De Zaldo y Moré
Journey through the stories connecting a family to Cuba
People, places, and the modern age of travel, across both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond
Journeys connecting to Cuba
Be inspired by DeZaldo y Moré
I pictured my family mostly in Cuba and living ordinary lives.
Never did I imagine such extraordinary stories.
I knew my parents were born in Cuba, but had little chance to learn about the journeys of the people before them. Now, each new story I uncover about my family changes my perspective just a little bit more.
The adventures and the amount of travel have been surprising. But most amazing has been the ability to find such details and era accounts about my close relatives, over three centuries and several continents.
All by searching primarily for printed information online.
Digitization continues worldwide – of books, journals, magazines, maps, and images. And it’s so exciting to know that there’s more about my distant family yet to be found.
What can you discover about your family’s past?
THE CHARACTERS OF DEZALDO Y MORE
Some of the surprising stories
Hospitality in Havana to a cousin of Abigail Adams, the 2nd First Lady of the United States, 1820s
Relaxed elegance across cultures
Ana Parra y Bourdé de Zaldo
Mexico City – San Francisco – San Antonio – Havana – New York – Paris
The Merchant from Cadiz
Ramon De Zaldo y Valiente
Cadiz – Havana – Trinidad – New York – San Fransisco
Drawn to the high-tech of the early 1900s
René De Zaldo y Parra
Mexico City – San Antonio – Havana – New York – Havana – Lisbon
A woman active in historic events of the Cortes de Cadiz
Maria Ignacia Valiente y Mariscal de Zaldo
Mexico City – Cadiz
MY MOTHER ADELITA
HER FATHER RENÉ
HIS FATHER RAFAEL
HIS SISTER ESTELA
Experience their journeys, places, and times through historic events
HOW TO ENJOY THIS WEBSITE
Follow the stories from different perspectives
The Narrative
How I imagined Cuba, and family I never knew
The Stories
What I discovered about the people and places
The Context
Amazing personalities and past events that bring my family to life
The Characters
One person, or family, followed through time
LATEST POSTS
The Narrative
Thoughts and questions about my family
The memories I once had of Cuba
I don't remember, now, how I used to imagine my family in Cuba.
Thoughts were hazy about my mother's family, especially on her father’s side. Yet, my mother’s simple stories – rich snapshots of growing up in Havana – helped me create my own visions of the people and places I had never known.
Why is René De Zaldo on an Indian Motorcycle, 1915?
A single photograph prompted the start of my search online.
The photo was of my grandfather, René DeZaldo, standing by an old Indian motorcycle in race gear, 1915. That’s all I knew, so just imagine the questions I had... Was it taken in Cuba? Mexico? Or somewhere in the US?
So, in 2011, I just googled it.
Remembering my mother, Adelita, and her gifts to me from Cuba
In remembering my mother on the anniversary of her passing, I think of the happy memories she shared from her childhood in Havana.
Surviving photos show that she was trouble: cute, exuberant, and wriggling with charm.