy? Go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then you only have to enter your name and email to get your audio copy of my interview with John Finch, former President of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society. You don't want to miss this information so go to our Facebook page now and get your free audio download.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Doing Mexico Genealogy Research Online? Information Can Be Limited

Today Tina posted this comment on our Facebook wall:

"Working on a new family for a friend that is Mendoza, Morales and Miranda. Learning alot, learning there is not much "online" for Mexico research compared to others, which is sad."

One of the challenges with doing Mexico family genealogy research is that the majority of documents are sitting in boxes either at government offices or worse in warehouses. Now it's true that new documents are coming online each month, but again, that is still a small amount (perhaps 20%) of the documents that could be available and aren't.

Be sure to take advantage of your local Genealogy Society and Family History Center. They have access to resources and information in other formats such as microfiche. And if your Genealogy Society is lacking in materials to help you do Mexico family genealogy research, have them email us. We can recommend key resources they should have on hand. You can also visit our Resources page.

The Internet is an incredible tool. It's fast and free, but it has its limits so be flexible and look for additional resources as you do your family genealogy research.

Saludos,

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Mexico Genealogy Search On Hold? Maybe It's Time for a Paid Service

I just read a blog post by Thomas MacEntee where he touches on the topic of doing genealogy using only free information versus the value of paying for certain services. I agree with the author that genealogy is one endeavor where the average participant seems to feel that everything should be free of charge. I'm certain this belief is supported in part because of the enormous amount of free articles, tips and advice available on the Internet.

I have and continue to offer free advice to help people start their Mexico family genealogy search through this blog, Facebook and several articles. But there may come a point where your success could depend on a paid service to move you forward especially if you need to find immediate family members living in Mexico.

Recently a woman came to my company for help. She was looking for her sister that she hadn't seen for more than 17 years. She knew the Mexico state where she thought her sister might be living. She just wasn't sure of the exact city so we did a search of the entire state. This isn't a free service. We're talking about covering hundreds of cities and thousands and thousands of records.

Using the woman's information, we located an uncle she was unaware of. The woman talked with her uncle and received some surprising news. Her sister was living in a different state! That explained why we didn't find her sister. And there's even more good news. She also found her birth mother.

If this woman hadn't come to us so we could access resources not available to the public and definitely not free, she most likely would never have found her sister using her limited information.

There are many free, quality information sources you can use as you start your Mexico family genealogy search. Blogs and articles can be very helpful. Your local Genealogical Society and Family History Center can also help you. You may be fortunate as many are to find living relatives without having to pay for access to documents, information or services. Learning about your Mexico family history should be fun and doesn't always have to cost you except for your time and perseverance.

However, if you aren't making progress and truly want to find someone, you have to be open to the option that you may need a professional service to help you get past a sticking point. Otherwise, you might end up as some people do who spend years only accessing free information and not making the progress they want. And there's nothing fun about that.

Saludos,

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Ready to Quit Your Mexico Genealogy Search? Get an Expert Opinion First

The other day a man wrote that he has been trying to find his birth father for more than six years. He had had no success in his search and felt that he didn't have enough information. He was ready to quit looking for his birth father.

Fortunately, before giving up the man had called and talked with me. After a brief conversation, he revealed that he had his parents' marriage certificate from Mexico, but he didn't think it was very helpful. I explained how valuable this marriage certificate was to his search efforts.

Often people who are not trained in using documents underestimate their genealogical value. Another challenge is that even if they can appreciate the information contained in a legal document, they may not have access to databases so they can actually do a search.

People will sometimes give up looking for family in Mexico because they've spent several weeks, if not months, searching online. They feel that the Internet is THE source to find someone. The truth is that there's still a significant amount of documents and personal information that isn't accessible online. The Internet is a great resource, but it's only one resource especially when it comes to doing a family genealogy search for living relatives in Mexico.

People can mistakenly feel that they have exhausted all possibilities and give up. In the hands of an expert, a few pieces of information can be all that is needed to locate a person in Mexico.

If you have started your family genealogy search and feel that you can't go further or that you don't have enough information to ever find this person, take your information to an expert. Let them review your information. You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that you have enough information so that your relative can be found. Then you can have the joy of learning more about your family and continuing with your Mexico family genealogy search.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. If you have any comments that you feel will help, leave them here as well as on our Facebook page. Together we can help each other to connect to our ancestors, know our family and have a better sense of where we come from.

PPS. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Searching Maternal Side of Family? Conversation on Facebook

It's Sunday afternoon, but I just posted a response on Facebook to the following question:

I am researching my husbands family - His great grandfather is as far as I can go back right now - his name is Luis Origel Gonzalez from Penjamo, Guanjuato, Mexico. My husbands grandfather is Luis T Origel Torres and I have the names of his sisters and brothers, but not any marriage information, etc from those siblings. Part of my problem is knowing how to search with the maternal name included. I know that there is a Luis Navarro Origel that was a mayor of Penjamo during the Cristero Rebellion (1926) and am trying to find if he is related to my Luis Origel Gonzalez (born 1875)

As you may know, when a woman marries in Mexico it's customary that only the surname of her father will be part of her married name. So if Elena Gomez Gonzales marries Jose Martinez Ochoa, then Elena's name will be Elena Martinez Gomez.

So how can you work backwards to find out more about Elena? The rules of genealogy still apply. You start with the most immediate family. Then you search out information on extended family members, distant cousins, that ex-husband. If they are still living, then you want to contact them if possible.

If you would rather not contact people, then you can try to obtain legal documents, such as marriage and birth certificates and church records. Death records are also a great resource; however, you usually have to know the date when the person passed away and that could be challenging.

Marriage records are an excellent source of genealogy information. You usually have parents of both the bride and groom listed. With that information, you can search for siblings of the bride who are still living.

Once you move past 100 years (meaning 1911), then you have moved past many of the restrictions on personal information due to privacy laws. At this point, visiting your local Family History Center is a good idea. You can search their library, get help with ordering records and probably find more information about the maternal side of your Mexican family.

However, do not underestimate the value of reaching out to any and all family members still living. I've told the story several times of meeting my fifth cousin in France because it impacted me so much. We resolved so many questions we had about our family with that one trip. My fifth cousin is very old, and I may never see him before he passes away. So do as much as you can to gather family information from living relatives.

If you feel stuck and don't know how to move forward to find relatives still living in Mexico, then it may be time to have a company such as Find Relatives In Mexico provide professional service to put you in contact with your relatives there.

Saludos,

Friday, March 25, 2011

Starting Your Mexico Family Genealogy Search? How to Get Started

The other day I received an email from a man who wanted to find relatives of his ancestor who left Spain and came to Mexico. I can relate because my Mexican family on the Villasana side was originally from an area of Spain near Burgos.

The problem for this person was that he doesn't know where to start searching. He had dates, parents names (mother is Mexican & father is Spanish) and location, but that is the extent of his information. He wanted to conduct the search, but he wasn't sure where to start his search. So he was looking for advice.

My recommendation was a process of collect, verify, and search. If you're starting your Mexico family genealogy search and need to first locate living relatives in Mexico, you want to have the complete name of this relative. He had that. Did he also have the name of the city and state where his ancestor died and presumably where his ancestors children grew up? Check again.

Verify. This is the one step where many beginning genealogists make a critical mistake. They've collected information but instead of verifying the accuracy of their data, they start to search. Skipping this step can cost you years of wasted effort. Many people come to my company frustrated and upset because they're losing hope of ever finding their family or relatives in Mexico. And often the problem is that they were working with inaccurate, incomplete or simply wrong data.

One woman came to us after several years of searching online for one of her cousins. As soon as we received her information, we noticed a glaring problem. She had listed the city where her cousin was living as being in San Luis Potosi. The problem was that there was no such city in San Luis Potosi, but there was a city by that name in the neighboring state of Queretaro. This is like you wanting to find your cousin in Henderson (near Las Vegas) but you're looking for him in California.

This is why you want to have your information verified by experts who know Mexico. Finding someone who knows about New Mexico is not the same thing. They can find and correct inaccurate data that will save you years and help you find your relative much faster.

Search. Once you have your information verified, I recommend you spend time on the Internet. Maybe you tried doing a search on Google or Yahoo, but that may have been before you verified your information. If so, it's time to go back and give the search engines another shot. And don't forget to check social media sites such as Facebook.

I want you to know, though, that there is only so much information available online on people living in Mexico and some of it's completely wrong. Try the Internet for a few weeks but don't spend months searching online.

If you follow the collect, verify and search process, you may just find yourself united and back in touch with your family or relatives in Mexico faster than you may have thought possible. If you do all of the above and you still can't find your family or relative in Mexico, then it's time to look at working with a company that specializes in finding people in Mexico.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Have questions? Want to leave a comment? Then click here to become a fan on Facebook. If you like this blog, click the LIKE button above and share it with your friends. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

To Find a Birth Parent in Mexico, What Not to Do

There's a lot of general information online about finding a person in Mexico. Some articles offer good suggestions that can help you start your Mexico family genealogy search while other ideas are written by someone well-meaning but who hasn't researched the topic. I recently saw one erroneous recommendation that I can't let slide by.

In this particular article, the author gives several ideas for how you can find a birth parent or relative in Mexico. One of those suggestions was that if you know where someone went to school, you simply call the school, ask nicely and someone may give you the information you want.

I want to be sure that I am very clear here. This idea, no matter how well intended, is recommending an act that is a federal offense in Mexico. When I mentioned this idea to a Mexico government official in education (who's also an attorney), he was shocked. He quickly referred me to La Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública Gubernamental.

So let's say you call down to a school in Guadalajara and make this request so you can find a relative. If someone gives you this information, they just violated Mexico privacy laws, a federal crime. We are talking fines of thousands of dollars and years in prison.

There's this mistaken notion especially in the U.S. that everything in Mexico is very lax, that there are either no laws or that no one follows them. This is a serious misrepresentation of reality. Unfortunately, many people including businesses take action based on these misconceptions. This misunderstanding of the realities in Mexico cost U.S. businesses millions of dollars in fines and penalties each year. No matter what you may feel from reading stories in the news, one thing should be clear - there are definitely laws in Mexico to protect the privacy of people especially with regard to students in public and private schools.

There are many ways to find someone in Mexico. Some are free while other options include hiring a company to help you find your birth parent or relative in Mexico. I think we can all conduct our Mexico family genealogy searches and find people in Mexico without having to resort to criminal acts.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Want to Find Someone in Mexico? Why Finding Distant Relatives Can Help with Your Family Genealogy Search

A few years ago, a woman wanted to find specific relatives in Mexico. She had searched for a couple of years and had not located any of the relatives on her list. My recommendation was that she look for other relatives. She seemed shocked at this suggestion and asked why she should bother and how this could help her.

I explained that often it's relatives, and distant ones at that, who may have the information you need when you are starting your Mexico family genealogy search or just simply trying to find a birth parent in Mexico. I flew to France years ago and met my fifth cousin. I had brought a box full of old photos. We spend several hours going through the pictures. My cousin's father was also there, and he was able to identify certain people in the photos. My cousin knew about my grandfather and his father's side of the family. In just a few hours, we were able to identify several ancestors and filled in the gaps on who had met whom, where and when.

Here was someone I had never met who knew so much about my family and about my grandfather. Stories I had never heard. It's often these distant relatives who because they are distant, they will know details about your side of the family that can really help you with your Mexico family genealogy search.

When we search for people in Mexico, we always look for relatives. It's often these relatives who can be found who can then lead you to the person you really want to find. We were searching for Humberto, a friend of a client. We called one woman who appeared to be a relative only to discover that she was Humberto's sister. That one connection put our client in touch with their friend.

They had been looking for Humberto for years. Now just imagine if we had not searched for other relatives. I can't stress enough how important it is to look for anyone who may be related to the person you want to find. Your efforts could pay off in a big way and have you laughing with that special person sooner than you might imagine.

Saludos,

Richard

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Mexico Genealogy Search: Don't Overlook Search Engines

The other day, Joe shared his story on our Mexico Genealogy Facebook page.

After your most recent e-mail, I ended up reading your blogs last weekend and was inspired to see if I could find my father who I haven't seen since I was young. I had very little information to go on (just full names from my Mexican birth certificate and a few anecdotes) so I was surprised when, after 27 years, a few minutes on Google... turned up solid results, including, a telephone number.

I think my story proves that even with just a little information, it IS possible to find long-lost relatives in Mexico.

Here are three reasons why Joe was successful:

He had information on his father including a legal document
He looked for information that would help him with his search just as you are doing right now.
He took action.

Joe's story could have been very different if he hadn't taken action. Lack of action is one of the key reasons people don't find their relative or loved one in Mexico. It's not always easy to find a person such as a birth parent in Mexico, but I have seen people get so close and then give up. Joe got inspired and then took action. Now he's looking for other relatives.

Here's one other step Joe took. He joined us on Facebook and shared his story so others could be inspired to take action. You may need to find a family member so you can start your Mexico genealogy search. You don't have go it alone. You can find lots of information and steps that you can take to find someone such as a birth parent in Mexico.

Sometimes it's the simple things that we overlook that could have the answer we are looking for. So if you haven't tried Google, Yahoo, or Bing, now is a good time to try them. You just might find your birth parent in Mexico or a friend you haven't seen in years. If you do, please share your story so you can inspire someone else to take action. The world is a better place when we all work together.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

Want to have revealing information to find family in Mexico come directly to your Inbox? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

PS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Be sure to leave your comments and click the LIKE button above. The more you share with us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico and get you started on your Mexico genealogy search.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Your Mexico Genealogy Search Online - Give the Search Engines Another Chance

This is just a quick note. Sometimes you can overlook the simple things when doing your Mexico genealogy search. Maybe you tried Google or Yahoo months ago and didn't find anything. But if you've been gathering information, now is a good time to go back and try searching again.

You just might have a pleasant surprise and find that special person online.

Saludos,

Friday, February 25, 2011

NYC Homeless Man Finds Daughter Through Twitter: Lessons to Help You Find Family in Mexico

By now you may have heard about the New York City homeless man who found his daughter through Twitter. Daniel Morales is part of a program for the homeless who were given cell phones. He set up a Twitter account and has been tweeting about life on the street. Just today, he reported that he has been contacted by his daughter whom he hasn't seen in 11 years!

So how can his story help you to find someone in Mexico? Here are three important steps he took that helped his daughter find him.

He let people know that he was looking for his daughter.
He posted her name.
He posted a photo of what she looked like when she was 16 years old.

One of the challenges with using social media is that often people do not give their full name. So if you are looking for Jose Martinez, there could be hundreds, if not thousands of people with that same name. That's like having a list of a thousand people and having to go through each one asking them if they are your Jose Martinez. If Daniel had only tweeted the name of his daughter, she probably would never have found him.

Another problem is that often there are no photos that you could look at to help you know if a particular person is the one you want to find. Daniel was smart because he put a photo online of his daughter, Sarah, so she could see it.

And finally, Daniel listed his cell phone number. You'll have to decide if you want the world to have that number since you could have that same cell phone number for the rest of your life. But by listing his cell phone number, Daniel made it easy for his daughter to connect with him.

The important lesson for you to take away is that it is possible to find someone through social media. Now this story takes place in the U.S., but you, too, may be able to find someone in Mexico through social media. However, you may discover that the family member you want to find in Mexico doesn't have a Twitter account or hasn't put up any personal information that will help you identify them as that special person you want to find.

Social media isn't a magic bullet for all of us to find family in Mexico, but you should check it out. In a week or so, you could be sharing with your friends (and maybe the world) that you have found a relative or friend. However, if you feel you need more help, especially for Mexico, you should get advice from a company that has the expertise to find family in Mexico.

Saludos,

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Where do I put in my information to find people in Mexico?

The other day I received an email from a guy asking a great question about finding people in Mexico. He knew the complete name of the person he wanted to find as well as the city and state where they are living. His question was, "Where do I plug in this information to get an answer so I can contact this person in Mexico?"

There are a few free ways to go, most, if not all, of which involve the Internet. I explained that once you try the Internet and that doesn't help you find family in Mexico (and for many people the Internet doesn't deliver), your options move from free (Internet) to paid services.

Now before someone tweets about this and takes this out of context, we're talking about finding people who are alive and well in Mexico. If you're doing Mexico genealogy, there are many free resources out there. But for people who are trying to find family in Mexico, those resources really don't help you to get a current address or telephone number so you can call your sister, birth father or college buddy in Mexico.

As for the guy, he was less than happy with my answer. Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that I told him the reality for finding family in Mexico. He may have been upset that he might have to pay for professional services before he finally finds the person he has been seeking for over two years.

When the Internet fails to give results, some people may need to ask themselves how serious they are to find someone in Mexico because they may have to spend a few dollars to get a professional service.

Marie Daly, Research Library Director for the New England Historic Genealogical Society explained in an article that only about 10% of all the information on people is available online. I feel that since that article the percentage has grown. But let's face it. Even at twenty percent means there are 80% of the people out there who have nothing on the Internet. And when it comes to Mexico, even less of the population's personal information is available online.

Sure, there are some documents that you can get online, but you usually have to know all the information that is on the document before you can get a copy. If you knew that much about the person you want to find and unless you are doing Mexico genealogy, you probably don’t need the document.

Bottom line – many people in the U.S. may (strongly) believe that they can put together some information and go to the Internet, fill in a few fields and simply hit a button to know where their family or friends are in Mexico and have a way to contact them immediately. It could happen but just as the guy above experienced, it doesn’t usually work that way. But remember there are options when you really want to find a person in Mexico.

Saludos,

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

You want to find family in Mexico. Putting an ad in newspaper is NOT your first option.

I was reading a question by a woman who wanted to know how she could find someone in Mexico. The best and only answer she got was "put an ad in the newspaper". First, this was the best advice given on Yahoo Answers. The response got a one star, and the Asker was being generous.

This is not the first time I have seen this advice given by someone who knows very little or nothing about Mexico. This answer implies a stereotype that can be a great danger to anyone who is looking for a relative, loved one or friend living in Mexico.

The idea of placing an ad in a Mexican newspaper assumes a couple of things:
1) That everyone reads the paper including the "notices" section
2) That the city is so small that everyone knows each other

I'm from Texas where we have some pretty small towns with only a hundred or so people, those towns that if you blink when driving, you discover that you've already driven through it. There are such towns in Mexico, but in my experience because of how people populate an area, few relatives or friends are living in these small towns. Instead they are moving to medium to large cities.

Take Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacan. This city has over 600,000 residents. Monterrey, Nuevo Leon has close to 2 million residents. Mexico City has over 21 millions.

The idea of placing an ad in a Mexican newspaper assumes that Mexican cities are so small that everyone knows each other. The idea is that surely someone will see the ad and run down the street and knock on the person's door and say, "Jose, look! Someone is trying to find you."

In the many years that I have worked with clients to find their birth parent, mother or father, cousin or friend in Mexico, people have told us that they tried to find a specific person by posting an ad in the newspaper with no success.

I applaud anyone who has the determination to try everything to find a person in Mexico. However, the sad truth is that putting an ad in a newspaper has as little chance of working in Mexico as it would if someone put an ad in a U.S. newspaper.

Instead if you are wanting to find someone in Mexico, save your money and use it to gather the necessary information: their complete name, the city and state where this person lives/lived and search for them using whatever resources you have. If all of that fails, then get the professional help you need so you can find this person.

Saludos,

Richard Villasana

Richard Villasana
The Mexico Guru
Find Relatives In Mexico

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