I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS," A JOURNEY INTO THE ANCESTRAL PASTS OF SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST NOTABLE FIGURES.

IN THIS PROGRAM, WE'LL MEET ACTRESS MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR LINDA CHAVEZ, AND ACTOR ADRIAN GRENIER -- THREE PEOPLE WHO SHARE HISPANIC ROOTS BUT WHO VIEW THOSE ROOTS VERY DIFFERENTLY.

Rodriguez: THE THING THAT I LOVE ABOUT MY LATIN CULTURE IS THE HEART AND THE PASSION WITH JUST THIS, RRR, THIS TENACITY, THIS FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

A LITTLE BOY THAT I PLAYED WITH AFTER SCHOOL ALL THE TIME INVITED ME OVER, AND HIS MOTHER SAID, "WE DON'T ALLOW MEXICANS."

Gates: THEIR FAMILY TREES ARE FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO SETTLED IN NORTH AMERICA LONG BEFORE THE PILGRIMS DID, FLYING SPANISH FLAGS, NOT ENGLISH ONES.

AND SOME OF THEIR ANCESTORS WERE HERE MUCH EARLIER THAN THAT.

Grenier: GROWING UP, I LIKED THE IDEA OF BEING CONNECTED TO THAT NATIVE-AMERICAN HERITAGE.

I WAS AUTHENTICALLY AN AMERICAN.

Gates: WE EVEN UNCOVERED ANCESTORS WITH SECRET IDENTITIES.

IDENTITIES CONCEALED FOR CENTURIES.

THIS IS JUST SO COOL.

THIS IS JUST AMAZING.

TO FIND THESE STORIES, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.

GENEALOGISTS SCOURED ARCHIVES AROUND THE WORLD, WHILE GENETICISTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN DNA ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

WE COMPILED OUR FINDINGS INTO A BOOK OF LIFE FOR EACH GUEST.

A RECORD OF ALL OF OUR DISCOVERIES.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAMILY TREE?

ANYTHING YOU COULD GIVE ME.

I'M LIKE INCREDIBLY CURIOUS.

THE STORIES OF MY GUESTS' ANCESTORS TOOK US FROM EUROPE TO THE CARIBBEAN... ACROSS MEXICO AND THROUGH THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST...

BUT MY JOURNEY TO UNDERSTAND EACH ONE BEGAN IN THREE VERY SIMILAR PLACES -- THEIR TROUBLED CHILDHOOD HOMES.

ACTRESS MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ IS FAMOUS FOR PLAYING TOUGH CHARACTERS -- FROM A BOXER IN "GIRLFIGHT" TO A HELICOPTER GUNNER IN "AVATAR."

AND IF YOU SPEND JUST A FEW MINUTES WITH HER, YOU'LL REALIZE THAT THAT TOUGHNESS ISN'T JUST AN ACT.

IT'S BEEN WITH HER HER ENTIRE LIFE.

Rodriguez: I RECALL LOOKING AT A CAMERA BEING ABOUT EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OLD AND IT WAS LIKE PICK YOUR CAREER DAY.

AND I SAID I WAS GOING TO BE A BOXER.

HMM.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE FUNNIEST THING BECAUSE THE BEGINNING OF MY ACTING CAREER WAS A BOXING MOVIE.

YEAH, IT WAS.

BUT WHY DO YOU THINK YOU WANTED TO BE A BOXER?

I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS A KID I WAS JUST REALLY INTO BRUCE LEE FLICKS AND I LOVED ACTION MOVIES AND I LOVED VIOLENCE.

I GUESS THERE WAS A PART OF ME THAT REALLY WANTED TO DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT WAS.

BECAUSE I FELT IT SHOULD BE SOME OTHER WAY.

SO, I WAS ALWAYS IN WARRIOR MODE.

WAAAH!

Gates: BORN IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS IN 1978 TO A PUERTO RICAN FATHER AND A DOMINICAN MOTHER, MICHELLE'S WARRIOR SPIRIT WAS FORGED IN A HOME THAT HAD MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF CONFLICT... Rodriguez: MY DAD WAS SO CLOUDED AND MISERABLE A LOT OF THE TIME.

SO, HE JUST HIT THE BOTTLE HARD.

MY MOM, YOU KNOW, SHE'S NOT ABOUT ALL THAT STUFF.

Gates: WHEN MICHELLE WAS JUST FIVE YEARS OLD, HER PARENTS' FRAGILE MARRIAGE COLLAPSED -- AND HER MOTHER BECAME VERY ILL.

THE FAMILY SOON MOVED TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WHERE HER GRANDMOTHER TOOK CUSTODY OF MICHELLE AND HER TWO BROTHERS.

THEY LIVED IN THIS HOUSE IN SANTO DOMINGO AND SUPPORTED THEMSELVES BY RUNNING A SMALL MARKET.

BUT WHILE HER FAMILY WAS AMONG THE WORKING POOR BACK IN TEXAS, MICHELLE SAYS THAT THE POVERTY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WAS SHOCKING.

Rodriguez: THERE WAS A LOT OF SUFFERING.

YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIGGEST THING FOR ME WAS?

YOU KNOW, I'M OVER HERE SITTING ON THE PORCH, YOU KNOW, RUNNING ACROSS THE PORCH IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IN THE CAPITAL AND I'M SINGING, "KARMA KARMA KARMA CHAMELEON," YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S THE '80s.

I'M JUST RUNNING AROUND IN MY LA-LA LAND AND I'M LIKE FIVE YEARS OLD.

AND I RECALL VERY, VERY, VERY POWERFUL MEMORIES OF JUST STOPPING MY DANCING AND MY JUMPING UP AND DOWN BECAUSE I SEE A NAKED BOY WALKING DOWN THE STREET WITH HIS MOM.

YOU KNOW, WALKING WITH NO SHOES.

AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE POVERTY.

YOU WERE POOR OR POORER.

YEAH, IT WAS LIKE, SO, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, IT WAS LIKE THAT CULTURE SHOCK REALLY HIT ME HARD, YOU KNOW?

I GREW SOME TOUGH SKIN BECAUSE OF THAT KIND OF STUFF.

Gates: THE SAVING GRACE IN MICHELLE'S CHILDHOOD WAS HER GRANDMOTHER, SARAH... AFTER TWO YEARS STRUGGLING IN SANTO DOMINGO, SARAH MADE A BOLD DECISION TO TAKE THE FAMILY BACK TO THE UNITED STATES, SEEKING A BETTER LIFE.

Rodriguez: SO GRANDMA, YOU KNOW, JUST LEFT EVERYTHING IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GRABBED MOM, ME, AND THE TWO BROS AND WE MOVED TO JERSEY.

IT WAS ROUGH, MAN.

IT WAS ROUGH AT FIRST, BECAUSE MY GRANDMOTHER WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, 50 AND, YOU KNOW, SHE'S COMING HERE TO THIS COUNTRY NOT HAVING ANYTHING, NOT A DIME, NOTHING TO HER NAME.

AND SHE'S GOT THESE THREE AMERICAN CITIZEN CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE TOO YOUNG TO WORK.

SO, IT WAS PRETTY ROUGH.

SHE WAS A STRONG PERSON.

YEAH, MAN, I, OH, GOD, YEAH, I LOVE MY GRANDMA.

Gates: MICHELLE RELIED UPON HER GRANDMOTHER'S STRENGTH AS SHE STRUGGLED TO ADJUST TO HER NEW LIFE.

IN INTERVIEWS, YOU'VE SAID THAT YOU GOT KICKED OUT OF SEVERAL SCHOOLS IN NEW JERSEY.

IS THAT SO?

YEAH.

HOW COME?

I WAS PRETTY, PRETTY DAMN BAD.

HAD TO HIDE IT FROM GRANDMA BECAUSE I'M TOO CURIOUS.

Gates: WAS YOUR GRANDMOM A BIG INFLUENCE ON YOU?

OH MY GOD, THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE.

HOW SO?

WHEN I DID GO OUT THERE AND I DID EXPOSE MYSELF TO CRIME OR I DID EXPOSE MYSELF TO THE LIFE IN JERSEY CITY, I ALWAYS MAINTAINED A CERTAIN MORAL, ETHICAL STANDARD.

AND IT WAS SO STRONG THAT, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T GET PREGNANT, DIDN'T HAVE ANY ABORTIONS, YOU KNOW.

I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GOING TO JAIL FOR MURDER.

I TURNED OUT TO BE A PRETTY GOOD KID, YOU KNOW.

Gates: LIKE MICHELLE, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR LINDA CHAVEZ IS NO STRANGER TO COMBAT... A MEMBER OF THE REAGAN AND BUSH WHITE HOUSES AND THE FIRST HISPANIC NOMINATED FOR A CABINET POSITION, LINDA IS A REGULAR COMMENTATOR ON FOX NEWS.

Woman: FOR A FAIR AND BALANCED DISCUSSION, WE'RE JOINED BY LINDA CHAVEZ.

Gates: SHE'S KNOWN FOR HER FIERCELY INDEPENDENT SPIRIT.

REPUBLICANS HAVE A GENDER GAP.

THEY'VE HAD A GENDER GAP FOR ALMOST AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER.

Chavez: YOU KNOW, IT'S FUNNY, I LIKE A GOOD FIGHT.

I AM FEISTY.

I WOULD MUCH RATHER TALK BEFORE A HOSTILE OR AT LEAST NEUTRAL AUDIENCE.

I DON'T LIKE TO PREACH TO THE CHOIR.

I LIKE TO GET IN THERE AND MIX IT UP.

THAT'S PROBABLY FROM MY DAD, WHO WAS PUGNACIOUS.

Gates: LINDA WAS BORN IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, IN 1947.

HER MOTHER'S FAMILY IMMIGRATED FROM IRELAND -- WHILE HER FATHER, RUDY CHAVEZ, HAD ROOTS THAT RAN VERY DEEP IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST.

IN THE 19th CENTURY, ONE OF HIS ANCESTORS EVEN SERVED THREE TERMS AS THE GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO -- BACK WHEN IT WAS PART OF MEXICO.

BUT LINDA DIDN'T GROW UP AMIDST THE PROMINENCE THAT HER FAMILY HAD ONCE ENJOYED.

AND THE REASON WASN'T HARD TO FIND... COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE, PLEASE?

HAVE YOU SEEN THAT BEFORE?

I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT PICTURE.

BUT I KNOW WHO IT IS.

AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS?

YES, I DO.

I CAN TELL BY THE NUMBER.

THAT IS YOUR GRANDFATHER'S MUGSHOT.

YES.

Gates: LINDA'S GRANDFATHER, AMBROSIO CHAVEZ, WAS ARRESTED THREE TIMES FOR BOOTLEGGING.

HIS PRISON RECORDS COULD FILL A SMALL BOOK OF THEIR OWN.

ALL TOLD, HE SPENT A TOTAL OF ELEVEN YEARS IN LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PENITENTIARY.

DID YOUR FATHER EVER TALK TO YOU KIDS ABOUT THIS?

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

I KNEW ALL ABOUT THE BOOTLEGGING BECAUSE SOMETIMES I GOT TO SEE IT, EVEN AFTER HE GOT OUT.

HE SOLD WHISKY AND HE SOLD BEER, FROM THE HOUSE WHERE I SOMETIMES LIVED WITH MY GRANDPARENTS.

Gates: THOUGH LINDA REMEMBERS HER GRANDFATHER FONDLY, HIS CRIMES DEVASTATED THE FAMILY'S FORTUNES.

Chavez: WE DID SUFFER ENORMOUSLY.

YOU KNOW, MY GRANDFATHER WENT TO COLLEGE, HIS FATHER WENT TO COLLEGE.

I MEAN THIS WAS NOT A POOR FAMILY.

AND SO, WHEN HE GOT INVOLVED IN SELLING ALCOHOL DURING PROHIBITION, IT PUT THE FAMILY INTO VERY, VERY DIRE STRAITS AND IT CHANGED MY FATHER'S LIFE ENORMOUSLY.

Gates: LINDA'S FATHER NEVER FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.

HE WORKED MUCH OF HIS LIFE AS A HOUSE PAINTER, BARELY EARNING A LIVING AND BATTLING ALCOHOLISM.

HIS STRUGGLES LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON LINDA.

Chavez: I DID NOT GROW UP A NORMAL, MIDDLE CLASS CHILD.

WE MOVED AROUND CONSTANTLY.

THIS WAS NOT "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER."

NO.

IT WAS NOT "LEAVE IT TO BEAVER," AND OFTEN, WE DID NOT LIVE IN, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN APARTMENTS.

BECAUSE I LIVED IN MOTELS GROWING UP AND BOARDINGHOUSES AND ROOMING HOUSES, AND I NEVER UNDERSTOOD, YOU KNOW, WHY WE LIVED IN MOTELS, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR A DEPOSIT.

Gates: BY THE TIME SHE WAS IN 3RD GRADE, LINDA HAD CHANGED SCHOOLS SIX TIMES ACROSS TWO STATES.

HER PARENTS ULTIMATELY SETTLED IN COLORADO, WHERE LINDA HAD HER FIRST REALIZATION THAT HISPANICS WERE NOT ALWAYS WELCOMED.

Chavez: WHAT HAPPENED TO ME IS A LITTLE BOY THAT I PLAYED WITH AFTER SCHOOL ALL THE TIME INVITED ME OVER.

AND HIS MOTHER SAID, "WE DON'T ALLOW MEXICANS."

Gates: BUT THIS EARLY, PAINFUL ENCOUNTER WITH RACISM PARADOXICALLY DREW LINDA CLOSER TO HER ROOTS.

Chavez: WELL, YOU KNOW, IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE ALWAYS ASKING ME, "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

PEOPLE, TO THIS DAY, ASK ME WHERE I'M FROM.

OR, "HOW LONG HAS YOUR FAMILY BEEN HERE?"

WHEN I TELL THEM, "SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS," THAT USUALLY... WHAT BORDER DID YOU SNEAK OVER?

THAT'S RIGHT.

THAT USUALLY STOPS THE CONVERSATION COLD.

BUT I ALSO, YOU KNOW, I DID HAVE A SENSE THAT I CAME FROM A FAMILY THAT HAD DONE IMPORTANT THINGS.

AND MY MOTHER DID SAY, "YOU TELL PEOPLE YOU'RE AMERICAN.

THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE."

SO, THAT WAS HER ANSWER.

I'M AN AMERICAN.

Gates: LIKE LINDA, ACTOR ADRIAN GRENIER'S ROOTS RUN DEEP IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST.

BUT THE STAR OF HBO'S "ENTOURAGE" AND FILMS LIKE "CELEBRITY" AND "THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA" IS SOMETHING OF A CONTRARIAN.

HE SPENDS MORE TIME IN HIS HOME RECORDING STUDIO IN BROOKLYN THAN HE DOES IN HOLLYWOOD.

AND WHEN IT CAME TO THE SUBJECT OF HIS HISPANIC ROOTS, ADRIAN TOLD ME THAT IT'S A SIDE OF HIS ANCESTRY THAT HE'S NEVER REALLY EMBRACED.

Grenier: EVERY TIME THEY MAKE YOU FILL OUT A CENSUS FORM OR WHATEVER, AND IT SAYS, "ARE YOU BLACK, WHITE, HISPANIC, OTHER," I ALWAYS CHECK "OTHER."

OKAY, WHY?

BECAUSE I'M OTHER.

I'M, YOU KNOW, A MIXTURE OF THINGS.

Gates: ADRIAN'S SENSE OF "OTHERNESS" STEMS FROM HIS PARENTS.

HIS FATHER'S ROOTS TRACE BACK TO NORTHERN EUROPE.

AND WHILE HIS MOTHER HAD STRONG TIES TO HER HISPANIC COMMUNITY IN NEW MEXICO, SHE DISTANCED HERSELF FROM THOSE TIES WHEN ADRIAN WAS A SMALL CHILD.

Grenier: WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, MY MOM TOOK ME FROM NEW MEXICO, WHERE THE MAJORITY OF MY FAMILY WAS LIVING AND BROUGHT ME TO NEW YORK.

AND I GUESS SHE, ON SOME LEVEL, WAS ESCAPING SOMETHING.

YOU'VE SAID THAT SHE WAS BOTH MOTHER AND FATHER TO YOU.

HOW DID SHE END UP A SINGLE MOM, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING?

PARTLY BY HER OWN STRONG WILL AND CHOICE.

SHE, UM, SHE SAW HOW SHE WANTED TO RAISE ME AND WHERE AND WITH WHAT VALUES.

AND MY FATHER WASN'T REALLY DOWN WITH THAT PROGRAM.

SO SHE PUSHED HER AGENDA.

UM-HUM.

SHE SAID "SPLIT TIME."

EXACTLY.

THAT HAD TO BE TOUGH, MAN.

Gates: THOUGH THE MOVE WAS JARRING -- AND HE GREW UP WITHOUT A FATHER -- ADRIAN REMEMBERS HIS CHILDHOOD WARMLY, THANKS TO HIS MOTHER'S FIRM BUT LOVING SPIRIT.

Grenier: SHE WAS ALWAYS EXTREMELY LOVING, A DISCIPLINARIAN.

BUT SHE...I THINK SHE REALLY LOVED BEING A MOM.

AND SHE WAS REALLY HAPPY TO HAVE ME.

DO YOU TAKE AFTER HER?

I THINK SO, BUT I'M GETTING ALL TEARY EYED NOW.

THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

I DO WHEN I THINK ABOUT MY MOTHER, TOO.

HOW ARE YOU LIKE HER?

I CRY.

THAT'S HOW I'M LIKE HER.

I WAS ALWAYS VERY SENSITIVE, AND SHE DID, UM, CULTIVATE MY SENSITIVITY, WHICH WAS A GIFT, I THINK.

YEAH, NOT LIKE SOME PARENTS WHO TRY TO BEAT IT OUT OF YOU AND TELL YOU TO GO PLAY FOOTBALL, BE A MAN.

NO FOOTBALL FOR ME.

ME, EITHER.

Gates: ADRIAN'S MOTHER -- KARESSE GRENIER -- NOT ONLY NURTURED HIS CREATIVITY, SHE HELPED HIM DEVELOP A UNIQUE SENSE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE.

DESPITE HER FAMILY'S HISPANIC ROOTS, KARESSE CHOSE NOT TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT PART OF HER ANCESTRY.

INSTEAD, SHE WAS DRAWN TO FAMILY STORIES THAT TIED HER TO THE APACHE INDIANS.

AND ADRIAN GREW UP ABSORBING THOSE STORIES.

HOW DO YOU THINK OF YOURSELF IN TERMS OF YOUR ETHNICITY?

WELL, FOR A LONG TIME I ALWAYS REFERRED TO MYSELF AS A "NATIVE AMERICAN WHITE BOY."

AND IN FACT, YOU KNOW, COME TO THINK OF IT, GROWING UP, I DID IDENTIFY WITH THAT NATIVE AMERICAN OR AT LEAST, UM, I LIKED THE IDEA OF BEING CONNECTED TO THAT NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE.

YOU KNOW, I WAS AUTHENTICALLY AN AMERICAN.

MY LINEAGE CAME FROM THIS SOIL.

Gates: AFTER MEETING ADRIAN, LINDA, AND MICHELLE, I WONDERED WHAT WE COULD LEARN ABOUT THEM FROM THEIR ANCESTORS.

THOUGH THEY ALL SHARE COMMON ROOTS, EACH HAS A VERY DIFFERENT SENSE OF WHAT THOSE ROOTS MEAN.

LINDA SEES HERSELF AS A MIX OF EUROPEAN CULTURES, MICHELLE FEELS HISPANIC, AND ADRIAN IS MOST COMFORTABLE WITH "OTHER."

I WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW SUCH SIMILAR FAMILY TREES COULD LEAD TO SUCH DIFFERENT IDENTITIES.

I STARTED WITH ADRIAN.

ADRIAN'S MOTHER IS FROM A VERY OLD HISPANIC FAMILY.

SO WHY WASN'T SHE DRAWN TO THOSE ANCESTORS?

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN, BUT ONE CLUE MAY LIE IN THE ESTRANGED RELATIONSHIP THAT SHE HAD WITH HER BIOLOGICAL FATHER, ADRIAN'S MATERNAL GRANDFATHER.

I DIDN'T KNOW MY REAL GRANDFATHER, MY BIOLOGICAL GRANDFATHER AND MY MOTHER DIDN'T EITHER.

Gates: ADRIAN'S MOTHER, KARESSE, IS THE CHILD OF PRISCILLA GRENIER AND A MAN NAMED JUNIO LOPEZ, A POLITICIAN IN NEW MEXICO.

JUNIO NEVER PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED KARESSE AS HIS DAUGHTER AND INDEED HE RARELY SAW HER, EVEN THOUGH THEY LIVED IN THE SAME TOWN.

YOUR MOTHER TOLD US THAT SHE ONLY REMEMBERS MEETING HER FATHER ON TWO OCCASIONS.

ONCE WHEN SHE WAS SIXTEEN.

Grenier: OH, YEAH.

I REMEMBER SHE TOLD ME THE STORY.

THEN AGAIN WHEN SHE WAS TWENTY-EIGHT.

AND YOU WERE THERE THE SECOND TIME.

YOU WERE TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS OLD.

WHAT DID YOUR MOM TELL YOU ABOUT THAT MEETING?

ANYTHING?

I KNOW WHEN SHE...SHE TOLD ME WHEN SHE WAS SIXTEEN, SHE DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HE WAS HER FATHER.

HE WAS JUST A NICE GUY THAT TOOK HER TO HAVE ICE CREAM OR SOMETHING.

THAT'S HEAVY.

AND SHE WAS LIKE, OH.

OKAY, THANKS.

YOU KNOW.

HOW WAS SHE TOLD THAT THAT WAS HER FATHER?

I DON'T KNOW, I THINK IT WAS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, HUSH-HUSH.

Gates: JUNIO LOPEZ DIED IN 1987, TAKING WITH HIM A HOST OF SECRETS.

HE EXISTS ONLY AS A SET OF TANTALIZING QUESTIONS.

BECAUSE THEY NEVER MARRIED, ADRIAN'S GRANDMOTHER DIDN'T TAKE JUNIO'S LAST NAME.

IF SHE HAD, "ADRIAN GRENIER" WOULD BE "ADRIAN LOPEZ."

IF YOU AND YOUR MOTHER HAD ENDED UP WITH THE SURNAME LOPEZ PEOPLE MIGHT THINK THAT YOU WERE LATINO.

YEAH.

I GUESS ON SOME LEVEL.

IF YOUR NAME HAD BEEN LOPEZ, DO YOU THINK WE'D BE SITTING HERE?

IT'S PRETTY INTERESTING.

I HAVE TO PROCESS IT, I DON'T KNOW.

Gates: MOVING FROM THE SIDE OF ADRIAN'S FAMILY THAT IS CLOUDED IN MYSTERY TO THE SIDE THAT ADRIAN THOUGHT HE KNEW, WE ENCOUNTERED ANOTHER CONUNDRUM.

ADRIAN'S MOTHER RAISED HIM TO BELIEVE THAT SHE HAD NATIVE AMERICAN ROOTS.

BUT DID SHE REALLY?

KARESSE TOLD US THAT HER NATIVE-AMERICAN ANCESTRY BEGAN FOUR GENERATIONS BACK ON HER FAMILY TREE -- WITH ADRIAN'S GREAT-GREAT- GRANDMOTHER, SARITA GONZALES.

ACCORDING TO FAMILY STORIES, SARITA WAS THE DAUGHTER OF AN APACHE WOMAN WHO WAS SEPARATED FROM HER TRIBE BY WHITE MARAUDERS.

AND SARITA'S FATHER?

STORIES SAY THAT HE WAS A SETTLER WHO FOUND SARITA'S MOTHER HIDING IN THE WOODS.

THEY FELL IN LOVE AND GOT MARRIED.

THIS SOUNDED TO ME A LOT LIKE A MOVIE.

Grenier: TO BE HONEST, I'VE NEVER EVEN QUESTIONED THAT REALITY.

EVER.

I'VE ALWAYS JUST, OH YEAH.

APACHE.

SO...[Chuckles] UM, WE'LL SEE.

LET'S SEE IF IT'S TRUE.

OKAY.

NOW, COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

NOW, THERE'S YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SARITA GONZALES, WITH HER HUSBAND, RUFINO ORTIZ.

AND THIS, MY FRIEND, IS SARITA'S DEATH CERTIFICATE.

NOW, IT'S INTERESTING.

LOOK WHAT IT SAYS THERE IN THE BOX MARKED "WHITE, BLACK, YELLOW, AND RED."

WHITE.

[ LAUGHTER ] OF COURSE, ORAL HISTORY SAID THAT SHE WAS HALF APACHE BUT SHE CERTAINLY...DOES SHE LOOK APACHE TO YOU IN THE PORTRAIT?

NO.

Gates: FACIAL FEATURES AND SKIN COLOR, OF COURSE, ARE NOT DEFINITE EVIDENCE OF ONE'S ETHNIC ANCESTRY.

BUT THE MORE WE LOOKED, THE LESS LIKELY IT SEEMED THAT SARITA COULD'VE BEEN PART APACHE.

CENSUS RECORDS INDICATED THAT BOTH OF HER PARENTS WERE WHITE.

SO WAS THIS FAMILY STORY PURE INVENTION?

ADRIAN'S MOTHER SWORE THAT IT HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN FOR GENERATIONS.

PERHAPS IT CONTAINED AN ELEMENT OF TRUTH.

THERE WERE LOTS OF OTHER LINES ON ADRIAN'S FAMILY TREE THAT COULD HAVE NATIVE AMERICAN ROOTS.

SO WE TURNED TO NEW MEXICO STATE HISTORIAN RICK HENDRICKS.

RICK SUGGESTED THAT WE START OUR SEARCH IN THE 16th CENTURY, WHEN NEW MEXICO WAS FIRST BEING SETTLED BY THE SPANISH -- A TIME WHEN MIXING BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANS AND EUROPEANS WAS VERY COMMON.

Hendricks: THERE WEREN'T VERY MANY MARRIAGE PARTNERS TO CHOOSE FROM, SO FROM THE BEGINNING, THE MEN MADE UNIONS.

NOW, NOT ALWAYS MARRIAGE, BUT THEY FORMED UNIONS WITH NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN.

AND FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE TO CHOOSE FROM.

Gates: WITH RICK'S HELP, WE WERE ABLE TO SIFT THROUGH THE TANGLED FAMILY RECORDS OF THIS PERIOD.

TRAVELING BACK OVER FOUR HUNDRED YEARS, WE FOUND ADRIAN'S MATERNAL 11th GREAT-GRANDFATHER -- HERNAN MARTIN SERRANO, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL SPANISH SETTLERS IN NEW MEXICO.

ADRIAN WAS ASTONISHED.

REALLY?

WOW.

THAT'S PRETTY EPIC!

[ LAUGHTER ] Gates: WE THOUGHT THAT HERNAN MIGHT LEAD US TO A NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTOR ON ADRIAN'S FAMILY TREE.

BUT OUR INITIAL RESEARCH TURNED UP A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF STORY.

HERNAN WAS A SERGEANT IN THE ARMY OF DON JUAN DE ONATE, A MAN KNOWN TODAY AS "THE LAST CONQUISTADOR," NOTORIOUS FOR BRUTALLY SUBDUING THE PUEBLO INDIANS.

Gates: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HAVING A CONQUISTADOR ANCESTOR?

YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN SORT OF TOUTING THE WHOLE NATIVE AMERICAN THING FOR, FOR MY WHOLE LIFE.

THESE ARE THE CONQUISTADORS, WHO WERE NOT EXACTLY SMOKING THE PEACE PIPE WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS.

I DON'T IDENTIFY WITH THAT SPIRIT.

Gates: ADRIAN SEEMED PAINED TO LEARN ABOUT THIS ANCESTOR.

AND IT TURNED OUT THAT HIS ANXIETY WAS WELL-FOUNDED.

IN 1598, ONATE'S MEN GOT INTO A DISPUTE WITH ONE OF THE PUEBLO TRIBES, THE ACOMA INDIANS.

12 SPANIARDS WERE KILLED.

IN RESPONSE, ONATE AND HIS SOLDIERS STRUCK BACK, KILLING HUNDREDS OF ACOMA MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN.

THEN THEY TURNED ON THE SURVIVORS IN AN ALMOST UNIMAGINABLE WAY.

ONATE ORDERED HIS MEN TO AMPUTATE THE FOOT OF EVERY MAN OVER THE AGE OF TWENTY-FIVE.

WHOA.

THAT'S, THAT'S BRUTAL.

YOU KNOW?

I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT I WAS PART OF A MORE PEACEFUL ANCESTRY.

IT WAS A WAR FOR SURVIVAL, AND IT WAS A WAR FOR SURVIVAL.

AND THEY HAD DIFFERENT VALUES, ABSOLUTELY.

COMPLETELY.

A TOTAL CLASH OF CULTURES.

YEAH.

Gates: BUT THIS HORRIBLE STORY LED TO A SURPRISING REVELATION.

HERNAN SERRANO LIVED OUT HIS LIFE IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, DYING SOMETIME IN THE EARLY 17th CENTURY, LEAVING BEHIND A WIFE AND SEVERAL CHILDREN.

AND WHILE SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE CHILDREN, WE DISCOVERED SOMETHING QUITE UNUSUAL ABOUT HIS SON, LUIS.

COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

I'M AFRAID TO FIND OUT.

CAN YOU READ WHAT THAT SAYS?

"INQUISITION RECORD NAMING LUIS MARTIN SERRANO."

CAN YOU FIND THE NAME OF YOUR 10th GREAT-GRANDFATHER THERE?

YEP.

"THE MESTIZO OR INDIO LUIS MARTIN SERRANO."

Gates: ADRIAN, THIS DOCUMENT SHOWS THAT PEOPLE IDENTIFIED YOUR ANCESTOR AS MESTIZO OR INDIO MEANING INDIAN.

[ LAUGHTER ] Gates: THIS RECORD, FROM 1663, SHOWS THAT EVEN THOUGH ADRIAN'S ANCESTOR ENTERED NEW MEXICO AS A CONQUISTADOR, HE RAISED A FAMILY WITH A NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN.

MEANING THAT ADRIAN AND HIS MOTHER DO INDEED HAVE NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY AFTER ALL!

I'M VINDICATED.

MANY OF MY GUESTS PRAY THAT THEY'RE NATIVE AMERICAN, CLAIM THAT THEY'RE NATIVE AMERICAN, BUT THEY AIN'T NATIVE AMERICAN, BUT, ADRIAN, YOU REALLY ARE OF NATIVE AMERICAN DESCENT.

IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT I WAS, IN FACT, CONNECTED TO THAT LINEAGE.

BUT IT WAS MUCH MORE COMPLEX THAN I EVER IMAGINED.

Gates: WE COULDN'T TRACK LUIS' STORY ANY FURTHER.

BUT IT ILLUSTRATES A BASIC FACT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SPANISH SETTLERS AND NATIVE AMERICANS: THEY OFTEN HAD CHILDREN WITH EACH OTHER.

THE SPANIARDS WHO BEGAN POURING INTO THE NEW WORLD OVER 500 YEARS AGO DIDN'T ARRIVE ON AN EMPTY CONTINENT.

AND THEY DIDN'T BRING MANY FEMALES WITH THEM.

SO THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS, MANY SPANISH SETTLERS, EITHER THROUGH RAPE OR WILLING RELATIONSHIPS, HAD CHILDREN BOTH WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS AND THEIR AFRICAN SLAVES, FILLING THEIR COLONIES WITH PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LOOK PARTICULARLY "SPANISH."

THEN, TO POLICE GENETIC BOUNDARIES, THE SPANIARDS CONSTRUCTED CLASS SYSTEMS BASED ON COLOR.

THEY INVENTED TERMS LIKE "MULATTO" AND "MESTIZO" AND CREATED ELABORATE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAINTINGS TO DESCRIBE THESE NEW RACIAL MIXTURES.

AND THEY ORGANIZED THEIR SOCIETIES TO KEEP THE WHITEST PEOPLE IN CHARGE.

WHITENESS WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE WITH LIMITED MATING CHOICES SOMETIMES MARRIED THEIR OWN RELATIVES RATHER THAN RISK DILUTING THE "PURITY" OF THEIR BLOODLINE.

YOU CAN SEE THIS VERY CLEARLY IN LINDA CHAVEZ'S FAMILY TREE.

YOUR GRANDFATHER, AMBROSE, MARRIED AN ARMIJO AND HIS FATHER, EDWARDO, MARRIED AN ARMIJO TOO.

AND IF YOU LOOK DOWN YOUR FATHER'S FAMILY TREE, YOU'LL SEE ARMIJOS MARRYING CHAVEZES AND OTHER ARMIJOS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

THAT COULD EXPLAIN A LOT BECAUSE THEY WERE SPANISH FAMILIES AND THEY WERE A MINORITY, VERY TINY MINORITY, AND THEY DID NOT WANT TO MARRY NATIVE AMERICANS, AMERICAN INDIANS.

IT'S A CASE OF COUSINS MARRYING COUSINS.

ABSOLUTELY.

FOR OVER 200 YEARS.

Gates: WE'VE ALL HEARD JOKES ABOUT "KISSING COUSINS," BUT THE EARLY SPANISH SETTLERS SEEMED TO TAKE THIS TO EXTREMES.

STILL, THERE WERE ONLY SO MANY COUSINS TO GO AROUND AND THE IDEA OF SUPPOSED RACIAL OR ETHNIC PURITY WAS QUITE DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN IN THE NEW WORLD.

WE SAW THIS ON THE BRANCHES OF ADRIAN'S FAMILY TREE.

I WONDERED IF WE WOULD FIND THE SAME THING ON LINDA'S.

SEARCHING THE ARCHIVES OF NEW MEXICO, WE CAME UPON MARRIAGE DOCUMENTS FOR LINDA'S SIXTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER -- A WOMAN NAMED MARIA DE APODACA.

MARIA MARRIED A SPANISH SETTLER IN 1703.

WE ASSUMED THAT SHE WAS OF SPANISH DESCENT AS WELL, BUT WHEN WE TRIED TO FIND THE NAMES OF HER PARENTS, WE HIT A WALL.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE MARRIAGE DOCUMENT, YOU'LL SEE SOMETHING QUITE INTERESTING.

MARIA'S MOTHER IS LISTED AS JUANA DE APODACA.

HER NAME IS HIGHLIGHTED RIGHT THERE.

BUT THERE'S NO FATHER.

AH.

AND WE COULDN'T FIND ANY REFERENCE TO HIM ANYWHERE.

MARIA'S BACKGROUND WAS A TOTAL MYSTERY.

HUH.

ISN'T THAT INTERESTING?

Gates: COULD MARIA'S FATHER HAVE BEEN NATIVE AMERICAN?

WAS THAT WHY WE COULDN'T FIND HIS NAME ON HER MARRIAGE RECORDS?

WE FOUND A CLUE IN THE 300-YEAR-OLD JOURNAL OF A SPANIARD NAMED DIEGO DE VARGAS.

VARGAS WAS A KEY FIGURE IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE "PUEBLO REVOLT" -- A BLOODY UPRISING IN 1680 BY NATIVE AMERICANS WHO WERE ANGERED OVER SPANISH EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS THEIR RELIGION.

Hendricks: BASICALLY, ALL OVER THE NORTH THEY ROSE UP.

THEY REALLY WERE FOCUSING ON KILLING THE PRIEST, DESECRATING THE CHURCHES.

THEY WERE TRYING TO GET RID OF MOST OF THE TRAPPINGS OF SPANISH CULTURE.

Gates: THE REVOLT COST THOUSANDS OF LIVES AND LEFT RUINS LIKE THIS ALL OVER THE TERRITORY.

TO THE PUEBLOS, IT WAS A TREMENDOUS VICTORY.

FOR 12 YEARS, THE SPANISH WERE BANISHED FROM NEW MEXICO.

THEN DIEGO DE VARGAS RETURNED.

Hendricks: WHEN VARGAS CAME IN 1692, HE AND A GROUP OF SOLDIERS BASICALLY WENT AROUND TO ALL THE PUEBLOS AND THEY SAID, "GUESS WHAT, WE'RE BACK.

WE NEED YOU TO SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO THE KING."

Gates: VARGAS AND HIS SOLDIERS WERE FOLLOWED BY A WAVE OF COLONISTS.

SOON, THE TERRITORY WAS COMPLETELY UNDER SPANISH CONTROL ONCE AGAIN.

BUT TO OUR SURPRISE, VARGAS' JOURNALS CONTAINED QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF LINDA'S ANCESTORS WHO WERE LIVING IN NEW MEXICO BEFORE THE SPANISH RETURNED.

THERE WERE SPANIARDS WHO HAD STAYED BEHIND DURING THE PUEBLO REVOLT EITHER BY CHOICE OR BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN TAKEN PRISONER.

AND VARGAS FREED THEM.

AND IF THEY HAD HAD CHILDREN WITH THE INDIANS, HE BAPTIZED THEM TO "PURIFY" THEM.

AND HE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.

HE HIMSELF SERVED AS GODFATHER FOR MANY OF THESE "SAVED," AS IT WERE, CHILDREN.

AND HE KEPT METICULOUS RECORDS ABOUT THE CHILDREN HE FOUND.

AMONG THE MANY NAMES IN VARGAS' JOURNALS, ONE ESPECIALLY CAUGHT OUR EYES: "JUANA DE APODACA."

SHE IS LINDA CHAVEZ'S SEVENTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER!

VARGAS LISTED JUANA AS A CAPTIVE, MEANING THAT SHE LIVED AMONG THE PUEBLO PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR REVOLT AND DURING THIS TIME, GAVE BIRTH TO A DAUGHTER NAMED MARIA.

WHICH LED TO AN INESCAPABLE CONCLUSION.

LINDA, THIS IS A LIST OF THE CAPTIVES THAT VARGAS FREED -- CAN YOU READ THE NAME THERE?

JUANA.

OKAY.

SO IT'S JUANA.

THAT'S JUANA.

SHE'S... OH.

SO THE FATHER WAS AN INDIAN.

THAT IS YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

WOW.

THAT IS REALLY COOL.

SO ALL THOSE CHAVEZES AND ARMIJOS TRYING TO MARRY EACH OTHER TO KEEP OUT THE INDIAN BLOOD, THEY...

THE TRAIN HAD ALREADY LEFT THE STATION.

THAT SHIP HAD SAILED, BABY.

THAT IS REALLY FUNNY.

Gates: LOOKING OVER VARGAS' JOURNALS, I WAS REMINDED AGAIN OF HOW MUCH THESE COLONIAL SOCIETIES -- EVEN FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES -- WERE DETERMINED TO POLICE THE BOUNDARIES OF RACE.

AND THIS PHENOMENON WAS BY NO MEANS CONFINED TO ONE REGION OR TO ONE TIME PERIOD.

THE SAME ATTITUDES THAT SHAPED LINDA AND ADRIAN'S ANCESTRY IN NEW MEXICO WERE ALSO PRESENT IN THE CARIBBEAN -- WHERE MICHELLE WITNESSED TREMENDOUS TENSION BETWEEN THE FAMILIES OF HER DARK-SKINNED DOMINICAN MOTHER AND HER LIGHTER-SKINNED PUERTO RICAN FATHER.

Rodriguez: LOTS OF ANIMOSITY.

LOTS OF ANIMOSITY BETWEEN MY DAD'S FAMILY NOT BEING ACCEPTING OF MY MOM.

OH, YEAH?

YEAH.

FOR BEING, YOU KNOW, THE DARKER SKINNED DOMINICAN.

AND THERE WAS A LOT OF THAT.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE GRANDMA WAS LIKE THAT ON THE DAD'S SIDE, AND YOU KNOW, IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO ACTUALLY SPEAK TO HER BECAUSE OF HOW SHE TREATED MY MOM WHEN I WAS YOUNGER.

YOU KNOW, JUST THIS KIND OF LIKE SLIGHT RACISM.

Gates: THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE HISTORIC CONFLICT BETWEEN PUERTO RICO AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

THE TWO NATIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN AT WAR.

THEY DON'T EVEN SHARE A BORDER.

THE TENSION IN MICHELLE'S FAMILY WAS ALL ABOUT COLOR -- ABOUT LIGHTER-SKIN PEOPLE LOOKING DOWN ON DARKER-SKIN PEOPLE.

AND HER FAMILY TREE HINTED AT THIS JUST AS CLEARLY AS LINDA'S DID.

MICHELLE'S LIGHT-SKINNED PUERTO RICAN ANCESTORS MARRIED THEIR OWN RELATIVES AT A TRULY ASTONISHING RATE.

MICHELLE, WE'VE TRACED YOUR FATHER'S FAMILY BACK IN PUERTO RICO, AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND WITH A VISUAL AID.

THIS IS YOUR PUERTO RICAN FAMILY TREE.

[Laughing] OH, MY GOD!

AND WE'VE NEVER QUITE SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

WHAT?

WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, MAN?

IT IS A TANGLED WEB.

THREE OF YOUR THIRD GREAT- GRANDFATHERS WERE BROTHERS.

SHUT UP!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

OH, MAN.

Gates: SO YOUR GREAT-GREAT- GRANDPARENTS WERE FIRST COUSINS.

STOP IT!

OUR GENEALOGIST WHO TRACED YOUR FAMILY TREE IN PUERTO RICO CALLED YOUR FAMILY TREE, "A BEAUTIFUL DEPICTION OF THE CONSANGUINITY AND THE ENDOGAMY OF 19th CENTURY PUERTO RICAN FAMILIES."

THAT'S AN ELEGANT WAY OF SAYING, "YOU GUYS LOVE TO DO IT IN THE FAMILY."

Gates: MICHELLE TOOK THE NEWS OF HER ANCESTORS' MATING PREFERENCES WITH GOOD HUMOR.

BUT RATHER THAN DWELL ON HER FATHER'S FAMILY'S ATTITUDES ABOUT COLOR, SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE OF HER FAMILY TREE -- THE DOMINICAN SIDE.

SO WE JOINED HER AS SHE TRAVELED BACK TO SANTO DOMINGO, ACCOMPANIED BY OUR RESEARCHER, JAIME READ, AND BEGAN A SEARCH FOR STORIES ABOUT HER BELOVED GRANDMOTHER SARAH.

SARAH PASSED AWAY IN 1999.

AND MICHELLE KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HER ROOTS.

TO LEARN MORE, JAIME LED MICHELLE TO A GRAVEYARD WHERE SOME OF HER RELATIVES ARE BURIED.

Man: THIS IS YOUR FAMILY TOMB.

Rodriguez: WOW.

THAT RIGHT THERE IS YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S BROTHER, CONCITO.

Rodriguez: ESPINAD, CONCITO.

WOW.

IT'S KIND OF COOL TO LOOK WHERE MY GRANDMOTHER CAME FROM BECAUSE SHE WAS JUST VERY STRONG AND DETERMINED AND I ALWAYS WONDERED WHERE SHE GOT THAT STRENGTH, YOU KNOW?

Gates: BUT MICHELLE STRUGGLED TO FIND SOMETHING NEW -- SOMETHING SHE DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW.

AY, DIOS MIO, MUCHO GUSTO.

Gates: UNTIL SHE VISITED HER GREAT AUNT ZIOLA, WHOM SHE HADN'T SEEN SINCE SHE WAS A CHILD.

Ziola: GRACIAS.

Gates: AS IT TURNED OUT, ZIOLA HAD A RICH COLLECTION OF OLD FAMILY PHOTOS AND SCRAPBOOKS.

MICHELLE SAW PICTURES OF SARAH'S PARENTS -- RAYMUNDA AND HILARIO -- AND NOTICED AN ODD DISCREPANCY IN THEIR NAMES.

RAYMUNDA'S LAST NAME WAS "ESPINAL."

BUT HILARIO'S WAS "PIÑA."

Gates: THIS DISCREPANCY SENT OUR RESEARCHER JAIME ON A QUEST.

IN SANTO DOMINGO'S CENTRAL ARCHIVES, HE FOUND SARAH'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE -- AND UNCOVERED A DEEP FAMILY SECRET.

ACCORDING TO THE CERTIFICATE, SARAH WAS BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.

AND AS JAIME RESEARCHED FURTHER, HE DISCOVERED THAT THOUGH SARAH'S PARENTS, HILARIO AND RAYMUNDA, NEVER MARRIED, THEY HAD TWO CHILDREN TOGETHER.

AND THEIR STORY WAS EVEN MORE COMPLICATED THAN WE COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED.

WE WONDERED WHY YOUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WEREN'T MARRIED SINCE THEIR RELATIONSHIP CLEARLY LASTED FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?

I HAVEN'T THE SLIGHTEST CLUE.

OKAY.

COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS OLIMPIA MATOS DE PIÑA, HILARIO'S LEGAL WIFE.

SHUT UP!

HOW ABOUT THAT?

WOW, OKAY.

DID SARAH EVER TALK ABOUT OLIMPIA, HER STEPMOTHER?

HELL NO!

I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THAT.

JEEZ!

Gates: THOUGH SARAH MAY NEVER HAVE DISCUSSED IT, THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT SHE KNEW HER STEPMOTHER VERY WELL AND WAS A FREQUENT VISITOR IN HER HOME.

THERE'S EVEN EVIDENCE THAT SARAH'S STEPMOTHER COULDN'T HAVE CHILDREN AND THAT SHE RAISED SARAH'S BROTHER AS IF HE WERE HER OWN SON!

THIS MADE US WONDER ABOUT SARAH'S MOTHER, RAYMUNDA.

WHAT WAS HER LIFE LIKE?

SHARING HER LOVER AND CHILD WITH ANOTHER WOMAN?

I DON'T KNOW.

THAT HAD BE HARD TO LIVE WITH.

COULD YOU HAVE LIVED WITH THAT?

I PERSONALLY AM VERY OPEN MINDED.

I JUST KNOW THAT IF I'M SHARING, THEN YOU'VE GOT TO SHARE TOO.

[ LAUGHTER ] I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT WAS HAPPENING BACK IN THE DAY.

OH.

SO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE THEN?

WELL, LET'S TURN THE PAGE AND SEE.

ARE THESE THE PLOTS WHERE THEY'RE -- OKAY.

ARE THESE THE PLOTS WHERE THEY WERE, UM, BURIED?

YES.

THAT IS YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER RAYMUNDA'S GRAVESTONE IN THE PIÑA FAMILY TOMB.

OH, WOW.

THAT IS A CLEAR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT SHE WAS PART OF THE FAMILY, EVEN IF HER RELATIONSHIP WASN'T FORMALIZED THROUGH MARRIAGE.

THAT'S CRAZY.

THAT'S JUST INSANE, ISN'T IT?

Gates: MY GUESTS AND I HAD NOW TRAVELED BACK HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS, UNCOVERING SOME VERY SURPRISING STORIES.

BUT THE BIGGEST SURPRISE WAS YET TO COME.

SOME FAMILY SECRETS ARE BURIED SO DEEP, THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY FORGOTTEN.

MOST OF US DON'T EVEN KNOW THE MOST BASIC FACTS ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS BEYOND A VERY FEW GENERATIONS.

BUT IN LINDA'S CASE, WE WERE ABLE TO UNCOVER SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

OUR DISCOVERY BEGAN WITH A 400-YEAR-OLD SHIPPING RECORD FOUND IN SEVILLE, SPAIN.

THIS DOCUMENT SAYS THAT LINDA'S 9th GREAT-GRANDFATHER -- FRANCISCO DE ARMIJO -- SAILED FROM SEVILLE TO MEXICO IN 1590 -- EXACTLY THIRTY YEARS BEFORE THE MAYFLOWER.

COULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

NOW LOOK AT THIS.

LOOK AT THAT!

1590.

UNBELIEVABLE.

THIS IS YOUR LINK BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE NEW WORLD.

AH, THAT IS JUST INCREDIBLE.

THAT IS JUST SO, SO AMAZING!

Gates: THIS DOCUMENT ALSO HINTED AT A MYSTERY.

SEARCHING FOR MORE ABOUT FRANCISCO, WE LEARNED THAT HE JOURNEYED TO THE NEW WORLD NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE, RETURNING AGAIN IN 1597, THIS TIME, WITH HIS WIFE, GUIOMAR OROZCO.

THIS WAS UNUSUAL, AS HISTORIAN RICK HENDRICKS WAS QUICK TO POINT OUT.

Hendricks: THAT'S A RARE STORY.

MUCH MORE TYPICAL WOULD HAVE BEEN STARTING A NEW FAMILY.

I CAN ACTUALLY ONLY THINK OF VERY FEW PEOPLE, CERTAINLY OF THAT SOCIAL RANK, THAT WOULD EVER DO THAT.

THAT'S A VERY SPECIAL STORY, THAT HE WOULD HAVE DONE THAT.

I THINK THAT'S, IT'S QUITE INTERESTING.

Gates: WHY DID LINDA'S ANCESTORS CHOOSE TO UPROOT THEMSELVES AND MAKE THE DANGEROUS VOYAGE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AS A FAMILY?

THE ANSWER, WE THOUGHT, MIGHT LIE IN WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN SPAIN AT THAT TIME.

FRANCISCO AND GUIOMAR LIVED THROUGH SOME OF THE DARKEST DAYS OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION, A TIME WHEN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS RUTHLESSLY CONSOLIDATING ITS POWER.

RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION WAS RAMPANT.

OVER THE PREVIOUS CENTURY, MUSLIMS AND JEWS HAD BEEN ORDERED TO CONVERT TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM OR FACE EXPULSION.

MANY HAD CONVERTED.

BUT AS THE CHURCH GREW STRONGER, IT TURNED ON ANYONE SUSPECTED OF SECRETLY HOLDING ONTO THEIR OLD FAITH, SUBJECTING THEM TO TORTURE AND IMPRISONMENT, EVEN BURNING THOUSANDS AT THE STAKE.

BY THE TIME LINDA'S ANCESTORS, FRANCISCO AND GUIOMAR, HAD MARRIED, IF YOU WEREN'T FROM AN OLD CATHOLIC FAMILY, SPAIN WASN'T SAFE.

COULD THIS BE WHY THEY CAME TO THE NEW WORLD?

WERE THEY FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION?

TO FIND OUT, WE SENT A RESEARCHER TO COMB THROUGH THE SPANISH ARCHIVES.

HE FOUND LITTLE REGARDING THE FAMILY OF FRANCISCO.

BUT THE FAMILY OF GUIOMAR OROZCO WAS ANOTHER STORY.

THESE ARE THE ESTATE PAPERS OF BENITA DE OROZCO.

AND SHE WAS GUIOMAR OROZCO'S MOTHER.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR 10th GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

WOW.

Gates: WE FOUND RECORDS SHOWING THAT THE OROZCO FAMILY WAS WELL-ESTABLISHED IN SEVILLE.

AND WE FOUND SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL -- A BOOK WRITTEN IN 2001 BY DR. JUAN GIL, A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE.

IT DOCUMENTS THE JEWISH FAMILIES THAT CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM TO AVOID EXPULSION.

AND IT REVEALED THE SECRET THAT LINDA'S ANCESTORS HAD BURIED ALL THESE CENTURIES.

SO WOULD YOU LOOK THERE AT THE ARROWS?

YOU SEE THOSE NAMES?

YES, UH, WOW.

OROZCO.

CAPALAN DE LA CATEDRA, FUEDO PARADA IN 1516.

I CAN'T SAY THAT IN SPANISH.

[Laughter] AND LOOK AT THAT NAME.

BENITA DE OROZCO.

WOW!

Gates: THE RECORDS LEFT NO ROOM FOR DOUBT: LINDA'S ANCESTORS WERE ONCE SPANISH JEWS.

THIS IS JUST SO COOL.

THIS IS JUST AMAZING.

Gates: IT WAS A STRIKING DISCOVERY.

AND IT'S PART OF A MUCH LARGER STORY.

THE OROZCOS WERE NOT ALONE.

THOUSANDS OF CONVERTED JEWS FLED SPAIN FOR THE NEW WORLD.

THEY FORMED THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.

AND THERE ARE MANY INDICATIONS THAT SOME OF THEM CONTINUED TO PRACTICE THEIR JUDAIC FAITH IN SECRET.

IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, WE VISITED HISTORIAN STANLEY HORDES, AN EXPERT ON THESE SO-CALLED "CRYPTO-JEWS."

Hordes: THERE IS TODAY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD SOME KIND OF SEPHARDIC JEWISH LEGACY, RANGING ALL THE WAY FROM FOLKS WHO DO THINGS AND DON'T KNOW WHY THEY DO THEM.

WHO LIGHT CANDLES ON FRIDAY NIGHT, WHO OBSERVE THE SABBATH ON SATURDAY RATHER THAN SUNDAY AND HAVE NO IDEA OSTENSIBLY ABOUT ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT THEY DO AND HOW JEWS WELCOME AND OBSERVE THE SABBATH.

RANGING FROM THEM TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE, WHOSE GRANDFATHER MIGHT HAVE TAKEN THEM INTO THE FIELD WHEN THEY WERE 14 AND 15 YEARS OLD, SAYING TO THEM... [ SPEAKING SPANISH ] "YOU MUST UNDERSTAND, MY SON, WE'RE REALLY NOT CHRISTIANS.

WE'RE REALLY JEWS."

Gates: THERE ARE HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS OF THESE CRYPTO-JEWS ALL OVER NEW MEXICO EVEN TODAY, IN CHURCHES WHERE ALTARS BEAR STARS OF DAVID, IN GRAVEYARDS DOTTED WITH OLD TESTAMENT NAMES.

THOUGH LINDA WAS RAISED A DEVOUT ROMAN CATHOLIC, SHE REMEMBERS SEEING EVIDENCE OF THIS IN HER OWN FAMILY WHEN SHE WAS GROWING UP.

Chavez: I STILL HAVE THE STATUE THAT MY GRANDMOTHER, PETRA, USED TO TURN TO THE WALL.

AMAZING.

AND THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY A SIGN OF HAVING, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY JEWISH ROOTS, THAT YOU KEPT THE STATUES BUT YOU TURNED THEM TO THE WALL.

SO THEY KEPT THE FAITH.

RIGHT.

Gates: WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY ONE JEWISH ANCESTOR BY NAME ON LINDA'S FAMILY TREE.

COULD THERE BE MORE?

DID THE OROZCOS INTERMARRY WITH OTHER CRYPTO-JEWISH FAMILIES?

WERE THEY PART OF A LARGER COMMUNITY?

THERE WERE NO RECORDS TO GUIDE US.

AND JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN UNSOLVABLE MYSTERY.

BUT TODAY SCIENCE OFFERS US A POSSIBLE SOLUTION.

THERE IS EVIDENCE OF LINDA'S LONG LOST ANCESTRY IN HER DNA.

TO FIND IT, WE TURNED TO TWO OF AMERICA'S TOP GENETIC RESEARCH FIRMS: FAMILY TREE DNA AND 23&ME.

DNA ANALYSIS CAN TELL US MANY THINGS ABOUT OUR FAMILIES: FROM WHERE OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS ORIGINATED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO TO THEIR ETHNIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS OVER THE PAST 500 YEARS.

FOR LINDA, THERE WAS CRUCIAL INFORMATION BURIED IN THESE DISTRIBUTIONS.

YOU ARE 73.31% EUROPEAN.

5.82% NATIVE AMERICAN, AND 20.87% MIDDLE EASTERN.

WOW!

BUT ACCORDING TO OUR RESEARCHERS, THE GENETICISTS, YOUR MIDDLE EASTERN RESULT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTIVE OF SEMITIC OR JEWISH ANCESTRY.

Chavez: WOW.

ALMOST 21%.

THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.

Gates: LINDA'S DNA INDICATES THAT THE OROZCOS WERE NOT HER ONLY JEWISH ANCESTORS.

HER RESULTS SUGGEST THAT SEVERAL OF HER LINES HAD JEWISH ROOTS, POSSIBLY LINKING HER EVEN MORE STRONGLY TO THE CRYPTO-JEWISH COMMUNITY IN NEW MEXICO.

Chavez: I WOULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED IT AT THIS HIGH A PERCENTAGE.

I WOULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED THAT.

Gates: ADRIAN AND MICHELLE TOOK DNA TESTS AS WELL.

THEY WERE ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING HOW MUCH NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY THEY POSSESSED.

YOUR MATERNAL HAPLOGROUP IS CALLED C1B2, MY BROTHER.

ADRIAN'S RESULTS CONFIRMED WHAT OUR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH HAD ALREADY REVEALED.

AND, ADRIAN, TODAY C1B2 IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE FOUR HAPLOGROUPS FOUND AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS.

YOU ARE DEFINITELY DESCENDED ON YOUR MOTHER'S SIDE FROM A NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN.

YEE-HA.

YES!

Gates: FOR ADRIAN, THIS RESULT WAS CONFIRMATION OF HIS LONG-CHERISHED SENSE OF HIS FAMILY'S NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY.

BUT THE OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF THAT ANCESTRY WAS NOT ESPECIALLY LARGE: ONLY ABOUT 8%, THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE GREAT-GRANDPARENT.

AND ALL THREE OF MY GUESTS HAD SIMILAR PERCENTAGES -- EVIDENCE THAT THE PERIOD OF MIXING BETWEEN NATIVE AMERICANS AND SPANIARDS CAME VERY EARLY IN THE COLONIAL ERA AND WAS VERY SHORT-LIVED.

FOR MICHELLE, THIS NEWS WAS HARD TO HEAR.

WHAT!

THAT'S INSANE.

OH.

I'M APPALLED.

I'M EUROPEAN?

YOU ARE 72.4% EUROPEAN.

THAT'S INSANE.

I'M SORRY I'M SO LIKE NOT IMPRESSED.

I'M LIKE EUROPEAN, EW, I WANTED TO BE NATIVE AMERICAN.

Gates: THOUGH SHE WAS DISAPPOINTED AT FIRST, SHE WAS INTRIGUED TO LEARN THAT HER DNA RESULTS ACTUALLY POINTED TO GREAT GENETIC DIVERSITY.

MICHELLE IS 21% PERCENT AFRICAN, A LEGACY OF THE FACT THAT THROUGHOUT THE SPANISH EMPIRE, MASTERS OFTEN IMPREGNATED THEIR AFRICAN SLAVES.

AFRICAN ANCESTRY WAS ONCE CONSIDERED SHAMEFUL BY MICHELLE'S FAMILY.

BUT SHE EAGERLY EMBRACES IT.

Rodriguez: 21% AFRICAN!

AWESOME, MAN!

I SHOULD SHOOT OVER THERE AND GO DO SOME IBOGA.

SEE IF I CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH MY ROOTS.

THAT'S AWESOME, MAN.

Gates: IN THE END, MY JOURNEY THROUGH MICHELLE, LINDA AND ADRIAN'S FAMILY TREES HAS HELPED ME UNDERSTAND A SIGNIFICANT PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE MOST PERSONAL WAYS.

SOME OF THEIR ANCESTORS WERE THE ORIGINAL, INDIGENOUS AMERICANS, WHILE OTHERS WERE AMONG THE FIRST EUROPEANS AND AFRICANS TO SETTLE IN THE NEW WORLD.

THESE TWO STREAMS MET ON THIS CONTINENT LONG AGO.

AND THOUGH THEIR EXPERIENCES WERE EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT, AND OFTEN BRUTAL, THEY SHAPED THE COURSE OF AMERICAN HISTORY JUST AS PROFOUNDLY AS THE PILGRIMS DID.

I FOUND IT FASCINATING TO LEARN ABOUT ALL THIS AND I THINK THAT MY GUESTS FELT THE SAME.

DOES ALL THIS INFORMATION HELP YOU TO REINTERPRET YOUR STORY IN A NEW WAY?

ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT THE STORY WILL BE FROM NOW ON.

BUT IT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO AFFECT HOW I SEE MYSELF AND, YOU KNOW, HOW I SHARE WHO I AM WITH OTHERS.

Gates: ADRIAN TOLD ME HE PLANNED TO VISIT NEW MEXICO AND RECONNECT WITH HIS ROOTS, AND HE WASN'T ALONE.

MICHELLE'S TRIP TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WAS DEEPLY REWARDING TO HER.

AND LINDA WAS INSPIRED TO TAKE A SIMILAR JOURNEY.

SHE TRAVELLED TO SEVILLE, SPAIN, AND MET WITH OUR RESEARCHER THERE.

HE SHOWED HER THE ARCHIVES THAT HOLD HER JEWISH ANCESTORS' RECORDS AND THE CHURCH WHERE THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE CONVERTED TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM.

LINDA WAS STRUCK BY THE FACT THAT THIS ANCIENT CITY, WHERE HER ANCESTORS ONCE FACED SUCH TERRIBLE OPPRESSION, ULTIMATELY BECAME A PART OF HER AMERICAN IDENTITY.

Chavez: I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THE STORY OF AMERICA WAS THE STORY OF PEOPLES COMING HERE FROM ALL DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, SOME VOLUNTARILY, SOME INVOLUNTARILY.

AND THAT WHAT MADE THIS COUNTRY SUCH A GREAT COUNTRY IS THAT WE DID HAVE THIS MIXING OF PEOPLES, THAT WE BRING INTO OUR CULTURE BITS AND PIECES OF SO MANY DIFFERENT STRAINS OF OTHER TRADITIONS AND CULTURES AND THAT THAT'S MADE US STRONGER.

Gates: THIS IS AMERICA'S HISTORY: OUR NATION WAS SHAPED NOT ONLY BY GREAT EVENTS, BUT ALSO BY THE SMALLEST DETAILS OF OUR ANCESTORS' LIVES.

OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SERIES, WE'VE EXPLORED THE FAMILY TREES OF SOME TRULY REMARKABLE PEOPLE.

IN THE END, WE ARE ALL THE PRODUCT OF THIS HISTORY.

AND WE SHOULD DO ALL WE CAN TO SEEK IT OUT AND PASS IT DOWN.