EvidenceLeft Visible
Explore archive

Family stories · Music film · 5:12

Canaries to Carlisle

Family journeys from the Canary Islands through New Spain and Texas.

All filmsDownload MP4 35 MB
Find this story on the map Sources & history
About this film

A music-led family history following surviving records from Gran Canaria and Tenerife to northern New Spain, Laredo and San Antonio. The historical timeline ends in 1940, with Carlisle as the place of retelling.

Behind the film

The history & the evidence.

The film follows surviving records from the Canary Islands to northern New Spain, the Río Grande frontier, Laredo and San Antonio. Original Revilla manuscripts, the 1825 land petition and Pedro Herrera’s service cards anchor parts of the story; other links depend on studies, indexes or earlier record readings. Gaps remain between generations, and the 1585/1583 marriage-year dispute stays visible. The historical timeline ends in 1940; Carlisle is the 2026 retelling frame.

  1. Official archival publicationCanary Islands, 1528 proceeding AHPLP, Princesas Canarias, PDF pp. 9, 16–17. Describes the 31 August 1528 proceeding and 1529 outcome preserved in a later notarized copy. Not the untouched 1528 original.
  2. Published archival studyDara/Ara family on Tenerife González Marrero’s Dara/Ara family study, printed pp. 20–23, follows wills and property records. Individual original manuscripts are not all reproduced or independently checked.
  3. Published transcriptionAlternative 1583 marriage transcription Somos Primos reports a parish-certified 1583 transcription; González Marrero gives 1585. The film retains the unresolved marriage year.
  4. Published archival historyFrancisco: mining and municipal office Cavazos Garza, printed pp. 80–81: the 1616 mining discovery and 1 October 1646 appointment. These are published archival findings.
  5. Published translation1630 identity statement: translation Raphael, reported p. 225: indexed translated text supports Francisco’s parent names and approximate ages. The Spanish manuscript was not inspected for this edition; page locator is carried from earlier research.
  6. Published archival transcription1650 residence testimony Mendirichaga Cueva, printed p. 254: testimony of 29 May 1650 reports over 35 years’ residence. It does not supply an exact sailing date.
  7. Published extractionSaltillo marriage, 5 February 1736 The 5 February 1736 Saltillo marriage names José Herrera and Ángela Josefa Gutiérrez. Working original locator: film 605094, image 234, entry 4; original not re-inspected.
  8. Parish indexPlácido baptism index, 12 October 1753 Plácido Herrera’s 12 October 1753 indexed baptism names Joseph Herrera and Ángela Gutiérrez. Index-level evidence; no original register image is shown.
  9. Parish image referenceJesús baptism, 3 December 1781 The film carries an earlier original-image reading of 3 December 1781 naming José Plácido Herrera as father. Not freshly re-inspected; maternal surname uncertainty remains.
  10. Primary manuscriptLaredo petition, 22 August 1825 Spanish Archives of Laredo, SMLBL_02-75-15: José Jesús de Herrera’s 22 August 1825 land request and separate 25 August provisional action. Final ownership is not established.
  11. Primary record referenceHistorical Bexar marriage return, 1940 Bexar County, instrument 126548, affidavit 26531, Book 74, p. 252. Earlier image reading distinguishes 15 October license, 18 October ceremony and 21 October recording in 1940. Historical endpoint only.
  12. Primary archival imageRevilla household and livestock inspection AGN · Escandón 56, f.228v · UNAM; Archivo General de la Nación, México; manuscript facsimile and transcription presented by UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Poblar el Septentrión. Actual manuscript images. The second household-list locator is 241f, not 241v; Tadeo’s affiliation is not inferred.
  13. Primary archival imageRevilla second household list AGN · Escandón 56, f.241f · UNAM; Archivo General de la Nación, México; manuscript facsimile and transcription presented by UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Poblar el Septentrión. Actual manuscript images. The second household-list locator is 241f, not 241v; Tadeo’s affiliation is not inferred.
  14. Primary archival imagePedro Herrera muster abstract NARA RG 109 · M323 roll 162 · via ACPL / Internet Archive; digital scan contributed by Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Recorded service endpoints only; no particular battle or personal presence in New Orleans is established.
  15. Primary archival imagePedro Herrera surrender-roll abstract NARA RG 109 · M323 roll 184 · via ACPL / Internet Archive; digital scan contributed by Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center. Recorded service endpoints only; no particular battle or personal presence in New Orleans is established.
  16. Census roll / incomplete image locator1880 Webb County census roll NARA T9, roll 1332 contains Webb County. The household statement is carried from an earlier image reading; this link opens the whole roll.Exact ED, sheet and frame remain to be captured. The 1900–1910 interval also comes from the earlier census sequence; precise image citations are not newly displayed.
  17. Image / footage contextInternal Provinces of New Spain — 1807 Library of Congress · Pike · 1807 Map date is geographic context. It does not establish earlier borders, a family travel track or an 1825 property boundary.
  18. Image / footage contextLaredo, Gateway to and from Mexico — 1892 Library of Congress · 1892 Map date is geographic context. It does not establish earlier borders, a family travel track or an 1825 property boundary.
  19. Image / footage contextCity market, San Antonio — 1905 Rotograph Co., City market, San Antonio (1905), Library of Congress, item 2006686255. Dated context; no family member or precise itinerary is identified.
  20. Image / footage contextA Storm at Sea — 1900 Edison Manufacturing Co., A Storm at Sea (1900), Library of Congress, item 00694309. Sea footage dated 1900, centuries after the estimated crossing. It is not Francisco’s ship or voyage.
  21. Image / footage contextMontaña de Gáldar — 1890–1895 FEDAC, Montaña de Gáldar, photograph 000667, dated 1890–1895. Later Gáldar landscape; it does not depict the 1528 proceeding. This is the exact observed item reference, not the repository homepage.
  22. Image / footage contextView of Laredo, Texas in the early 1900 — early 1900s Webb County Heritage Foundation, View of Laredo, Texas in the early 1900; via The Portal to Texas History, UNT Libraries, item metapth13268. Town context dated early 1900s. No pictured person is identified as family.
  23. Image / footage contextMesa del Mar waves 2 — 23 April 2023 Mike Peel, “Mesa del Mar waves 2” (23 April 2023), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected excerpts with film captions and source labels. Modern Tenerife coast, labelled 2023. No ancestral vessel, departure port or voyage is depicted.
  24. Image / footage contextRealejo de arriba, Tenerife — 1821 Alfred Diston, Realejo de arriba, Tenerife (1821), Yale Center for British Art, B1975.4.305. Museum image via Wikimedia Commons. Later geographic context; no ancestral person, house or departure port is identified.
  25. Image / footage contextView from Martianez, Port Orotava, Tenerife — 1819 Alfred Diston, View from Martianez, Port Orotava, Tenerife (1819), Yale Center for British Art, B1981.25.2826. Museum image via Wikimedia Commons. Later geographic context; no ancestral person, house or departure port is identified.
  26. Image / footage contextCanary Islands, Blaeu — 1667 Joan Blaeu, Insulae Canariae alias Fortunatae dictae (Amsterdam, 1667), in Atlas Van der Hagen, c. 1690. Hand-coloring attributed to Dirk Jansz van Santen. KB, National Library of the Netherlands, KW 1049 B 13, image 068. Via Wikimedia Commons. European map of 1667; not an Indigenous map or a family voyage record.
  27. Image / footage contextCarlisle courthouse — 1861–1874 Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Robin G. Stanford Collection, LOT 14110-19, no. 14, item 2016648855; photograph between 1861 and 1874. Historic town context for the 2026 Carlisle retelling frame; not a modern migration record.
  28. Modern source datasetPhysical geography for the film’s modern locators Natural Earth public-domain land and rivers. These are modern physical locators, not historical political maps. Exact downloaded file URLs are preserved in the companion credits.
  29. Modern gazetteer datasetTown reference coordinates GeoNames cities500, CC BY 4.0; exact selected rows/IDs are preserved. Town reference points do not identify houses, mines or embarkation ports.
  30. Official geographic referenceHistoric Revilla / Guerrero Viejo locality reference INEGI, Nomenclátor de Tamaulipas (1981), PDF p. 28, entry 1495; Guerrero Viejo, 26°46.6′ N, 99°20.4′ W. The map does not substitute modern Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.

More from the archive

The Canary Route Explore the route research and visible gaps between records and generations.Pedro Herrera Read the evidence behind his Laredo identity and recorded military service.Full film sources and image credits Read the historical source trail, map provenance, footage dates and complete credits.

The soundtrack

Music credits

  • “Bailar (Choory Vazquez Remix)” — Deorro feat. Elvis Crespo; remix by Choory Vazquez. Artist-posted download.

    Track & artist