Ritchie Valens: Pioneer Son of California
The Expedition of 1781
In July and August of 1781, two separate legs of an expedition arrived at the San Gabriel Mission with the intention of establishing a new Spanish settlement called “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles,” nine miles west of the mission. After a journey of 950 miles from Álamos (Sonora) through hostile Indian territory, fifty-six soldiers and eleven settlers (pobladores) and their families had arrived in San Gabriel and among their ranks were:
55-year-old Luis Quintero, his 45-year-old wife María Petra Rubio, along with four of their unmarried children and three daughters married to soldiers on the same expedition
20-year-old Manuel Ignacio Lugo (a soldier and native of Villa de Sinaloa) and his wife, Gertrudis Limon (30 years old and a native of Sinaloa), as well as their two-year-old son Josef (Jose) Miguel Lugo
Ildefonso Dominguez (a soldier and a native of Villa de Sinaloa and the widower of Maria Ignacia German), along with two of his children, one of whom was Jose Maria Dominguez, a 16-year-old born in Sinaloa
Juan Victorino Feliz (a 30-year-old soldier) with his 29-year-old wife, María Micaela Landera and their four children (which included 10-year-old María Marcela)
José Rosalino Fernandez (a 30-year-old soldier from Villa de Fuerte in Sinaloa) with his new bride, María Josefa Quintero – the daughter of Luis Quintero and Petra Rubio (mentioned above)
These 12 individuals – as members of one of the most important Spanish expeditions to California in the Eighteenth Century – are truly the first pioneers of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura – the three settlements that were inevitably established by this expedition during the next eight months. However, it is ironic that these 12 pioneers are also the direct ancestors of another American pioneer – a pioneer of the Rock ’n’ Roll culture of the United States: Ritchie Valens.
The Pueblo of Los Angeles
After the founding of the Pueblo of Los Angeles in September 1781, many of the soldiers provided support for the new settlers, which included Ritchie Valens’ great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, Luis Quintero and Petra Rubio. Historian Meredith Stevens wrote that “the soldiers…built pole and mud huts with earthen roofs, and made corrals of willow poles laced with rawhide. They dug wells, cleared land for planting and set up an irrigation system fed from the river by zanja madre (mother ditch).” Their role in helping the small pueblo get off to a good start is beyond doubt.
Moving on to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara lies along the Pacific Ocean almost 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. In those days, the Santa Monica Mountains, Tehachapi Mountains, and the San Gabriel-San Bernardino Mountain range represented a formidable barrier to north-south travel for all travelers, Spaniard and Indian alike. Southeast of present-day Santa Barbara, the Santa Monica Mountains drop off abruptly into the Pacific Ocean.
On March 26, 1781, the Santa Barbara Company consisting of fifty-seven officers and men under the command of Lieutenant Ortega left San Gabriel for the northwest. However, if you include the Indian auxiliaries and the wives and children of the soldiers, the entire expedition numbered some 200 people and also included about 200 horses and mules. Joining the soldiers on the journey north was Luis Quintero and Petra Rubio who had not adjusted properly to life at the Los Angeles Pueblo.
Threading their way carefully along the coastal Indian trails in the beach area, the soldiers travelled north, reaching San Buenaventura on March 29, 1782, where they would establish a new mission. All the soldiers took part in the construction of the chapel and dwelling places during the next few weeks.
Then, on April 15, 1782, forty-two soldiers resumed their trek up the coast to their ultimate destination. The expedition marched twenty-seven miles along the coast between the Pacific Ocean and the high cliffs flanking the shoreline. For much of the first ten miles, the soldiers had to walk through the surf at the base of the cliffs. After arriving at their destination, the soldiers spent the next few weeks building the presidio by cutting down nearby oak trees in order to build the 165-foot square enclosure.
The ancestors of Ritchie Valens spent the next few years in Santa Barbara. In August, 1790, Captain Felipe de Goycoechea prepared a census of the Santa Barbara Presidio. According to this census, the total population of the presidio was 230 and the following ancestors of Ritchie Valens were among them:
27-year-old José María Domínguez, a mestizo originally from Villa Sinaloa and his 19-year-old wife Marcelina Féliz, española from Cosalá, Sinaloa – the great-great-great-grandparents of R.V.
32-year-old Rosalino Fernández, a mulato from El Fuerte, Sinaloa and his 27-year-old wife, Juana Quintero, a mulata from Alamos; along with their six children – which included seven-year-old María Isabel. Rosalino and Juana are the great-great-great-great grandparents of R.V.
34-year-old Manuel Ignacio Lugo, español from Villa Sinaloa, and his 40-year-old wife, Gertrudis Sánchez, española from Villa Sinaloa and their three children – which include an 11-year-old José Miguel. Manuel and Gertrudis are the great-great-great-great-grandparents of R.V.
65-year-old Luis Quintero, a mulato working as a tailor allegedly from Guadalajara (Jalisco) and his 48-year-old wife, Petra Rubio, as well as one son (the rest of their daughters had been married by this time). Luis and Petra are the great-great-great-great-great-grandparents of R.V.
Coming Together
In addition to protecting the presidio against a possible Indian attack or foreign invasion, the soldiers at Santa Barbara had many duties: “to explore the interior country, catch horse thieves, care for the animals and fields of the King, create their own food supplies and carry the mail” [Barbara Schneidau, A Guide to Old Santa Barbara: The Spanish and Mexican Periods (Santa Barbara, 1977), pp. 6-7]. While the soldiers attended to their duties, their families played support roles at the presidio, tending gardens, feeding the livestock, keeping their homes clean and performing their religious duties.
Living at close quarters within the Santa Barbara Presidio – and later in the small community that developed outside the presidio, many of the children of soldiers became acquainted. They attended the same church functions and developed relationships. Eventually some of them were married and raised their own families.
Jose Miguel Lugo and Ysabel Fernandez
Growing up within the presidio community, Jose Miguel Lugo and Maria Ysabel Fernandez – the children of soldiers – were engaged and on February 4, 1799 were married at the Santa Barbara Mission. They represent one set of great-great-great-grandparents of Ritchie Valens. Their marriage record is a beautifully written document describing Joseph Miguel Lugo as a “soldado” of the Presidio of Santa Barbara who was originally from La Villa de Sinaloa. Likewise, Maria Ysabel Fernandez is described as a single woman originally from Villa del Fuerte. The document has been reproduced below:
Translation of the Marriage of Miguel Lugo and Isabel Fernandez (1799)
On the fourth day of February 1799, in the Church of the Presidio of Santa Barbara, having preceded with due diligence, I gave admonitions (banns) on three festive days in solemn mass and no impediment of its legal information has resulted, I married in the face of the church, JOSE MIGUEL LUGO, single, originally from the Villa de Sinaloa, soldier of the Presidio of Santa Barbara, legitimate son of Jose Ygnacio Lugo, soldier of the said presidio, and Gertrudes Sanchez, with MARIA YSABEL FERNANDEZ, single, originally from the Presidio, legitimate daughter of Rosalino Fernandez, soldier of the said Presidio, and Juana Quinteros, by the words of those present. The witnesses included Josef Calisto Aiala (Ayala), soldier of the presidio, the spouse of Juana Vitala Felix, Mariano Cordero…
The Next Generation
As the new century dawned, Jose Miguel Lugo and his wife raised their family in Santa Barbara as he continued to serve in the military as his father had before him. Twenty-six years after the marriage of Jose Miguel and Ysabel, their son Jose de la Trinidad Lugo was also married at the Santa Barbara Mission to Maria del Rosario Dominguez on June 21, 1825 [Santa Barbara Presidio Marriage #126]. The document has been reproduced below:
Translation of the Marriage of Jose Trinidad Lugo and Maria Rosario Dominguez (1825)
In the Margin: No. 135. Jose de la Trinidad Lugo, Single, with Maria del Rosario Dominguez, Single.
Text: On the 21st of June of 1825, having presided over the presentation of parties, examination of witnesses, prior parental consent, I read the three conciliar admonitions and no impediment having resulted, in the Church of this Mission I married in the face of the church, JOSE DE LA TRINIDAD LUGO, native of this presidio, single of the age of 19, legitimate son of Miguel [Lugo] and Maria Ysabel Fernandez, soldier of this Company, with MARIA DEL ROSARIO DOMINGUEZ, native of the same presidio, single, legitimate daughter of the invalid [retired soldier] Jose Maria [Dominguez] and Marcelina Feliz; the witnesses were Vicente Pico, married with Estefana Garcia, residents of the presidio, and Alexo Xunamait [Indian] married to Tomasa, neophyte of the Mission…
This marriage united the Fernandez, Quintero and Lugo ancestors of Ritchie Valens with his Dominguez and Feliz forefathers. The children of Jose Trinidad Lugo and Maria Rosario Dominguez carried a proud legacy of service with seven immediate ancestors who were California soldados serving in the Southern California area over a half-century. The seven soldado ancestors were Manuel Ygnacio Lugo, Jose Miguel Lugo, Jose Trinidad Lugo, Jose Maria Dominguez, Ildefonso Dominguez, Rosalino Fernandez and Victorino Feliz. In addition, their great-great-great-grandfather Luis Quintero had also served as the tailor to the soldiers at the Santa Barbara Presidio for almost three decades (1782-1810).
Luis Ponce and Maria Antonia Lugo
In the next generation of Ritchie Valens’ family, Maria Antonia Lugo – one of the many children of Jose Trinidad Lugo and Maria del Rosario Dominguez – married a foreigner. A miner from Chile, Luis Ponce came to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush (1848-1849). Ultimately, his attempt to profit from the gold mining business failed and then he moved south to Santa Barbara where he met a local girl – Maria Antonia Lugo.
It is not clear how Maria Antonia’s parents felt about a foreigner entering the family circle but, over time, Luis was probably accepted as an in-law. In October 1857, the Santa Barbara Mission records recorded the marriage of Luis “Ponse” – a “Chileno” (from Chile) – with Maria Antonia Lugo, the daughter of Trinidad Lugo and Rosanna Dominguez. Antonia’s brother, Ygnacio, was one of the witnesses.
Luis Ponce and Maria Antonia Lugo are the paternal great-grandparents of Ritchie Valens who – exactly a century later in October 1957 – would make his performing debut and soon after revolutionizing the American music industry.
The Birth of Maria Agripina Ponse (1858)
Nine months later in July 1858, at the same mission, Luis and Maria Antonia baptized their 23-day-old daughter, Maria Agripina Ponse, the paternal grandmother of Ritchie Valens. Luis and Maria Antonia would continue having children for the next 14 years, all of them baptized either at Mission Santa Ynes or Mission Santa Barbara.
In the 1860 census, Trinidad Lugo headed a household of eighteen individuals in Santa Barbara that included their children, 40-year-old Luis and 27-year-old Antonia, their children and one boarder. By 1870, Luis and Maria Antonia had moved into their own residence in Township 2 of Santa Barbara County. Their household consisted of nine children and has been reproduced below:
Agripina Ponce and Marciano Valenzuela
It was during the 1870s that the children of Luis and Maria Antonia started their own families. Agripina met a gentleman named Marciano (Mariano) Valenzuela who had come from Sonora. According to Santa Barbara County records 25-year-old Mariano Valenzuela – a resident of Santa Maria – was married to 23-year-old Egripina (Agrippina) Ponce – a resident of Santa Ynes – on November 23, 1875. According to the Santa Barbara County marriage record, they were married in Santa Ynez.
Over the next few years, the family of Mariano and Agrippina would grow quickly with the first few children baptized at San Ramon Chapel:
Mateo Valenzuela, born Sept. 20, 1877, baptized Nov. 18, 1877
Esperanza Valenzuela, born June 22, 1879, baptized June 29, 1879
Pablo Valenzuela, born March 2, 1880, baptized Aug. 1, 1880
Jose Marciano Valenzuela, born July 15, 1880, baptized Aug. 21, 1881
Maria Romualda Valenzuela, born Feb. 17, 1883, baptized April 20, 1883
Catarina Lastemia Valenzuela, born Dec. 24, 1884, baptized Feb. 15, 1885
As their family grew, Mariano Valenzuela [also known as Marciano Valenzuela] established his own credentials within the community. On December 21, 1886, Marciano declared his intention to become an American citizen. He was officially admitted as a naturalized American in February 1889 at the Santa Barbara Superior Court (Santa Barbara County Naturalizations, No. 1480056).
Then, on Sept. 29, 1890, Marciano Valenzuela registered to vote. The 1890 Register of Voters lists Marciano Valenzuela as a 37-year-old native of Mexico residing in Sisquoc. During this period, Marciano was also listed in the Santa Barbara City Directory, but the spelling of his first name always varied, from Marciano to Mariano to Marino.
In the 1888 Santa Barbara Directory, Mariano Valenzuela was listed as a hostler residing at the east corner of Santa Barbara and Figueroa Streets. A hostler in the horse industry is a stableman who is employed by a stable to take care of horses. In the 1893 City Directory “Marino Valenzuela” was listed as a laborer, residing at 1034 Santa Barbara Street.
Joe Steven Valenzuela
However, after 1893, the conditions of the Valenzuela family changed dramatically. Suddenly they moved to Los Angeles County. It was in Los Angeles that Stephen Joseph Valenzuela was born. On April 15, 1895, Marciano and Agripina baptized Stephen Joseph at Our Lady Queen of Angels (La Plaza) in Downtown Los Angeles. This baptism has been reproduced below and indicates “Stephanus Josephus” was born on Dec. 16, 1893 but not baptized until a year-and-a-half later.
Tragedy Strikes: The Death of Agripina (1900)
On Feb. 12, 1900, tragedy struck the family. There is a report of death in Los Angeles County for one Agripina Balenzuela, who died at the approximate age of 45 from “loss of blood preceding and attending parturition” [the action of giving birth]. After having many children, Agripina died two months after giving birth. In reality, she was about 41 1/2 years old. The death occurred in Long Beach.
The Valenzuela Family in the 1900 Census
The result of this terrible upheaval in the Valenzuela family is that when the 1900 census was taken, eleven brothers and sisters ranging in age from 23 years to five months were living on their own in Burbank with no parents, as noted in the reproduction that follows:
As noted in the census, Estevan (or Steven) Valenzuela was about five years of age. Both parents were supposed to have been born in Mexico, but Agrippina was actually a native of California, as were her mother and her maternal grandparents. Whoever gave the census taker the information probably did not know the facts.
However, in a unique turn of events, 68-year-old Marciano Valenzuela headed a separate household in Long Beach (where Agrippina had died earlier that year) and that household contained most of the same children. However, little Estevan was not reported in the Long Beach household. It is not clear what was happening with the family, but some members were living with the father in Long Beach, while others were living on their own in Burbank at least part of the time.
Most of the Valenzuela family continued to reside in Los Angeles during the early Twentieth Century, where several of the children of Marciano and Agripina (Po) were married. Matea was married in 1901. Joe Steven Valenzuela – the future father of Ritchie Valens – registered for the draft during World War I probably in 1917 and was listed as a 22-year-old farmer living in Bell, California and employed in Hollywood.
Joe Steven Valenzuela and Concepcion Reyes
Joe Steven Valenzuela married Concepcion Lopez Reyes on September 15, 1939 in a ceremony performed at a residence in Pacoima by Reverend Charles F. Dunn. In the marriage license that was filed on September 20th at the County Recorder’s office, Joe Steven Valenzuela was described as a 41-year-old farmer, the son of Marcino [Marciano] Valenzuela (from Sonora, Mexico) and Agrippina Ponce (of Santa Barbara, California). The marriage record has been reproduced below:
Concepcion Lopez Reyes was registered as a 24-year-old housekeeper born in Jerome, Arizona, the daughter of Frank L. Reyes (a native of Nogales, Arizona) and Refugia Y. Lopez (of Silverking, Arizona). Joe Steven Valenzuela did not live to witness his son’s fame. He died in 1952.
Yaqui Roots?
It has been stated widely that Ritchie Valens was of Yaqui Indian descent. My own research has not actually proven this. However, when we consider that nearly all of Ritchie Valens’ father’s ancestors were from southern Sonora, it is very likely that he may be a descendant of both the Yaquis and the Mayos (whose territory was immediately south of the Yaqui lands).
The family of Ritchie’s mother Concepcion Reyes came from Yavapai County, Arizona. Many of the Mexican-American families living in this area are descended from Sonorans who crossed the border during the Nineteenth Century, so the likelihood that they are Yaqui descent is also quite plausible.
The Birth of Concepcion (1915)
As noted in the birth certificate below, Beatrice Reyes was born on October 6, 1915 as the daughter of Francisco Reyes and Refugia Lopez, both of Jerome, Arizona. She was registered as Beatrice, but her name would be Concepcion.
Eight years earlier, Concepcion’s parents, Francisco Reyes and Refugio Lopez had been married in Jerome, Yavapai County, Arizona, on November 25, 1907. The document has been reproduced below.
Although Refugio Lopez had been married in 1907, she was in the 1910 census as also living with her parents, Refugio and Eduviges Lopez. Living in Yavapai County, her father Refugio was 57 years old in 1910 and an inhabitant of Mexico. He had been married to his wife Eduviges for 20 years and she had given birth to eight children, of which seven were still alive in 1910. Their oldest child, 20-year-old Refugio, stated that she was 20 years of age and had been married for a year. The birthplace of Refugio and Eduviges in Mexico has not been determined.
The Reyes Family From Sonora
Concepcion’s grandfather Luis Reyes came from Mexico probably in the 1870s and raised his family in Jerome. Luis – the son of Dolores Reyes and Josefa Lopez – was a saloonkeeper after coming to the U.S. and raised a good-sized family with his wife Josephine, who was at least a decade younger than he. Lous and Josephine’s family in the 1900 Census in Yavapai County is shown below. The father of Concepcion, Frank (Francisco) Reyes, was supposedly born in Arizona with a birthdate of Nov. 1885. His older brother Louis was born in Mexico eleven years earlier.
In the decade between the birth of Louis, Jr. and Frank, there may have been other children who either died young or married early and left the family home. Luis, Jr. had been baptized in the Church at Rosario, Sonora on October 9, 1871 as Jose Luiz Lorenzo de Jesus, the son of Luis Reyes and Josepha Lopez. This baptism brings the family very close to the Yaqui-Mayo area of Southern Sonora. The baptism has been attached below:
Luis Reyes, Jr. filled out a Petition for Naturalization in 1913, which provides us with more clues about the origins of the family. In it, he states that he was born on May 7, 1871. This makes sense as his baptism states he was baptized on October 9, 1871 at the age of five months. Luis, Jr. claimed that he lived in Cottonwood and was engaged in farming and had been born in San Xavier, Sonora. He stated that he (and probably his family as well) had crossed from Sonora into the United States at Nogales around October 15, 1883, crossing “the line on foot.” He signed the petition on February 20, 1914, shortly after the death of his father. A portion of the petition has been reproduced as follows:
The entire petition for naturalization can be seen at this link:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS9M-193X-1?i=450&cat=767232
As noted on the following map, both San Xavier — the birthplace of Luis Reyes, Jr. — and Rosario — his place of baptism — are in Southern Sonora, to the east of Guaymas and Hermosillo.
Municipios in Southern Sonora
The Death of Luis Reyes (1914)
Luis Reyes, Sr. passed away on January 23, 1914 in Jerome, Arizona, shortly before the birth of Concepcion (Beatrice). His death certificate in Yavapai County indicated that Luis Reyes died at the age of 66 and had been a saloonkeeper. He was born in Mexico as the son of Dolores Reyes and Josefa Lopez.
The widow of Luis Reyes, Sr. lived for another 20 years and died on March 7, 1934 in Yavapai County, Arizona. Her death record stated that her birthday was on March 19, 1855 and that she was 78 years, 11 months, and 28 days of age. She was the daughter of Francisco Lopez and Acuña Concepcion, as the death record below reveals. She was buried in the Cottonwood Mexican Cemetery.
A Rock ’n’ Roll Pioneer
Ritchie Valens was born in Pacoima on May 13, 1941, a year-and-a-half after his parents’ marriage. He made his debut as a performer in October 1957 and quickly rose to national prominence. However, at the height of his fame, 17-year-old Ritchie Valens – along with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper – lost his life in a devastating plane crash, inspiring singer Don McLean’s popular 1971 ballad “American Pie,” which immortalized February 3, 1959 as “The Day the Music Died.”
Ritchie Valens’ life has inspired several books including Beverly Mendheim’s “Ritchie Valens: The First Latino Rocker” (published in 1987 by Bilingual Press).
Pioneer Roots
Ritchie Valens’ claim to fame is his short but spectacular career and his dedication to that career. But Ritchie Valens also belongs to a small group of people who are descended from the members of the Expedition of 1781 that laid the foundation to the modern cities of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Copyright © 2024 by John P. Schmal. All Rights Reserved.
Bibliography
Mason, William Marvin, The Census of 1790, A Demographic History of California, Ballena Press, Menlo Park, California, 1998.
Schneidau, Barbara. A Guide to Old Santa Barbara: The Spanish and Mexican Periods. Triple R Press, Goleta, California, 1977.
Stevens, Meredith, The House of Olivas. Charon Press, Ventura, California.
Vo, Jennifer and Schmal, John P., A Mexican-American Family of California: In the Service of Three Flags. Heritage Books, Westminster, California.