Californios (Cerritos, San Juan Capistrano, Monterey: houses, construction, university)

[Perfect Stranger]

Are there any remnants of Californio culture in California? For some reason it seems less well preserved than the Tejano culture. Maybe massive immigration from elsewhere contributed to replace Californio culture with "Californian" culture?

[Oerdin]

Not really. Sure, you have some families with Spanish last names which go way back or partially Spanish families with Anglo last names but they were all pretty much assimilated over the last 160 years. Believe it or not there weren't that many Californios in California in the 1840's (which is one of the reasons the Americans wanted to take the land) and those who were here tended to be either priests at the Missions (who didn't marry and so didn't leave decedents) or more commonly former Spanish or Mexican military officers given a land grant by the government for completing military service. In the post Mexican-American war period most of those Spanish speaking families were more interested in maintaining their social class as Dons of large Ranchos than in maintaining their ethnic or linguistic identity so you saw a large amount of them marrying into wealthy Anglo families. In California the people who do speak Spanish tend to be recent immigrants from Latin America and not decendants of the old 19th century land barons.

[.highnlite]

http://youtu.be/rh0DQ80kZoY

This song brings that culture to life, Captain Dana was a real person, and his Rancho Nipomo was a real place, his house built in 1836 still exists. Dave Stamey wrote this song while sitting on the porch looking out over the Temettate hills rising in the near distance.

The California Culture remains, as expressed in the Rancho Life (in my opinion, the highest level of culture yet attained by man)

The Californio culture is experiencing a renaissance on the ranches.

The Californio culture spread throughout the far west and the northwest and even to Hawaii. The method of handling cattle and the tools used in California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana and Hawaii is Californio.

A broad and basic difference in techniques and tools came out of the California Ranchos. Two obvious differences are the two rein and in hats, Texas hats are derisively described as Taco hats by those who practice the Californio tradition, which used a much more practical flat hat.

There is a great video series which you may be interested in that goes into the culture, history and traditions of the California Rancho.

With their slick-fork saddles and silver spade bits, the Californio Vaqueros still trail cattle through these golden hills. Meet the men and women who work the ranches and carry the tradition forward. From the hackamore, to the two-rein, to straight up in the bridle, see how they make a horse as fluid as silk. Learn their secrets to braiding the rawhide reata and throwing the figure eight.

J&S Productions Vaquero Series: Mula, Tierra Encantado, Los Primeros, Houlihan, Tapadero, The Remuda, Holo Holo Paniolo. Documentaries about Vaqueros, Buckaroos, Paniolos and Cowboys.



The tradition carries on. The young man who is likely to be my son in law one of these days is in this photo.

[Oerdin]

I recall reading a book on the history of California... This was well over 15 years ago... And believe it or not many of the Rancheros were land rich but cash poor with there primary product being beef which was locally in over supply before the construction of railroads in the 1870's to 1890's and so local beef and leather prices were actually fairly low. The Spanish and then later the Mexican governments kept taxes very low and even exempted Catholic Missions or ranchos owned by retired military officers from paying most taxes so when the Americans took over they were often in a bit of a bind. They had lots of land and cattle but they didn't have ready cash in gold or US Dollars so many of them had trouble paying the property tax bills.

Some of them lost their land or were forced to sell at low prices in order to pay their back taxes while others married into well off Anglo families in a sort of upper class union to help maintain their social status as large land owners. Because of language difficulties most Californios found it difficult to get good paying jobs in the new Anglo dominated California outside of agriculture so unless they assimulated they were more or less stuck as being cow hands or farm workers or some other low paid job. That put a lot of pressure on young people to learn English and to adopt American customs so they could make their way in the new California. Now days their decedents are all English speaking and probably of mixed Spanish-Anglo heritage.

[Fontucky]

If you're ever in San Juan Capistrano, check out the Los Rios District, also known as "Little Hollywood" by the long-time locals such as yours truly.

[FresnoFacts]

The Californios did have some influence on the state in the years after the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. But the Californio generations that came of age or were born after 1846 were assimilated into the new arrival Anglo culture within a few decades.

The original state Constitution of 1849 was written in both English and Spanish to accommodate the original Californios. It also said in Article XI Section 21 "All laws, decrees, regulations, and provisions, which from their nature require publication, shall be published in English and Spanish".
Constitution of the State of California 1849 - California State Archives - California Secretary of State
Of course the original constitution was replaced by the State Constitution of 1880 which (as amended) is used today. The second state constitution did not include the accommodation for Californios of Spanish use by the state. That indicates how little political and cultural influence they had by then.

The eighth Act passed by the first state Legislature in January 1850 was to create the Office of State Translator to also help the Californios. Originally it was a person selected by both houses of the Legislature and paid $8,000/yr. That was later repealed.

An interesting book about Californios in the 4 decades after American territorial status is "The Decline of the Californios" by Leonard Pitt (University of California Press, 1999), still available in print.

[Motherpopcorn]

Check out rancho los cerritos in long beach. Beautiful part of the California history.
Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site

[majoun]

There are still descendants of Californios in California today. Many do not have Hispanic last names and do not consider themselves Hispanic, due to widespread intermarriage during the 19th century. ("Anglo" male and Californio female was far more common than the reverse.). Some Californio families survive to this day.

This site gives more information on the Californios: California Spanish Genealogy - Californio Families

[jeffredo]

When I was in college I had a roommate who was a sixth generation Angeleno (San Fernando Valley). He had a Spanish last name but had blue eyes and blond hair and spoke no Spanish. I think many descendants of the 6,000 Californios when the US took over are like him - absorbed into the dominate Anglo culture. When I lived in Monterey there were a good number of old buildings from the Spanish/Mexican colonial era (nice little walking tour that includes them).

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by majoun

There are still descendants of Californios in California today. Many do not have Hispanic last names and do not consider themselves Hispanic, due to widespread intermarriage during the 19th century. ("Anglo" male and Californio female was far more common than the reverse.). Some Californio families survive to this day.

This site gives more information on the Californios: California Spanish Genealogy - Californio Families

I wonder how far back the Portugese influence in California goes. I seem to remember they had a strong influence in parts of the Central Coast.