El Pino

 

El Pino airmail paper.

While visiting Campuzano cousins in LA, they shared a Spanish language transcription of research into the origins of the Campuzano family in Spain. There were three pages, written in pencil in Spanish cursive script on a thin onion skin paper. The pages did not appear to have been folded, and were rolled into a tube, labeled "important". The tube was recently found by the cousins in the past two weeks. I'm trying to figure out the age of the paper used. I've enlarged the image of the logo above to show the brand - El Pino Airmail paper. 

I am assuming the pages date from the late 1940s to 1970s, but I don't know for certain. Airmail paper can still be found today, although it is not widely used. We don't know who wrote the pages, but one paragraph was addressed to someone named, or nicknamed, Oliva. The author of the pages was providing information on what they had found while searching for the origins of the Campuzano family in Spanish records.

I'll have more on that transcription in the next post, which potentially points us to a much older and deeper connection to northern Spain than we previously knew. 

Rootstech 2025 schedule

The full schedule for Rootstech 2025 is now live. I'll be attending in person this year, for the first few days before continuing on to my own event in the Pacific Northwest. I've viewed Rootstech sessions online since attending last in 2013, so it will be great to be there live even for a few days. The schedule is packed with fascinating sessions, but with limited time on the ground I'll need to prioritize the ones that might not be immediately available online. 

Devastating Loss

 

Cal Fire. 11 Jan 2025.

I've been in LA since Wednesday, now back in Northern Virginia. The amount of loss, to people, their homes, businesses, dreams, is immense. Good friends were forced to evacuate, some colleagues have lost their homes. There have been fires in LA before, but the combination of fires that swept through the city this week have been off the scale of devastation. Palisades, Malibu, Altadena - these are places that are forever changed from these fires.

The Los Angeles Fire Department has posted some links to organizations that are providing assistance to those impacted.

LA is my second home and a place close to my heart. It is going to be a long road to recovery for the city and those who have lost in these fires.

Five Years Ago

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Venice Beach. 9 Jan 2020.

Walk this way

 

Photo by A. Jones. NYC. 3 Jan 2025.

This cool shot was captured by Allison in New York's East Village. The mural was completed in late 2018 by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, honoring Run-DMC and DJ Jam Master Jay. I've captured some of Kobra's murals in other cities, such as Chicago, Moscow, and Miami.