Searching all of Mexico for someone

I sometimes receive email with the simple request to find someone "in Mexico". The blunt answer to this request is, "It's not going to happen." In the U.S. we have the luxury of being able to access numerous telephone web sites, enter a last name of someone we want to find and get a list of everyone with that last name living in the U.S. No, actually that's not true either. In fact, most web sites, including family genealogy web sites, require a city and state before they will function and produce any results.

This same technology applies to searching internationally including searching for someone in Mexico. And Mexico is not a small country with a few inhabitants where you can find just one book or directory containing all residential listings. Mexico has a population of over 107,000,000 people. It is three times the size of Texas or more than the size of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas combined. It's a big place with lots of people.

So when someone asks to find the Garcia family in Mexico, they are making a wish that will go unfulfilled. This is where family genealogy research is needed to find clues and facts to narrow the search to a point where it's possible or probable that the person or persons can be located.

This blog and the ezine you can subscribe to (see below) focus exclusively on helping you find someone who is living in Mexico. This information is critical to those who want to do their Mexico family genealogy but first have to reconnect with a relative presently living in Mexico. You have to do your part, though, and provide facts such as the city and state where you want to search.

Don't give up. If your Mexico family genealogy research has stalled, hang in there. There are always new ideas and methods being created to increase the possibility of finding someone. However, in almost all cases, you're going to have to specify an area smaller than an entire country.

Good luck.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Mexico family genealogy come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Starting Your Mexico Genealogy Search - Nicknames Can Hurt You

People send me the name of someone they are trying to find in Mexico. Sometimes I find the name is actually a nickname. Something to keep in mind is that with databases and listings, names are always in a formal format. Nicknames are not used. If you use a nickname, this decreases tremendously your chances of receiving any helpful feedback.

If you are doing a family genealogy search, you don't want to be using nicknames. It's sometimes confusing enough with misspelling on important documents such as birth and death certificates. You don't want to confuse people who could possibly help you with your family genealogy search by using nicknames instead of the person's proper name.

This also applies to cities. Sometimes people will ask for help, but they will reference the name the locals have for a city. It's very difficult to locate a city using a name known mostly to the indigenous people of a Mexican village.

When trying to find someone whether in the U.S., Mexico or abroad, always use the person's and the city's formal name. This will help ensure you get the help you are looking for.

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 leave your comments on Facebook. 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. Click the LIKE button above if this article was helpful.

Want to find family in Mexico? Don't exclude potential relatives

A client had asked me to locate a few relatives for their Mexico genealogy search. The last name was Hernandez Garcia. After I send the client the results, they asked why I would include listings of people with the last names Hernandez Garcia. The client felt they had provided all the names of the immediate family members so there was no reason to identify anyone else with the same last names.

In his book, "Finding Your History Roots", Dr. George Ryskamp, a family genealogy expert, explains that one of the key principals to locating someone is to work on family groups. When looking for someone in Mexico or doing a Mexico genealogy search, you also want to identify those people who have the greatest probability of being a relative of the person you want to find. You have no way of knowing if such an individual who could be a second cousin or distant relative has the information you want unless you add them to your list and contact them.

Anyone who is in the same city and has the same last names is a probable relative. Excluding someone from your search simply because you feel you have the entire list assumes your list is complete. Most of us have heard the problem with assumptions. Even if the person is in a neighboring city, if they had the same last names, I would definitely include them in my search to find someone in Mexico.

When you are trying to find family in Mexico, be sure to include anyone who has the same last names as the person you want to find. This individual is a quality candidate and a potential relative and should definitely be part of your search. Don't overlook any possible leads. That could be the person holding the key to your Mexico genealogy search.

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. Was this helpful? Then click the LIKE button and share this. Be sure to leave your comments. The more you tell us, the better we can help you find family in Mexico.

Include the facts in your story

I often receive emails with stories of how someone met a friend in Mexico. The stories are excellent. Some stories are from visitors as far away as New Zealand telling of meeting a Mexican student and their adventures together as they crossed Mexico. Others are about how the person stayed with a family and the fabulous hospitality they enjoyed while in Mexico.

These stories are incredible and should be recorded so others will get a sense of what was happening in the person's life when they were in Mexico. These are especially useful when doing family genealogy research.

However, when you are trying to find someone in Mexico, the best approach is to stay with the facts. They may be dry and impersonal, but you want to give people facts they can work with. Knowing the person's complete name, city and state is the essential information you want to provide so you can get the best help possible. This includes free family genealogy web sites.

Knowing how you met someone or how funny they were makes for great reading, and I enjoy these stories because they are written with so much heart and feeling. And yet it's the most critical information that is often overlooked such as date of birth or the names of the parents.

So keep sending those stories and also remember to include the person's complete name, city and state. Do this and you may find your friend or relative faster than you might imagine.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Information you should provide when asking for help

I just saw a message on a genealogy site where someone was asking for information on their relatives in Mexico. The girl provided the first names and both the last names of her relatives. The critical piece of information that was missing was the name of the city and state where her relatives are supposed to have lived.

Whenever you send an email or leave a message on a forum asking for help to find someone in Mexico, you always want to provide the city and state. This will narrow down any searches tremendously.

If you have the name of a city and state for the person you are searching, but you have questions, check my recent blogs on Knowing the Mexican States. If you still have questions, send me an email.

Good luck on your search.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

#3 Misspellings can hurt your search to find a person in Mexico

One of the most common problems I see from people wanting to find a person in Mexico, even family, are misspelled names. It only takes one wrong letter to bring your search to a halt.

The most commonly misspelled words are the names of Mexican cities. Even if you speak Spanish, how can you know if you have the correct spelling? Here is a great tip. Go to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Type in the city name you have into their search field and wait for the results. If the search engine doesn't recognize the city name, it will usually offer you another spelling for the word.

In the case of Yahoo, I did a search for Hermosillo misspelling it as hermasilo. Yahoo came back asking, "Did you mean: Hermosillo?" with the correct spelling.

Give this a try and see if this helps get your search moving forward again. It's possible for you to find someone in Mexico, but you want to check that you are working with the right spelling of a person's last names, the city and state. If you are doing Mexico genealogy, you really want to pay attention to the spelling of names; otherwise, you could end up searching in the wrong city for your ancestors.

Good luck on your search. Hasta pronto!

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.

Knowing the Mexican states #4

OK. I promise this is the last word on the subject of Mexican states...at least for the next day or two. But seriously, I had two situations that truly reflect the confusion that exists with the names of cities and states.

The first was an inquiry I responded to. The girl wrote she was trying to find someone in Jilote, Veracruz. I explained there is no such city. There is a city named Jilotepec in Veracruz and recommended she check with the person who told her the city name was Jilote.

This exchange shows how one small item can stop you from moving forward and finding the person you are looking for or stop your family genealogy research. The girl wrote back she was aware Jilote is a slang term for Jilotepec. However, it's always best to use the proper city name if you're searching online or asking for help.

The other reason for comment is there can be cities in the same state where the difference in name is only one or two letters. I sometimes do a double take because I'll see two names that look exactly alike at first glance.

Another event occurred Saturday night that demonstrated so well the confusion in the U.S. on how to properly list a Mexican city and state. The program, 48 Hours Mystery, opened with a scene from a city in Mexico. The caption read, "Ajijic, Mexico". I just happened to be watching the show with a friend from Guadalajara who immediately said, "Hey, that's in Jalisco! There's no Ajijic, Mexico!!"

Guadalajara is in the state of Jalisco, and my friend knows the town, Ajijic. The proper form for the city is Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.

So if you are or have had challenges with the name of a city and state in Mexico, take heart. Not even CBS and 48 Hours seem to know how to properly list an address. They may claim creative license, but when you are trying to locate someone in Mexico or do your Mexico family genealogy, that creativity can slow you down or stop your search altogether. Now you know what to look for.

Good luck on your search.

Richard Villasana
Mexico Family History Expert

Want to have information on finding someone in Mexico and Hispanic family genealogy research come directly to your In box? Subscribe now at Find Relatives In Mexico.