Bonebreaker Valley (DSC00726) by DJOBurton

https://tmblr.co/Z7VXvxjBTY2Oeq00

#asturias #northernspain #spain #picuurriellu #naranjodebulnes #bulnes #picosdeeuropa #mountains #landscape #pozodelaoración #vultures #urriellu #flickr #thingsdavidlikes

I wanted to share my own ancestry, because I'd been talking about blood and legacy and connection to our lost roots, many of which were stolen by our very own ancestors in their flurry to get what little they could out of a broken system by injecting themselves with the psychotoxin that is "whiteness", all to avoid seeming Black or indigenous enough to "deserve" persecution.

History is fun and full of laughter and joy, but only if you enjoy gallows humor as much as I do. ☠️

Now away with the radically honest reflection of my ancestors' many, many sins! We proceed now with the more fun part of history...cultural ancestry!

Secundum Enatam
Following the line of enatic (maternal) inheritance

My maternal ancestors come from the South Santander region of Colombia. My grandfather's family came from the Kingdom of Castille in northern Spain, and we retain the Burgos surname to the present day (it's literally my surname :P ). At some point, this means we were descended from a royal or noble Castillian line.

And we all know blue blood turns red if you don't narcissus at it enough.

My grandmother's family came from the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France. Both Burgos (Castillian) and Peña (Basque) lines were city-builders, law-bringers, and the defenders of Roman Catholicism. We had a reputation for individualism, independence, order, honor, and a "no-nonsense" approach to life.

It's funny how I can see these same characteristics now reflected in me, although not in anyway that my ancestors would recognize or approve of. My individualism and independence demands freedom from the order of false dogmas and oppressive laws. I'm very glad to have been born in our family's post-apocalyptic age. I get to bring back the old values in a way that represents them more universally, and not just for my "noble peers." Fuck nobility.

My European ancestors were like all the rest in that they also "mixed" with indigenous peoples. I use the word "mixed" because euphemisms prevent CWs. Because of where my family remained for centuries, it becomes clear that I am also descended from the Guane people of the Chicamocha Canyon and the Suárez River valley. They were master weavers and terrace farmers, and they were called the "Engineers of the Highlands." They practiced cranial deformation and mummification, too, so they were fucking metal. 🤘

Secundum Agnatum
Following the line of agnatic (paternal) inheritance

Now, this was a surprise. My father comes from the Cuban Medinas. They were from Havana, and were likely part of the early Cuban merchant or colonial bureaucracy. As it happens, my father's family were late arrivals, and came to Cuba during the 17th and 18th centuries, when Sephardic Jews were fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Medina was one of the many "cover" names the Sephardic Jews used to escape persecution. Given what I know about my father's family...holy fucking shit, I have Jewish ancestry. 🤯

Now the hatred transphobes feel towards Jews makes sense... they somehow knew I was always both. 🙀 /j

Ergo Sum

More seriously speaking, I think what makes an ancestral search worthwhile is when it helps explain parts of who you feel like you are. If it does, and this search definitely did that for me, then great! This was worth it. I've gotten to the point where I'm fortunate to be able to say that I see myself, but it's nice to be able to see how that self connects to the wider context of the world too.

We are, invariably and inevitably, the sum of our parts. How that sum adds up depends on you and what you want to do with it. Identity is a story. Culture is a story. They're only meaningful insofar as they serve as a sort of mythological cosmogony for our selves. These should give us foundations for growth and means of understanding ourselves.

Trash 'em when they don't. 💙

#Ancestry #Genealogy #Identity #Guane #Basque #Castilian #Sephardic #Converso #Latine #AfroLatine #IndigenousResilience #Santander #Colombia #Chicamocha #Cuba #Habana #OldCastile #NorthernSpain #Pyrenees #Decolonize #AntiColonial #WhitenessAsProperty #RadicalHonesty #RadicalAcceptance #TransIdentity #Neurodivergent #History #SecundumEnatam #SecundumAgnatum #ErgoSum

🐻🇪🇸
In Noord-Spanje duiken steeds vaker bruine beren op in dorpen en valleien — een teken dat de populatie langzaam herstelt.
Recent werd er zelfs eentje gespot die rustig door een bergdorp wandelde alsof hij de avondronde deed. De natuur klopt letterlijk weer aan de deur. 🌲✨

#SpainNews #Wildlife #BrownBear #NatureReturns #NorthernSpain #UnexpectedMoments

Okay, I know it’s appalling that I keep forgetting this place exists (tbf I’ve had some really weird as shit interactions with randoms last time I tried) and that it took @LauraLangdon to remind me that THIS is where all the OSS/FOSS people hang out. But here I am now. And maybe it’ll stick this time.

Not much has changed and yet everything has changed. @finnporter and I moved to Galicia in Spain about 4 months or so ago. We’re loving it so far. I think we’ve just been lucky with the weather this year because it’s nowhere near as hot as I feared. The beach is a 7 minute walk from our flat. And because it’s the Atlantic it’s also nice and chilly, which I’m delighted by.

Chronic health stuff has… not been too great, but the Spanish healthcare system seems to actually be one of the few still functional ones, at least here in Galicia. So I’m waiting for referrals to an allergist for MCAS dx and probably to internal medicine for potential hEDS dx. Not thrilled I likely have these conditions but at least I may actually get to access care for them. I’m still too medically traumatised to actually believe it lol but so far everyone in the medical field here has been pretty great. Also, being trans is absolutely zero trouble here which is a delightful change for us.

I’m keen to connect to some covid conscious folks in Northern Spain if there are any around since it’s hard to make friends. Oh and we’re also looking for frontend devs for our volunteer open-source tech team at Distribute Aid. But I’ll just post about that separately so it’s easy to boost 😊

Alright, I guess it’s good to be back. Hopefully I’ll stick around this time.

#Spain #NorthernSpain #Galicia #oss #foss #DeveloperContent #frontend #trans #2SLGBTQIA #LGBTQIA #spoonies #chronicIllness

Uno que va a ir chapando por aquí. Tengan todos buenas noches, y disfruten del 'on-board' de FEVE entre Arriondas #Asturias y Puente San Miguel #Cantabria

3 horucas de relleno con paisajes tope de gama. Y como es un FEVE, pues va despacito así que se puede apreciar cada hoja de cada árbol al pasar.

#trains #feve #spain #northernspain #cabride #trainspotting

https://youtu.be/JUO1c1-dE4Y?si=wJ673FqmWU1p_yco