1 00:00:04,709 --> 00:00:06,276 GATES: I'm Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2 00:00:06,276 --> 00:00:09,243 Welcome to  Finding Your Roots. 3 00:00:09,243 --> 00:00:12,443 In this episode, we'll meet musician Cyndi Lauper, 4 00:00:12,443 --> 00:00:16,576 and actors Danny Trejo, and Jamie Chung. 5 00:00:16,576 --> 00:00:20,643 Three Americans who are about to retrace the journeys 6 00:00:20,643 --> 00:00:23,609 of their immigrant ancestors. 7 00:00:23,609 --> 00:00:24,976 LAUPER: Look at what she did. 8 00:00:24,976 --> 00:00:29,076 She made it possible for me to be born here. 9 00:00:29,076 --> 00:00:32,376 TREJO: It's shined a light, like on who I am, 10 00:00:32,376 --> 00:00:36,743 on where I come from and who I come from. 11 00:00:36,743 --> 00:00:41,109 CHUNG: It's totally flipped my perspective of my family. 12 00:00:41,109 --> 00:00:45,176 GATES: To uncover their roots, we've used every tool available. 13 00:00:45,543 --> 00:00:47,409 Genealogists combed through the paper trail 14 00:00:47,409 --> 00:00:49,343 their ancestors left behind, 15 00:00:49,343 --> 00:00:52,476 while DNA experts utilized the latest advances 16 00:00:52,476 --> 00:00:55,276 in genetic analysis to reveal secrets 17 00:00:55,276 --> 00:00:57,476 hundreds of years old. 18 00:00:57,476 --> 00:01:01,376 And we've compiled it all into a book of life, 19 00:01:01,376 --> 00:01:03,976 a record of all of our discoveries, 20 00:01:03,976 --> 00:01:05,109 TREJO: Wow. 21 00:01:05,109 --> 00:01:07,143 GATES: And a window into the hidden past. 22 00:01:07,143 --> 00:01:08,443 (gasps). 23 00:01:08,443 --> 00:01:11,443 LAUPER: Get out! Oh, my God! 24 00:01:11,443 --> 00:01:14,043 TREJO: I've got history, you know what I mean? 25 00:01:14,043 --> 00:01:15,143 That's what it is. 26 00:01:15,143 --> 00:01:16,343 I've got history. 27 00:01:16,343 --> 00:01:18,676 CHUNG: It just always kind of blows my mind that 28 00:01:18,676 --> 00:01:22,776 immigrant families are able to make such a 29 00:01:22,776 --> 00:01:27,209 jarring journey and still survive. 30 00:01:27,643 --> 00:01:30,109 GATES: My three guests descend from people who made 31 00:01:30,109 --> 00:01:33,309 immense efforts to come to the United States, 32 00:01:33,309 --> 00:01:37,509 traveling great distances with little more than a dream. 33 00:01:38,143 --> 00:01:41,576 In this episode, they're going meet the men and women 34 00:01:41,576 --> 00:01:43,509 who made these journeys. 35 00:01:43,509 --> 00:01:45,676 Follow them back to their homelands, 36 00:01:45,676 --> 00:01:48,976 and uncover the stories they left behind. 37 00:01:50,143 --> 00:01:56,709 (theme music playing). 38 00:02:06,776 --> 00:02:12,009 ♪ ♪ 39 00:02:20,109 --> 00:02:26,343 ♪ ♪ 40 00:02:29,809 --> 00:02:32,876 GATES: Danny Trejo is living proof that 41 00:02:32,876 --> 00:02:35,776 appearances can be deceiving. 42 00:02:36,043 --> 00:02:39,643 For more than 30 years, the convict-turned-movie star 43 00:02:39,643 --> 00:02:43,109 has played an array of violent men. 44 00:02:43,576 --> 00:02:46,976 With a gusto that can be terrifying to behold. 45 00:02:46,976 --> 00:02:48,076 (growling) 46 00:02:49,343 --> 00:02:52,876 In person, however, Danny is as sweet as they come, 47 00:02:52,876 --> 00:02:56,343 and his story is heart-wrenching. 48 00:02:56,343 --> 00:02:58,776 He grew up in a Mexican American community in 49 00:02:58,776 --> 00:03:02,743 Los Angeles, with family all around. 50 00:03:02,743 --> 00:03:07,876 but his childhood home was an unhappy place, dominated by 51 00:03:07,876 --> 00:03:12,009 what Danny calls, a "Toxic machismo." 52 00:03:12,009 --> 00:03:16,076 Searching for a role model, he was drawn to a warm-hearted 53 00:03:16,076 --> 00:03:19,376 uncle with an unfortunate occupation. 54 00:03:20,476 --> 00:03:23,176 TREJO: The biggest problem that I had, growing up, was 55 00:03:23,176 --> 00:03:27,976 that in my family, all the men did kind of construction work, 56 00:03:27,976 --> 00:03:30,609 and they were always complaining about their work, 57 00:03:30,609 --> 00:03:32,843 and they're always like angry about, you know... 58 00:03:32,843 --> 00:03:34,043 (growls). 59 00:03:34,376 --> 00:03:40,043 TREJO: And my Uncle Gilbert, who was a, for lack of a 60 00:03:40,043 --> 00:03:42,876 better word, a drug dealer, 61 00:03:42,876 --> 00:03:46,109 uh, he never complained. 62 00:03:46,109 --> 00:03:50,309 So, I kind of like gravitated towards that. 63 00:03:50,309 --> 00:03:51,309 GATES: Sure. 64 00:03:51,309 --> 00:03:52,476 TREJO: You know everybody was talking about 65 00:03:52,476 --> 00:03:53,843 we need money, we need this. 66 00:03:53,843 --> 00:03:55,009 GATES: Mm-hmm. 67 00:03:55,009 --> 00:03:57,043 TREJO: And Gilbert was, "Hey, want to go fishing?" 68 00:03:57,043 --> 00:03:58,943 (laughs). 69 00:03:59,943 --> 00:04:02,809 GATES: Tragically, Gilbert died young. 70 00:04:02,809 --> 00:04:05,843 And, for years, it looked like Danny would follow 71 00:04:05,843 --> 00:04:07,909 in his footsteps. 72 00:04:07,909 --> 00:04:11,009 He was helping to deal drugs by the time he was seven, 73 00:04:11,009 --> 00:04:15,309 by 12, he was using heroin, had joined a gang, 74 00:04:15,309 --> 00:04:17,876 and was committing robberies. 75 00:04:17,876 --> 00:04:22,109 All told, Danny would spend more than a decade in-and-out 76 00:04:22,109 --> 00:04:26,109 of prison before finally getting sober. 77 00:04:26,109 --> 00:04:28,709 But sobriety was just a start. 78 00:04:28,709 --> 00:04:31,643 Danny still had to earn his freedom. 79 00:04:34,043 --> 00:04:36,943 TREJO: When I went to the parole board, I remember they 80 00:04:36,943 --> 00:04:40,409 said, "Hey, Trejo, you've gone 11 months without a beef, 81 00:04:40,409 --> 00:04:42,409 how have you done it?" 82 00:04:42,409 --> 00:04:46,176 And I told them about 12-step program and, yeah, yeah, yeah, 83 00:04:46,176 --> 00:04:48,776 well, we're going to give you a chance to spread your wings. 84 00:04:48,776 --> 00:04:49,909 GATES: Hmm. 85 00:04:49,909 --> 00:04:52,809 TREJO: And uh, and then they said bring us back 86 00:04:52,809 --> 00:04:54,343 a life sentence, will you, 87 00:04:54,343 --> 00:04:56,076 because we're tired of messing with you. 88 00:04:56,076 --> 00:04:57,343 GATES: Man. That's terrible. 89 00:04:57,343 --> 00:04:58,809 TREJO: And I, I remember that hit me. 90 00:04:58,809 --> 00:05:00,009 GATES: Yeah. 91 00:05:00,009 --> 00:05:02,143 TREJO: It wasn't like, like I cared, but it was like 92 00:05:02,143 --> 00:05:04,909 you guys got no faith at all, you know what I mean? 93 00:05:04,909 --> 00:05:06,009 GATES: No. 94 00:05:06,009 --> 00:05:07,976 TREJO: It's like: "Bring us back a life sentence!" 95 00:05:07,976 --> 00:05:10,743 GATES: Danny proved the parole board wrong. 96 00:05:10,743 --> 00:05:12,876 He turned his back on crime. 97 00:05:12,876 --> 00:05:15,809 And began working as a drug counselor. 98 00:05:15,809 --> 00:05:17,543 He had no plans for the future, 99 00:05:17,543 --> 00:05:21,009 but fortune was now on his side. 100 00:05:21,476 --> 00:05:25,576 In 1984, an actor whom he was sponsoring told him 101 00:05:25,576 --> 00:05:27,909 that he feared he was about to relapse on the 102 00:05:27,909 --> 00:05:30,809 set of a Hollywood film. 103 00:05:30,809 --> 00:05:34,709 Danny visited the set to help, and found his calling. 104 00:05:35,809 --> 00:05:37,976 TREJO: This guy says, "Hey, do you want to be in this movie?" 105 00:05:37,976 --> 00:05:40,109 And I said, "What do I got to do?" 106 00:05:40,109 --> 00:05:41,976 He says, "You want to be an extra?" 107 00:05:41,976 --> 00:05:43,376 GATES: You said, "What's an extra?" 108 00:05:43,376 --> 00:05:44,609 TREJO: Extra what? 109 00:05:44,609 --> 00:05:46,476 TREJO: And then he goes, "Can you act like a convict?" 110 00:05:46,476 --> 00:05:47,776 GATES: He said... 111 00:05:47,776 --> 00:05:50,043 TREJO: And it was kind of a joke, you know? 112 00:05:50,043 --> 00:05:51,743 I mean, you know, you... 113 00:05:51,743 --> 00:05:53,043 GATES: You said, "I went to school for that." 114 00:05:53,043 --> 00:05:54,276 (laughter). 115 00:05:54,276 --> 00:05:56,443 TREJO: Yeah, and I said I'm a professional, you know? 116 00:05:56,443 --> 00:06:01,176 And so, they'd give me a, a blue shirt, and I took off my shirt. 117 00:06:01,176 --> 00:06:02,676 I have a big tattoo. 118 00:06:02,676 --> 00:06:05,609 When I, they saw that tattoo, he goes, 119 00:06:05,609 --> 00:06:07,209 "Hey, wait, wait, hold on!" 120 00:06:07,209 --> 00:06:08,676 And, and he goes like this. 121 00:06:08,676 --> 00:06:09,743 GATES: Mm-hmm. 122 00:06:09,743 --> 00:06:11,776 TREJO: Now, I don't know that's framing the shot. 123 00:06:11,776 --> 00:06:12,809 GATES: Right. Right. 124 00:06:12,809 --> 00:06:14,109 TREJO: You know what I mean? 125 00:06:14,109 --> 00:06:16,743 I'm trying to figure out what gang sign is that, you know? 126 00:06:16,743 --> 00:06:18,876 You know, but by the grace of God, 127 00:06:18,876 --> 00:06:21,676 my whole life changed. 128 00:06:22,943 --> 00:06:26,109 GATES: Like Danny, actor Jamie Chung followed an 129 00:06:26,109 --> 00:06:29,143 unlikely path to stardom... 130 00:06:29,143 --> 00:06:31,743 Jamie was born in San Francisco, 131 00:06:31,743 --> 00:06:35,209 the child of two Korean immigrants. 132 00:06:35,209 --> 00:06:38,843 Growing up, her parents worked in hotels and restaurants, 133 00:06:38,843 --> 00:06:41,909 struggling mightily to support their children. 134 00:06:41,909 --> 00:06:45,376 Meanwhile, Jamie was struggling too, but in 135 00:06:45,376 --> 00:06:49,043 ways that her parents couldn't fully comprehend. 136 00:06:49,043 --> 00:06:53,043 She recalls that even in high school, she and her friends 137 00:06:53,043 --> 00:06:57,009 were made to feel unwelcome in their native land. 138 00:06:58,343 --> 00:07:00,543 CHUNG: I would always be a little nervous to go out 139 00:07:00,543 --> 00:07:03,376 in public or eat out with them because I knew 140 00:07:03,376 --> 00:07:04,976 we would always get heckled in some way. 141 00:07:04,976 --> 00:07:06,209 GATES: Hmm. 142 00:07:06,209 --> 00:07:08,576 CHUNG: Whether it was cat called or told to go back to 143 00:07:08,576 --> 00:07:11,676 our own countries, or you know, derogatory names 144 00:07:11,676 --> 00:07:14,676 being thrown at us, it was, it almost always 145 00:07:14,676 --> 00:07:16,176 happened every time. 146 00:07:16,176 --> 00:07:17,476 GATES: So, what would you do? 147 00:07:17,476 --> 00:07:19,309 I mean, were you prepared for this? 148 00:07:19,309 --> 00:07:21,009 You know, Black people call it, "The Talk?" 149 00:07:21,009 --> 00:07:22,076 CHUNG: Mm-hmm. 150 00:07:22,076 --> 00:07:23,743 GATES: Did you parents have "the Talk" with you? 151 00:07:23,743 --> 00:07:25,676 CHUNG: No. My parents did not have, "The Talk." 152 00:07:25,676 --> 00:07:29,176 I think their generation, you know, how they coped was 153 00:07:29,176 --> 00:07:31,076 keep their head down and work hard and, 154 00:07:31,076 --> 00:07:34,209 and don't cause trouble and don't say anything. 155 00:07:34,776 --> 00:07:36,476 GATES: Racism wasn't all that Jamie had to 156 00:07:36,476 --> 00:07:38,843 navigate by herself. 157 00:07:38,843 --> 00:07:41,209 She fell in love with acting as a child, 158 00:07:41,209 --> 00:07:44,643 but was afraid to share her ambitions at home. 159 00:07:44,643 --> 00:07:46,576 So she ended up going to college, 160 00:07:46,576 --> 00:07:49,276 and majoring in economics. 161 00:07:49,709 --> 00:07:53,076 GATES: If you had wanted at the age of 18 or 19, 162 00:07:53,076 --> 00:07:57,109 like many of my guests, to go straight to Broadway, 163 00:07:57,109 --> 00:07:58,776 would your parents have had a heart attack? 164 00:07:58,776 --> 00:08:00,476 CHUNG: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Yeah. 165 00:08:00,476 --> 00:08:01,776 GATES: Yeah, mine would have too. 166 00:08:01,776 --> 00:08:04,309 CHUNG: Yes, I mean, even after college when I was pursuing 167 00:08:04,309 --> 00:08:07,509 this career, uhm, you know, making ends meet being an 168 00:08:07,509 --> 00:08:10,709 extra on movie and television shows, 169 00:08:10,709 --> 00:08:13,876 I didn't tell my parents what I was doing. 170 00:08:13,876 --> 00:08:15,809 I didn't want them to have to worry about me or 171 00:08:15,809 --> 00:08:17,109 in any way discourage me. 172 00:08:17,109 --> 00:08:18,843 GATES: Uh, yeah. I was thinking of the latter. 173 00:08:18,843 --> 00:08:20,209 They would say are you crazy? 174 00:08:20,209 --> 00:08:21,243 CHUNG: Yeah. 175 00:08:21,243 --> 00:08:22,876 GATES: How do you say are you crazy in Korean? 176 00:08:22,876 --> 00:08:23,909 CHUNG: Michyeosseo? 177 00:08:23,909 --> 00:08:26,009 (laughs). 178 00:08:27,843 --> 00:08:29,976 GATES: Without any input from her parents, 179 00:08:29,976 --> 00:08:32,809 Jamie plotted her own career. 180 00:08:32,809 --> 00:08:35,209 Moving from reality TV 181 00:08:35,209 --> 00:08:37,709 to a bit part on a soap opera, 182 00:08:37,709 --> 00:08:40,243 to leading roles in Hollywood. 183 00:08:40,976 --> 00:08:44,243 Along the way, she had a revelatory moment. 184 00:08:44,243 --> 00:08:49,243 At age 25, she was cast as the star of ABC's Samurai Girl, 185 00:08:49,843 --> 00:08:54,176 one of the first TV series with a female Asian lead. 186 00:08:55,176 --> 00:08:58,009 Suddenly, Jamie realized that her dreams had 187 00:08:58,009 --> 00:09:00,576 actually come true. 188 00:09:01,143 --> 00:09:05,076 CHUNG: I remember driving down Barham, 189 00:09:05,076 --> 00:09:06,776 right by Warner Brothers Studios, 190 00:09:06,776 --> 00:09:10,376 there's this one building that always has an ABC family 191 00:09:10,376 --> 00:09:15,009 like billboard on it and it was this picture 192 00:09:15,009 --> 00:09:18,809 blown up and I was like this is, this is it. 193 00:09:18,809 --> 00:09:20,009 GATES: Wow. 194 00:09:20,009 --> 00:09:21,243 CHUNG: This is insane. 195 00:09:21,243 --> 00:09:22,743 Like I have to tell my parents now. 196 00:09:22,743 --> 00:09:24,109 (laughter). 197 00:09:24,109 --> 00:09:25,609 GATES: Did you jump out of the car and take a picture? 198 00:09:25,609 --> 00:09:27,709 CHUNG: Of course, I did. Of course I did. 199 00:09:27,709 --> 00:09:29,176 GATES: And then, you go that's me. 200 00:09:29,176 --> 00:09:30,709 CHUNG: Yeah, that's me. 201 00:09:31,976 --> 00:09:35,909 GATES: My third guest is pop star Cyndi Lauper. 202 00:09:35,909 --> 00:09:38,409 Cyndi has been a global sensation 203 00:09:38,409 --> 00:09:41,443 for almost four decades, 204 00:09:41,443 --> 00:09:43,343 but she remains very much a product 205 00:09:43,343 --> 00:09:45,643 of her childhood home. 206 00:09:45,643 --> 00:09:48,076 She grew up in Queens, New York, 207 00:09:48,076 --> 00:09:51,109 surrounded by grandparents and extended family 208 00:09:51,109 --> 00:09:53,909 who'd immigrated from Italy. 209 00:09:53,909 --> 00:09:57,243 Some might have found the environment nurturing. 210 00:09:57,243 --> 00:09:59,809 To Cyndi, it was stifling, 211 00:09:59,809 --> 00:10:04,043 and she could see how it had already stifled her mother; 212 00:10:04,043 --> 00:10:07,909 a gifted singer who'd been unable to use her gift. 213 00:10:08,909 --> 00:10:12,143 LAUPER: My mother had a scholarship to a 214 00:10:12,143 --> 00:10:15,176 Catholic high school in the city for voice... 215 00:10:15,176 --> 00:10:16,409 GATES: Hmm. 216 00:10:16,409 --> 00:10:20,909 LAUPER: And my grandparents, my grandfather, I'm sure, 217 00:10:20,909 --> 00:10:24,843 said, "Oh, no. Only whores go to school in the city." 218 00:10:24,843 --> 00:10:26,143 GATES: Oh. That's sad. 219 00:10:26,143 --> 00:10:27,776 LAUPER: And so that was dashed. 220 00:10:27,776 --> 00:10:29,009 GATES: That is so sad. 221 00:10:29,009 --> 00:10:30,676 LAUPER: That was broken in her. 222 00:10:30,676 --> 00:10:32,976 GATES: So, your success was, in a way, for... 223 00:10:32,976 --> 00:10:34,876 LAUPER: My mom. 224 00:10:36,309 --> 00:10:38,109 GATES: While Cyndi's mom may have provided her 225 00:10:38,109 --> 00:10:41,876 with motivation, Cyndi was also possessed by a 226 00:10:41,876 --> 00:10:45,343 fearless determination that was hers alone. 227 00:10:46,276 --> 00:10:48,843 And she needed that determination as she 228 00:10:48,843 --> 00:10:51,876 battled her way into the music world. 229 00:10:51,876 --> 00:10:54,343 Confronting record executives who wanted her 230 00:10:54,343 --> 00:10:58,776 to change her band, her sound, and her style. 231 00:11:00,009 --> 00:11:02,343 LAUPER: They wanted to make me the next Barbara Streisand, 232 00:11:02,343 --> 00:11:06,843 and I said, well, can't you find somebody else to do that, 233 00:11:06,843 --> 00:11:10,409 because I love, you know, I love rock and roll, 234 00:11:10,409 --> 00:11:13,309 and I have all this energy, and what, I can't, 235 00:11:13,309 --> 00:11:16,843 there's not enough Prozac to stand still that long, is there? 236 00:11:16,843 --> 00:11:21,376 And then they decided to do a, we will starve them out, 237 00:11:21,376 --> 00:11:23,976 she'll leave the band and do what we want. 238 00:11:23,976 --> 00:11:25,209 GATES: Mm-hmm. 239 00:11:25,209 --> 00:11:27,343 LAUPER: You know, unfortunately for them, 240 00:11:27,343 --> 00:11:31,209 they didn't understand who they were dealing with. 241 00:11:31,209 --> 00:11:35,276 They saw me sing the song, but they didn't get it. 242 00:11:35,276 --> 00:11:37,976 (laughs). 243 00:11:39,276 --> 00:11:43,576 GATES: Cyndi's self-confidence ultimately paid off. 244 00:11:43,576 --> 00:11:47,409 In 1983, she hit it big with the aptly named 245 00:11:47,409 --> 00:11:51,409 platinum-selling album,  She's So Unusual. 246 00:11:52,676 --> 00:11:55,843 Perhaps unsurprisingly, the breakout single from the album 247 00:11:55,843 --> 00:11:58,609 was the byproduct of a battle between 248 00:11:58,609 --> 00:12:01,609 Cyndi and her producer. 249 00:12:01,609 --> 00:12:03,409 LAUPER: And so, he comes with, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", 250 00:12:03,409 --> 00:12:05,176 and I said, you gotta be kidding me. 251 00:12:05,176 --> 00:12:06,709 I said, what am I supposed to do? 252 00:12:06,709 --> 00:12:09,443 Like, have a lobotomy, walk around in a can-can 253 00:12:09,443 --> 00:12:11,043 and go, yeah? 254 00:12:11,043 --> 00:12:13,676 Well, because a guy wrote it originally, 255 00:12:13,676 --> 00:12:17,743 and what it was about was a guy's version of, well, 256 00:12:17,743 --> 00:12:19,476 what do you think, girls just want to have fun, 257 00:12:19,476 --> 00:12:20,809 ain't we lucky? 258 00:12:20,809 --> 00:12:22,343 Nudge, nudge. Right? 259 00:12:22,343 --> 00:12:23,643 GATES: Right. 260 00:12:23,643 --> 00:12:25,843 LAUPER: So, I was like, yeah, girls just want to have sex? 261 00:12:25,843 --> 00:12:27,376 Is that what the hell this is, you know? 262 00:12:27,376 --> 00:12:28,743 Because I'm not doing this. 263 00:12:28,743 --> 00:12:31,743 I said well this is wrong and this, he said, so change it. 264 00:12:31,743 --> 00:12:36,843 And so I began to cut this out, cut that out, 265 00:12:37,543 --> 00:12:39,976 this needs a melody here, 266 00:12:39,976 --> 00:12:43,043 make this change, bring this together. 267 00:12:43,043 --> 00:12:44,343 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 268 00:12:44,343 --> 00:12:45,909 LAUPER: Say, oh, Mama dear, we're not the fortunate ones, 269 00:12:45,909 --> 00:12:47,909 because girls want to have fun. 270 00:12:47,909 --> 00:12:48,909 GATES: Right. 271 00:12:48,909 --> 00:12:50,209 LAUPER: Yeah, and we can't, ever. 272 00:12:50,209 --> 00:12:51,476 GATES: Right. 273 00:12:51,476 --> 00:12:54,676 LAUPER: And all of a sudden, it had this new life of its own. 274 00:12:54,676 --> 00:12:55,976 GATES: It did. 275 00:12:55,976 --> 00:12:57,476 LAUPER: And we all looked at each other and said... 276 00:12:57,476 --> 00:12:58,509 GATES: That's it. 277 00:12:58,509 --> 00:13:00,609 LAUPER: Hello. Got it. 278 00:13:01,043 --> 00:13:03,743 GATES: My three guests share a common experience: 279 00:13:03,743 --> 00:13:06,909 all have recent immigrants in their family trees, 280 00:13:06,909 --> 00:13:09,343 but know little about them, thanks to 281 00:13:09,343 --> 00:13:13,043 the chaotic circumstances of their own lives. 282 00:13:13,909 --> 00:13:16,776 It was time for that to change. 283 00:13:17,609 --> 00:13:19,976 I started with Danny Trejo. 284 00:13:19,976 --> 00:13:22,809 Danny's parents had a tumultuous relationship, 285 00:13:22,809 --> 00:13:25,843 and when Danny was three years old, his father 286 00:13:25,843 --> 00:13:30,209 forbade his mother to have any further contact with him. 287 00:13:30,943 --> 00:13:33,609 So Danny was raised by his father. 288 00:13:33,609 --> 00:13:37,776 A man who, unfortunately, did not seem to care for him. 289 00:13:39,676 --> 00:13:43,309 TREJO: My dad was real, uh, loving and playful with 290 00:13:43,309 --> 00:13:49,676 other kids, you know, but, but not me. 291 00:13:50,209 --> 00:13:51,876 GATES: Mm-hmm. Street angel, house devil. 292 00:13:51,876 --> 00:13:53,209 TREJO: Yeah. 293 00:13:53,209 --> 00:13:55,076 GATES: That's what my cousins used to call their father. 294 00:13:55,076 --> 00:13:56,943 TREJO: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. 295 00:13:56,943 --> 00:13:59,843 He was, you know, all the, all the other kids, you know... 296 00:13:59,843 --> 00:14:01,209 Adored him, you know what I mean? 297 00:14:01,209 --> 00:14:02,343 GATES: Mm-hmm. 298 00:14:02,343 --> 00:14:03,643 TREJO: And because he was always playing with them, 299 00:14:03,643 --> 00:14:05,409 quarters out of their ear, all that, you know what I mean, 300 00:14:05,409 --> 00:14:07,676 but and you know he'd always just 301 00:14:07,676 --> 00:14:09,143 give me a dirty look, you know? 302 00:14:09,143 --> 00:14:10,343 GATES: But why? 303 00:14:10,343 --> 00:14:11,476 I know you've thought about it. 304 00:14:11,476 --> 00:14:12,776 And it had to be so painful. 305 00:14:12,776 --> 00:14:14,043 TREJO: I don't know. 306 00:14:14,043 --> 00:14:16,743 I think my dad always kind of like questioned who I was. 307 00:14:16,743 --> 00:14:18,009 GATES: Mm-hmm. 308 00:14:18,009 --> 00:14:19,143 TREJO: You know what I mean? 309 00:14:19,143 --> 00:14:22,276 And so, it just was, it was always a part. 310 00:14:23,409 --> 00:14:26,176 GATES: Whatever its cause, his father's behavior meant that 311 00:14:26,176 --> 00:14:29,743 Danny knew little about his roots, beyond the fact that 312 00:14:29,743 --> 00:14:32,076 they lay in Mexico. 313 00:14:32,076 --> 00:14:33,943 To explore them, we focused on 314 00:14:33,943 --> 00:14:36,876 the man who brought them to America; 315 00:14:36,876 --> 00:14:40,443 Danny's great-grandfather, Cirilo Garay. 316 00:14:41,343 --> 00:14:44,843 We found him on an immigration record, crossing the border 317 00:14:44,843 --> 00:14:49,776 into Laredo, Texas on March 18th, 1918. 318 00:14:51,509 --> 00:14:56,276 TREJO: "Cirilo Garay, age 42, accompanied by wife, 319 00:14:56,276 --> 00:14:58,976 three sons, a daughter, 320 00:14:58,976 --> 00:15:03,543 length of time intended to remain, permanent." 321 00:15:03,543 --> 00:15:04,576 GATES: Permanent. 322 00:15:04,576 --> 00:15:06,443 They were moving here permanently. 323 00:15:06,443 --> 00:15:07,709 TREJO: That is awesome. 324 00:15:07,709 --> 00:15:10,243 GATES: This is just before World War, World War I ends 325 00:15:10,243 --> 00:15:11,476 in November of 1918. 326 00:15:11,476 --> 00:15:12,776 TREJO: Yeah. Yeah. 327 00:15:12,776 --> 00:15:15,609 GATES: So, the war is coming to an end, and your family is 328 00:15:15,609 --> 00:15:18,443 coming across the border, being admitted to the States, 329 00:15:18,443 --> 00:15:21,009 104 years ago. 330 00:15:21,009 --> 00:15:23,043 What's it like to see that, brother? 331 00:15:23,043 --> 00:15:24,676 TREJO: That just gave me a chill. 332 00:15:24,676 --> 00:15:27,143 That's kind of, uh, that's amazing. 333 00:15:27,143 --> 00:15:28,576 GATES: And Danny, they were on foot, man. 334 00:15:28,576 --> 00:15:29,609 TREJO: Yeah. 335 00:15:29,609 --> 00:15:31,876 GATES: They immigrated with four kids, on foot. 336 00:15:31,876 --> 00:15:34,709 TREJO: I'm like, I'm, I'm speechless. 337 00:15:34,709 --> 00:15:36,243 Wow. 338 00:15:37,309 --> 00:15:40,309 GATES: Cirilo was born in San Luis Potosí, 339 00:15:40,309 --> 00:15:43,243 a state in central Mexico. 340 00:15:43,243 --> 00:15:46,143 By the time he immigrated, he and his family were living 341 00:15:46,143 --> 00:15:49,876 near Monterrey, a city in the north. 342 00:15:50,476 --> 00:15:55,376 To reach Laredo, they likely traveled about 140 miles, 343 00:15:55,376 --> 00:16:00,543 a grueling journey, with an end that was more grueling still. 344 00:16:01,443 --> 00:16:05,876 Cirilo was soon working on a farm in Green, Texas. 345 00:16:05,876 --> 00:16:09,643 It was an exhausting job, with few rewards. 346 00:16:10,409 --> 00:16:13,343 The average wage of Mexican farm laborers in the region 347 00:16:13,343 --> 00:16:16,243 was 75 cents a day. 348 00:16:17,243 --> 00:16:19,243 GATES: Did anyone in your family ever talk about this? 349 00:16:19,243 --> 00:16:20,443 Any stories ever passed down? 350 00:16:20,443 --> 00:16:21,509 TREJO: No. 351 00:16:21,509 --> 00:16:23,776 GATES: Living conditions weren't any better. 352 00:16:23,776 --> 00:16:26,676 Housing for Mexican laborers in Southern Texas typically 353 00:16:26,676 --> 00:16:28,943 consisted of a two-room shack. 354 00:16:28,943 --> 00:16:30,343 TREJO: Yeah. Just look at that. 355 00:16:30,343 --> 00:16:33,243 GATES: With an outhouse, no access to running water, 356 00:16:33,243 --> 00:16:35,276 and in that heat, man. 357 00:16:35,276 --> 00:16:37,976 Many settlements were overcrowded, leading to 358 00:16:37,976 --> 00:16:41,376 diseases such as typhoid and scarlet fever, 359 00:16:41,376 --> 00:16:44,509 and of course this was long before air conditioning. 360 00:16:44,509 --> 00:16:46,309 They're lucky if they had a fan. 361 00:16:46,309 --> 00:16:49,143 What would you have done under such circumstances? 362 00:16:49,143 --> 00:16:50,209 TREJO: Robbed somebody. 363 00:16:50,209 --> 00:16:51,309 (laughter). 364 00:16:51,309 --> 00:16:52,643 TREJO: I, I, well... 365 00:16:52,643 --> 00:16:54,143 GATES: What you going to do, you know? 366 00:16:54,143 --> 00:16:55,576 TREJO: Uh, I mean, I mean, you have to leave. 367 00:16:55,576 --> 00:16:57,009 I, I don't know. 368 00:16:57,009 --> 00:16:59,509 Wow. That's heavy. 369 00:17:01,076 --> 00:17:05,143 GATES: Danny's great-grandfather did indeed decide to leave. 370 00:17:05,876 --> 00:17:09,609 In 1920, he traded the fields for the city, 371 00:17:09,609 --> 00:17:13,476 and resettled his family in San Antonio. 372 00:17:14,543 --> 00:17:17,209 Then tragedy struck. 373 00:17:17,209 --> 00:17:20,376 His wife Dolores died of a stroke, leaving Cirilo 374 00:17:20,376 --> 00:17:24,843 on his own, far from home, without a partner. 375 00:17:25,809 --> 00:17:29,243 But somehow, he picked up the pieces. 376 00:17:29,243 --> 00:17:31,409 By 1930, he'd remarried and was living in 377 00:17:31,409 --> 00:17:35,609 downtown San Antonio, where astonishingly he now 378 00:17:35,609 --> 00:17:39,576 owned his own home as well as a grocery store. 379 00:17:39,576 --> 00:17:43,809 An accomplishment that left Danny in awe. 380 00:17:45,709 --> 00:17:47,109 (sighs). 381 00:17:47,109 --> 00:17:49,276 TREJO: It's really kind of proud, you know? 382 00:17:49,276 --> 00:17:50,576 GATES: Yeah. 383 00:17:50,576 --> 00:17:52,843 TREJO: Cause, uh, you know, like, I've seen documentaries 384 00:17:52,843 --> 00:17:56,043 and stuff about how people were losing their houses and 385 00:17:56,043 --> 00:18:00,276 the Dust Bowl and coming to the, and to find out that 386 00:18:00,276 --> 00:18:02,909 my grandfather owned his own store and... 387 00:18:02,909 --> 00:18:04,076 GATES: Yeah, and home. 388 00:18:04,076 --> 00:18:06,276 TREJO: Yeah. GATES: That's pretty cool. 389 00:18:06,276 --> 00:18:07,943 He was in the, the elite, as it were. 390 00:18:07,943 --> 00:18:09,576 TREJO: Yeah. Fool everybody. 391 00:18:09,576 --> 00:18:10,809 GATES: Okay. 392 00:18:10,809 --> 00:18:12,843 Thinking about what we've shared together so far, what 393 00:18:12,843 --> 00:18:16,576 would you say to Cirilo if you had the chance today? 394 00:18:16,576 --> 00:18:19,209 TREJO: Thank you. 395 00:18:19,876 --> 00:18:23,909 You know, and uh, like thank you for giving us all a chance. 396 00:18:23,909 --> 00:18:25,309 GATES: Mm-hmm. 397 00:18:25,309 --> 00:18:28,876 TREJO: You know cause uh I know a lot of people that fell 398 00:18:28,876 --> 00:18:33,709 by the wayside, you know, just trying to get to California, 399 00:18:33,709 --> 00:18:38,976 and, and uh, and you know, so, we had a head start. 400 00:18:39,376 --> 00:18:42,609 You know the family actually had a head start. 401 00:18:42,876 --> 00:18:44,843 GATES: Yeah, man, and nobody gave him that store. 402 00:18:44,843 --> 00:18:46,743 That dude paid his dues. 403 00:18:46,743 --> 00:18:48,876 TREJO: Yeah. I'm proud of him. 404 00:18:49,309 --> 00:18:51,009 GATES: Much like Danny, 405 00:18:51,009 --> 00:18:53,643 Jamie Chung has a family business at the center 406 00:18:53,643 --> 00:18:55,676 of her family's immigration story. 407 00:18:56,376 --> 00:19:01,876 Her father came to America in 1972 and worked as a busboy 408 00:19:01,876 --> 00:19:05,343 and a bartender before becoming the owner of a 409 00:19:05,343 --> 00:19:08,143 restaurant in San Francisco. 410 00:19:08,143 --> 00:19:10,909 Though it wasn't the type of restaurant he likely 411 00:19:10,909 --> 00:19:13,376 wanted to own. 412 00:19:13,376 --> 00:19:15,643 CHUNG: It was an American hamburger joint. 413 00:19:15,643 --> 00:19:17,409 It was called Tony's Restaurant. 414 00:19:17,409 --> 00:19:20,743 And so, it was a business run by my father and my father's 415 00:19:20,743 --> 00:19:24,309 family and because he's the eldest, he decided to 416 00:19:24,309 --> 00:19:26,076 take on the name Tony. 417 00:19:26,076 --> 00:19:28,176 So, that's his American name, is Tony. 418 00:19:28,176 --> 00:19:29,209 GATES: Oh, really? 419 00:19:29,209 --> 00:19:30,376 (laughter). 420 00:19:30,376 --> 00:19:32,009 CHUNG: But it's a Korean family running an American 421 00:19:32,009 --> 00:19:34,009 restaurant in an Italian district. 422 00:19:34,009 --> 00:19:36,809 It makes total sense. 423 00:19:38,043 --> 00:19:40,509 GATES: There's no doubt that Jamie's father made great 424 00:19:40,509 --> 00:19:43,976 efforts to accommodate himself to his new homeland, 425 00:19:43,976 --> 00:19:48,909 but moving back one generation, we came to a man for whom 426 00:19:48,909 --> 00:19:52,176 the transition must have been even more difficult. 427 00:19:52,909 --> 00:19:56,309 Jamie's grandfather followed his son to America, 428 00:19:56,309 --> 00:20:00,143 and his immigration file shows that he applied for a visa 429 00:20:00,143 --> 00:20:04,243 when he was 73 years old and spoke no English. 430 00:20:05,476 --> 00:20:07,143 CHUNG: That's insane. GATES: Yeah. 431 00:20:07,143 --> 00:20:08,576 CHUNG: How terrifying. 432 00:20:08,576 --> 00:20:10,609 GATES: Did he ever talk about this? 433 00:20:10,609 --> 00:20:13,776 CHUNG: No. No, he did not. 434 00:20:14,109 --> 00:20:16,243 My grandmother doesn't speak English as well. 435 00:20:16,243 --> 00:20:22,709 Um, my father speaks better English but it just always 436 00:20:22,709 --> 00:20:26,876 kind of blows my mind that 437 00:20:26,876 --> 00:20:29,276 immigrant families are able to 438 00:20:29,276 --> 00:20:33,343 make such a jarring journey 439 00:20:33,343 --> 00:20:34,743 and still survive... 440 00:20:34,743 --> 00:20:36,676 GATES: It's unfathomable to me. 441 00:20:36,676 --> 00:20:38,709 CHUNG: They were able to own a home, own a business, 442 00:20:38,709 --> 00:20:40,276 run a business, um, yeah. 443 00:20:40,276 --> 00:20:42,243 GATES: Mm-hmm. 444 00:20:42,243 --> 00:20:46,909 But no stories about how he felt about what it was like 445 00:20:46,909 --> 00:20:48,476 when they got here. 446 00:20:48,476 --> 00:20:49,843 Were they homesick? 447 00:20:49,843 --> 00:20:52,209 CHUNG: No. We don't talk about those things in our family. 448 00:20:52,209 --> 00:20:53,476 GATES: And why not, do you think? 449 00:20:53,476 --> 00:20:55,076 CHUNG: Um... 450 00:20:55,076 --> 00:20:57,909 I think we're just very proud people and I think they 451 00:20:57,909 --> 00:21:00,976 keep a lot of things to themselves and I don't think 452 00:21:00,976 --> 00:21:03,009 they allow themselves to be vulnerable, 453 00:21:03,009 --> 00:21:04,543 not even with family. 454 00:21:04,543 --> 00:21:08,743 Uhm, I've seen certain cracks of that, uhm, certain moments, 455 00:21:08,743 --> 00:21:10,976 but they're very private people. 456 00:21:12,409 --> 00:21:14,976 GATES: Hoping to learn more about these private people, 457 00:21:14,976 --> 00:21:18,509 our researchers quickly ran into trouble. 458 00:21:19,209 --> 00:21:23,076 Jamie's grandfather came from a village called Chohyeon-ri. 459 00:21:23,076 --> 00:21:26,443 When he moved away, in the early 20th century, 460 00:21:26,443 --> 00:21:29,543 it was an extremely rural place, 461 00:21:29,543 --> 00:21:33,043 and we could find no records of his family within it. 462 00:21:33,643 --> 00:21:36,076 Normally, this would make tracing his roots 463 00:21:36,076 --> 00:21:38,643 very difficult. 464 00:21:38,643 --> 00:21:42,043 But in his immigration files, her grandfather had listed his 465 00:21:42,043 --> 00:21:45,076 clan name, "Chung San." 466 00:21:45,076 --> 00:21:47,976 And that opened a door. 467 00:21:48,676 --> 00:21:51,543 Clans have been central to Korean society for 468 00:21:51,543 --> 00:21:54,809 more than 2,000 years. 469 00:21:54,809 --> 00:21:59,976 Many keep what's known as a jokbo, a written genealogy, 470 00:21:59,976 --> 00:22:03,376 and the Chung-San clan was no exception. 471 00:22:04,376 --> 00:22:05,976 CHUNG: "Chung Sang-Mun. 472 00:22:05,976 --> 00:22:10,609 Date of birth, 1841, October 15." 473 00:22:10,609 --> 00:22:11,743 GATES: Mm-hmm. 474 00:22:11,743 --> 00:22:14,443 CHUNG: "Date of death. 1908. May 14. 475 00:22:14,443 --> 00:22:16,843 Son, Chung Joo-hyun. 476 00:22:16,843 --> 00:22:20,476 Date of birth 1876, October 22. 477 00:22:20,476 --> 00:22:24,943 Date of birth, 1926, April second. 478 00:22:24,943 --> 00:22:27,409 Son, Chung Joon Hwa." 479 00:22:27,409 --> 00:22:28,843 My great grandparents. 480 00:22:28,843 --> 00:22:30,043 GATES: There you go. 481 00:22:30,043 --> 00:22:31,076 CHUNG: Wow. 482 00:22:31,076 --> 00:22:34,743 GATES: Already you're back almost 200 years to 483 00:22:34,743 --> 00:22:38,309 an ancestor born in 1841. 484 00:22:38,309 --> 00:22:39,743 CHUNG: Man. 485 00:22:39,743 --> 00:22:43,443 I've never heard of these names before. 486 00:22:43,943 --> 00:22:46,976 These dates are kind of mind boggling and to know that 487 00:22:46,976 --> 00:22:51,009 our family has a jokbo is pretty incredible. 488 00:22:51,009 --> 00:22:54,076 I mean, I couldn't even fathom our history 489 00:22:54,076 --> 00:22:56,576 going back that far. 490 00:22:57,009 --> 00:23:00,576 GATES: Jamie's history was about to go back much further. 491 00:23:00,576 --> 00:23:04,876 The Chung-San jokbo traces her father's direct paternal line 492 00:23:04,876 --> 00:23:08,976 all the way to her 18th great grandfather, 493 00:23:08,976 --> 00:23:11,776 a man named Chung Geum-Gang. 494 00:23:12,276 --> 00:23:16,443 He was born in the 1300s, and is listed in the jokbo 495 00:23:16,443 --> 00:23:20,109 as being what was known as a ShiJung. 496 00:23:21,409 --> 00:23:22,743 GATES: Do you know what a ShiJung was? 497 00:23:22,743 --> 00:23:23,809 CHUNG: No. 498 00:23:23,809 --> 00:23:25,809 GATES: The word literally translates as servant. 499 00:23:25,809 --> 00:23:27,143 CHUNG: Ah. 500 00:23:27,143 --> 00:23:31,043 GATES: But in this context, it indicates that Chung Geum-Gang 501 00:23:31,043 --> 00:23:33,709 had a high position in the Korean government. 502 00:23:33,709 --> 00:23:36,609 CHUNG: Wow. Okay. 503 00:23:36,609 --> 00:23:38,709 GATES: Yeah. CHUNG: Wow. 504 00:23:38,709 --> 00:23:40,509 GATES: According to the scholars we consulted, 505 00:23:40,509 --> 00:23:43,609 this position was a great honor, similar to being a 506 00:23:43,609 --> 00:23:46,609 deputy prime minister. 507 00:23:47,443 --> 00:23:48,909 CHUNG: I don't think my family knows this. 508 00:23:48,909 --> 00:23:50,143 GATES: No. 509 00:23:50,143 --> 00:23:55,276 ShiJungs assisted Korea's rulers in different areas 510 00:23:55,276 --> 00:23:57,209 from education and finance 511 00:23:57,209 --> 00:23:59,976 to military affairs and diplomacy, 512 00:23:59,976 --> 00:24:02,409 and while we don't know anything about 513 00:24:02,409 --> 00:24:04,776 Chung Geum-Gang's area of expertise, 514 00:24:04,776 --> 00:24:08,676 one thing's for sure: he was a big deal. 515 00:24:09,709 --> 00:24:12,243 CHUNG: That is fantastic. 516 00:24:12,809 --> 00:24:16,543 GATES: Jamie's ancestor likely earned his elevated position 517 00:24:16,543 --> 00:24:19,309 by taking a national exam. 518 00:24:19,309 --> 00:24:23,709 At the time, this was the only way for most Koreans to 519 00:24:23,709 --> 00:24:28,476 rise up in the government, and competition was intense. 520 00:24:28,776 --> 00:24:31,376 The exam was given in a palace courtyard, 521 00:24:31,376 --> 00:24:34,543 where all candidates were required to write an essay, 522 00:24:34,543 --> 00:24:39,209 in classical Chinese, while sitting on the ground. 523 00:24:41,709 --> 00:24:42,943 CHUNG: That's crazy. 524 00:24:42,943 --> 00:24:44,243 GATES: What do you make of this saga? 525 00:24:44,243 --> 00:24:48,876 This journey from the 14th century AD to a rural village 526 00:24:48,876 --> 00:24:51,876 to a restaurant in San Francisco selling 527 00:24:51,876 --> 00:24:55,543 Tony's hamburgers, all the way to you? 528 00:24:55,543 --> 00:24:58,976 CHUNG: I think that's, uh, yeah. 529 00:24:58,976 --> 00:25:02,943 It's totally flipped my perspective of my family, 530 00:25:02,943 --> 00:25:05,609 of my family history. 531 00:25:07,043 --> 00:25:10,909 GATES: Unlike Jamie and Danny, Cyndi Lauper wasn't exactly 532 00:25:10,909 --> 00:25:14,676 "proud" of all of her immigrant ancestors. 533 00:25:14,676 --> 00:25:18,543 She knew that her mother's roots lay in Sicily, 534 00:25:18,543 --> 00:25:21,276 and she believes that some of the men on this part of her 535 00:25:21,276 --> 00:25:26,109 family tree had mistreated the women for generations. 536 00:25:28,576 --> 00:25:32,843 LAUPER: It took me a minute to understand about Sicily and 537 00:25:32,843 --> 00:25:37,609 the pretenses and how they would definitely 538 00:25:37,609 --> 00:25:39,676 keep women down. 539 00:25:39,676 --> 00:25:40,843 GATES: Right. 540 00:25:40,843 --> 00:25:46,176 LAUPER: So basically, upward education and dreams, 541 00:25:46,176 --> 00:25:50,676 not really happening because you were the free domestic help. 542 00:25:50,676 --> 00:25:51,909 GATES: Right. 543 00:25:51,909 --> 00:25:54,676 LAUPER: So, even in America, they were doing stuff like 544 00:25:54,676 --> 00:25:59,976 that to my aunt, to my mother, and honestly, that's what made 545 00:25:59,976 --> 00:26:01,876 me come out with boxing gloves. 546 00:26:01,876 --> 00:26:03,176 GATES: Mm-hm. 547 00:26:03,176 --> 00:26:08,309 LAUPER: I mean, I saw women grow up with no joy experience, and 548 00:26:08,309 --> 00:26:11,709 they'd have little joys of the little day lives and things, 549 00:26:11,709 --> 00:26:13,676 but not dreams. 550 00:26:13,676 --> 00:26:19,009 And my mother sat us down early and made us talk to her. 551 00:26:19,009 --> 00:26:20,643 Like, she would go, what do you think about this? 552 00:26:20,643 --> 00:26:21,776 And what do you think about that? 553 00:26:21,776 --> 00:26:23,043 GATES: Mmm-hm. 554 00:26:23,043 --> 00:26:25,109 LAUPER: And she'd be talking to us like we were grownups. 555 00:26:25,109 --> 00:26:26,309 GATES: And you could dream. 556 00:26:26,309 --> 00:26:28,076 And you could dare to dream and realize your dreams. 557 00:26:28,076 --> 00:26:30,009 LAUPER: Yeah. GATES: Yeah. 558 00:26:30,009 --> 00:26:33,176 Given these feelings, it was interesting to note 559 00:26:33,176 --> 00:26:36,609 that the first member of Cyndi's Sicilian family to 560 00:26:36,609 --> 00:26:40,176 come to America was actually a woman. 561 00:26:40,843 --> 00:26:45,409 In 1909, her great-aunt, Gaetana Gallo, travelled 562 00:26:45,409 --> 00:26:48,809 from Palermo to New York City. 563 00:26:48,809 --> 00:26:51,876 According to Cyndi's relatives, the journey began 564 00:26:51,876 --> 00:26:54,976 when Gaetana took off on a bicycle, 565 00:26:54,976 --> 00:26:58,009 fleeing an arranged marriage. 566 00:26:58,009 --> 00:27:01,009 We couldn't confirm this colorful story, but there's 567 00:27:01,009 --> 00:27:05,209 no doubt that Gaetana blazed a trail for her family. 568 00:27:06,243 --> 00:27:10,709 By 1915, her parents and her siblings were settled in 569 00:27:10,709 --> 00:27:14,876 lower Manhattan, all thanks to her efforts. 570 00:27:17,043 --> 00:27:19,176 GATES: So, she was a hardhead, tough woman. 571 00:27:19,176 --> 00:27:21,709 And for whatever, I don't know if the reason that she got on 572 00:27:21,709 --> 00:27:25,509 that bike and left was to flee some old dude, but she did, 573 00:27:25,509 --> 00:27:27,943 and she ended up, not only did end up in America first, 574 00:27:27,943 --> 00:27:30,776 then she paid for everybody to come join her. 575 00:27:30,776 --> 00:27:32,409 How about that? 576 00:27:32,409 --> 00:27:37,543 LAUPER: Well, she was an amazing young person. 577 00:27:37,543 --> 00:27:40,143 When she got older, though, she cried a lot, 578 00:27:40,143 --> 00:27:41,809 and I felt bad. 579 00:27:41,809 --> 00:27:44,209 I used to think, oh, God. 580 00:27:44,209 --> 00:27:48,776 She kept going, Fia mio, Fia mio, and I was... 581 00:27:48,776 --> 00:27:50,243 GATES: Oh, poor thing. 582 00:27:50,243 --> 00:27:52,109 LAUPER: You know, and she was in the corner, 583 00:27:52,109 --> 00:27:55,143 she didn't have...she was balding, her teeth were gone. 584 00:27:55,143 --> 00:27:56,776 I was thinking, you know, 585 00:27:56,776 --> 00:27:58,743 if I was bald and my teeth was gone, 586 00:27:58,743 --> 00:27:59,976 I would be crying, too. 587 00:27:59,976 --> 00:28:01,143 GATES: Yeah. 588 00:28:01,143 --> 00:28:02,509 LAUPER: But I felt bad, you know, because 589 00:28:02,509 --> 00:28:04,276 look at what she did. 590 00:28:04,276 --> 00:28:08,509 She made it possible for me to be born here. 591 00:28:10,209 --> 00:28:13,143 GATES: Cyndi believes that Gaetana's unhappiness was 592 00:28:13,143 --> 00:28:16,743 largely caused by the patriarchs in her family... 593 00:28:16,743 --> 00:28:18,876 Shifting our focus to Sicily, 594 00:28:18,876 --> 00:28:21,376 we now looked at one of those patriarchs. 595 00:28:21,376 --> 00:28:26,043 Cyndi's great-grandfather, a man named Giacomo Pampalone. 596 00:28:26,709 --> 00:28:29,709 Giacomo was rumored to be a tyrant in his home, 597 00:28:29,709 --> 00:28:32,509 a trait he may well have picked up at his job. 598 00:28:32,509 --> 00:28:35,543 He worked as a coachman, reportedly at what's 599 00:28:35,543 --> 00:28:40,176 known as the Palazzo Gangi, a palace in Palermo. 600 00:28:41,143 --> 00:28:42,243 LAUPER: Wow. 601 00:28:42,243 --> 00:28:43,876 GATES: Can you imagine your ancestor heading to 602 00:28:43,876 --> 00:28:46,376 work there every day? 603 00:28:46,376 --> 00:28:48,209 LAUPER: He thought he was pretty fancy. 604 00:28:48,209 --> 00:28:50,909 GATES: Yeah, and take a look at those pictures. 605 00:28:50,909 --> 00:28:52,543 How would you like that gig? 606 00:28:52,543 --> 00:28:54,109 LAUPER: No thanks. 607 00:28:54,109 --> 00:28:56,509 GATES: No. 608 00:28:57,443 --> 00:29:00,476 LAUPER: It's like waiting in a catering service and dealing 609 00:29:00,476 --> 00:29:04,976 with people who have to act like they're high and mighty. 610 00:29:04,976 --> 00:29:06,143 GATES: Mm-hmm. 611 00:29:06,143 --> 00:29:08,109 LAUPER: Yeah. 612 00:29:08,109 --> 00:29:11,943 He was, uh, he was an odd dude. 613 00:29:12,909 --> 00:29:15,876 GATES: As it turns out, Giacomo's occupation 614 00:29:15,876 --> 00:29:20,109 almost certainly was not of his own choosing. 615 00:29:20,109 --> 00:29:23,609 Records show he was the fourth coachman in his family, 616 00:29:23,609 --> 00:29:28,543 behind his father Sebastiano, his grandfather Santo and 617 00:29:28,543 --> 00:29:31,609 his great-grandfather Giuseppe... 618 00:29:31,609 --> 00:29:35,209 But learning this did not soften Cyndi's feelings 619 00:29:35,209 --> 00:29:37,876 about her ancestor. 620 00:29:37,876 --> 00:29:39,743 GATES: What do you think old Giacomo would say if he could 621 00:29:39,743 --> 00:29:42,476 see how far you've come in your career? 622 00:29:42,476 --> 00:29:46,976 LAUPER: Well, when I went to Italy and I performed, 623 00:29:46,976 --> 00:29:51,076 I said a lot of things that I knew were, like... 624 00:29:51,076 --> 00:29:52,343 GATES: Right. 625 00:29:52,343 --> 00:29:55,443 LAUPER: I said things like, you know, 626 00:29:55,443 --> 00:29:59,809 the biggest oppressors of women historically 627 00:29:59,809 --> 00:30:02,143 have always been, 628 00:30:02,743 --> 00:30:05,076 the church, the government, and the family. 629 00:30:05,076 --> 00:30:06,443 GATES: Mm-hmm. 630 00:30:06,443 --> 00:30:08,109 LAUPER: And the Italians went... 631 00:30:08,109 --> 00:30:09,609 (laughs) 632 00:30:09,609 --> 00:30:12,076 Cyndi, that's, you know, 633 00:30:12,076 --> 00:30:16,076 but I said it because I could feel him roll over. 634 00:30:16,076 --> 00:30:17,376 GATES: Sure. 635 00:30:17,376 --> 00:30:18,709 LAUPER: And, and I didn't care. 636 00:30:18,709 --> 00:30:19,809 GATES: No. You were getting even. 637 00:30:19,809 --> 00:30:21,409 LAUPER: Well, I'm sure he didn't want to freaking 638 00:30:21,409 --> 00:30:24,409 drive a coach and be the servant of someone 639 00:30:24,409 --> 00:30:26,076 who always had to kiss a ring. 640 00:30:26,076 --> 00:30:27,109 GATES: Right. 641 00:30:27,109 --> 00:30:29,209 LAUPER: But he did, like, weird things. 642 00:30:29,209 --> 00:30:30,443 Oppressed. 643 00:30:30,443 --> 00:30:33,376 Oppressed people oppress. 644 00:30:33,376 --> 00:30:34,509 GATES: That's right. 645 00:30:34,509 --> 00:30:35,743 LAUPER: You know, it's the kick the dog syndrome. 646 00:30:35,743 --> 00:30:36,876 GATES: It's pass it on. 647 00:30:36,876 --> 00:30:37,909 LAUPER: Right? 648 00:30:37,909 --> 00:30:39,376 GATES: Yeah. 649 00:30:39,909 --> 00:30:43,376 I had one more detail to share with Cyndi. 650 00:30:43,376 --> 00:30:47,309 in the archives of Palermo, we uncovered the oldest document 651 00:30:47,309 --> 00:30:51,409 we were able to find for any of her Sicilian ancestors, 652 00:30:51,409 --> 00:30:56,176 taking her back to the year 1787. 653 00:30:57,576 --> 00:30:59,976 GATES: That is the baptismal record of your 654 00:30:59,976 --> 00:31:02,076 third great-grandfather Santo. 655 00:31:02,076 --> 00:31:03,809 LAUPER: And he was going to be a coachman because his 656 00:31:03,809 --> 00:31:05,076 father was going to be a coachman. 657 00:31:05,076 --> 00:31:06,076 GATES: You got it. 658 00:31:06,076 --> 00:31:07,176 LAUPER: What if he wanted to be a barber? 659 00:31:07,176 --> 00:31:08,209 GATES: Forget it. 660 00:31:08,209 --> 00:31:09,476 LAUPER: Too bad. 661 00:31:09,476 --> 00:31:11,209 GATES: Forget it. And this record introduces you to your 662 00:31:11,209 --> 00:31:15,243 fourth great-grandmother Carmela Sciacchitano. 663 00:31:15,243 --> 00:31:18,943 She was born about 1762 in Palermo. 664 00:31:18,943 --> 00:31:22,443 What's it like to meet the first Sicilian woman 665 00:31:22,443 --> 00:31:25,009 on this line of your family tree? 666 00:31:25,009 --> 00:31:26,176 LAUPER: Wow. 667 00:31:26,176 --> 00:31:28,109 GATES: I like the name Sciacchitano. 668 00:31:28,109 --> 00:31:30,109 LAUPER: Yeah. Sciacchitan. Sciacchitan. 669 00:31:30,109 --> 00:31:32,543 What was she like? 670 00:31:32,543 --> 00:31:33,643 Oh, my goodness. 671 00:31:33,643 --> 00:31:34,676 GATES: Yeah. 672 00:31:34,676 --> 00:31:36,076 LAUPER: Wow. 673 00:31:36,076 --> 00:31:37,643 GATES: Does any of this, Cyndi, change how you see your mother, 674 00:31:37,643 --> 00:31:38,909 how you're thinking about your mother, 675 00:31:38,909 --> 00:31:42,276 knowing that this is her bloodline? 676 00:31:42,276 --> 00:31:47,376 LAUPER: Well, she was like the coachman that 677 00:31:47,376 --> 00:31:49,209 wanted to be the barber. 678 00:31:49,209 --> 00:31:50,376 (laughs) 679 00:31:50,376 --> 00:31:51,443 GATES: That's good. 680 00:31:51,443 --> 00:31:53,476 LAUPER: You know. GATES: Yeah. 681 00:31:53,476 --> 00:31:55,176 LAUPER: It is like the, those Christmas, 682 00:31:55,176 --> 00:31:57,043 that Christmas story with Santa and the elf that 683 00:31:57,043 --> 00:31:59,009 wanted to be the dentist, not an elf. 684 00:31:59,009 --> 00:32:01,309 (laughs). 685 00:32:02,243 --> 00:32:04,043 GATES: We'd already traced Danny Trejo's 686 00:32:04,043 --> 00:32:07,376 father's ancestry from Mexico to Texas. 687 00:32:07,376 --> 00:32:10,976 Now, turning to the maternal side of his family tree, 688 00:32:10,976 --> 00:32:14,576 we found ourselves facing a daunting challenge. 689 00:32:14,576 --> 00:32:17,909 Growing up, Danny had very limited contact with 690 00:32:17,909 --> 00:32:21,476 his mother, so to research her roots, 691 00:32:21,476 --> 00:32:24,809 we were essentially starting from scratch. 692 00:32:25,743 --> 00:32:27,909 GATES: Have you ever seen those photos? 693 00:32:27,909 --> 00:32:28,909 TREJO: No. 694 00:32:28,909 --> 00:32:30,809 GATES: Those are your grandparents. 695 00:32:30,809 --> 00:32:32,143 TREJO: On my mother's side? 696 00:32:32,143 --> 00:32:34,043 GATES: That's your mother's mother and your mother's father. 697 00:32:34,043 --> 00:32:35,209 TREJO: Wow. 698 00:32:35,209 --> 00:32:36,609 GATES: Did you know their names? 699 00:32:36,609 --> 00:32:37,643 TREJO: No. 700 00:32:37,643 --> 00:32:38,709 GATES: Oh my god. 701 00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:40,743 TREJO: I don't know anything about them. 702 00:32:40,743 --> 00:32:41,943 Wow. 703 00:32:41,943 --> 00:32:43,543 GATES: You see your mom in them? 704 00:32:43,543 --> 00:32:46,043 TREJO: In this one, in her, in my, in her mom. 705 00:32:46,043 --> 00:32:47,176 GATES: Yeah. 706 00:32:47,176 --> 00:32:49,643 TREJO: Yeah. Whew. That's heavy. 707 00:32:50,443 --> 00:32:52,776 GATES: Danny's grandmother was named Josefa, 708 00:32:52,776 --> 00:32:54,876 or "Josie" Garcia. 709 00:32:54,876 --> 00:32:59,043 Josie was born in Mexico around 1895. 710 00:32:59,043 --> 00:33:01,876 We found her on the manifest of a ship that arrived in 711 00:33:01,876 --> 00:33:07,843 San Diego, California on May the 31st, 1904. 712 00:33:09,676 --> 00:33:14,576 TREJO: "Fortunato, 9, Josefa, 8, Lucas, 4." 713 00:33:14,576 --> 00:33:16,309 GATES: There's your grandmother Josie... 714 00:33:16,309 --> 00:33:17,409 TREJO: Yeah. 715 00:33:17,409 --> 00:33:19,109 GATES: as an 8-year-old child, setting foot in 716 00:33:19,109 --> 00:33:21,176 the United States for the first time, 717 00:33:21,176 --> 00:33:23,309 in the year 1904, with her family. 718 00:33:23,309 --> 00:33:25,476 TREJO: Wow. That's awesome. 719 00:33:25,476 --> 00:33:28,043 GATES: And Josefa, or Josie, is traveling with her 720 00:33:28,043 --> 00:33:32,043 Aunt Maria, her Uncle Pedro, her three cousins, 721 00:33:32,043 --> 00:33:35,776 and her grandmother, Jesús Castro Lucero, 722 00:33:35,776 --> 00:33:37,943 who is your great-great-grandmother. 723 00:33:37,943 --> 00:33:40,943 Look, and that's the picture of the ship that they were on. 724 00:33:40,943 --> 00:33:44,243 TREJO: Oh, I seen it. That is unbelievable. 725 00:33:45,709 --> 00:33:48,943 GATES: This elegant-looking ship would transport Josie 726 00:33:48,943 --> 00:33:51,576 to a hard new world. 727 00:33:51,576 --> 00:33:55,209 she came to California without her parents, and 728 00:33:55,209 --> 00:33:58,276 spent most of her childhood living with an uncle. 729 00:33:58,276 --> 00:34:03,709 In 1917, when she was 22, she married Danny's grandfather, 730 00:34:03,709 --> 00:34:07,076 a man named Aniceto Rivera. 731 00:34:07,076 --> 00:34:11,476 The two started a family, but Aniceto died young, 732 00:34:11,476 --> 00:34:15,176 leaving Josie with six children to raise. 733 00:34:16,143 --> 00:34:20,709 The temptation to return to Mexico must have been powerful, 734 00:34:20,709 --> 00:34:23,576 yet Josie chose a different path. 735 00:34:25,109 --> 00:34:26,876 TREJO: "Josefa Garcia Rivera... 736 00:34:26,876 --> 00:34:29,943 GATES: Mmm-hmm. TREJO: Occupation is, "Ironer"? 737 00:34:29,943 --> 00:34:31,643 GATES: Mmm-hmm. TREJO: Ironer. 738 00:34:31,643 --> 00:34:35,543 I was born on 8/13/1895 in 739 00:34:35,543 --> 00:34:38,609 San Jose del Cabo, B.C., Mexico. 740 00:34:38,609 --> 00:34:43,943 I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all alliance 741 00:34:43,943 --> 00:34:49,343 and, fidelity to any foreign prince or sovereignty 742 00:34:49,343 --> 00:34:52,209 of whom or which I have 743 00:34:52,209 --> 00:34:55,576 therefore been a subject or citizen." 744 00:34:55,576 --> 00:34:57,076 So, she became a citizen? 745 00:34:57,076 --> 00:34:58,209 GATES: Yes. 746 00:34:58,209 --> 00:35:02,976 On January 6, 1961, 56 years after immigrating, 747 00:35:02,976 --> 00:35:05,843 your grandmother became a citizen of the United States. 748 00:35:05,843 --> 00:35:06,876 Isn't that cool? 749 00:35:06,876 --> 00:35:07,943 TREJO: Yeah. Yeah. 750 00:35:07,943 --> 00:35:10,209 GATES: She was 65 years old at that time. 751 00:35:10,209 --> 00:35:11,409 TREJO: That's awesome. 752 00:35:11,409 --> 00:35:13,876 I mean it's just like, like I knew nothing about 753 00:35:13,876 --> 00:35:16,443 this side of my family. 754 00:35:16,443 --> 00:35:23,076 So, knowing this is just like, uh, wow. 755 00:35:23,509 --> 00:35:24,809 It's just amazing. 756 00:35:24,809 --> 00:35:27,976 I've got history, you know what I mean? 757 00:35:27,976 --> 00:35:30,809 That's what it is. I've got history. 758 00:35:31,876 --> 00:35:34,509 GATES: According to Josie's naturalization record, 759 00:35:34,509 --> 00:35:37,876 she was born in San José del Cabo, 760 00:35:37,876 --> 00:35:42,776 a coastal city in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. 761 00:35:42,776 --> 00:35:46,209 it's a tourist town today, a place that Danny knows 762 00:35:46,209 --> 00:35:49,343 and loves to visit, but he'd never imagined 763 00:35:49,343 --> 00:35:52,343 that he had ancestors who lived there. 764 00:35:52,343 --> 00:35:54,976 And as we dug into the region's archives, 765 00:35:54,976 --> 00:35:58,009 we discovered something amazing about one of 766 00:35:58,009 --> 00:36:01,943 those ancestors, Danny's fourth great-grandfather, 767 00:36:01,943 --> 00:36:05,243 a man named Luciano Agundez. 768 00:36:06,576 --> 00:36:12,043 TREJO: "I give formal and sworn possession of the 769 00:36:12,043 --> 00:36:16,943 said place to the said Luciano Agundez." 770 00:36:16,943 --> 00:36:20,543 GATES: In 1829, your fourth great-grandfather was granted, 771 00:36:20,543 --> 00:36:24,943 you ready for this, 4,337 acres of land. 772 00:36:24,943 --> 00:36:27,709 TREJO: In, yeah, I'm going down to Cabo. 773 00:36:27,709 --> 00:36:30,209 (laughs). 774 00:36:30,209 --> 00:36:31,309 Are you kidding? 775 00:36:31,309 --> 00:36:32,509 I love to go fishing down there. 776 00:36:32,509 --> 00:36:33,776 GATES: You never heard anything about this? 777 00:36:33,776 --> 00:36:34,776 TREJO: Wow. 778 00:36:34,776 --> 00:36:36,209 GATES: Man, that was a serious landowner. 779 00:36:36,209 --> 00:36:37,343 TREJO: Wow. 780 00:36:37,343 --> 00:36:38,576 GATES: I'll give you a little history. 781 00:36:38,576 --> 00:36:40,409 In 1821, Mexico became independent. 782 00:36:40,409 --> 00:36:41,409 TREJO: Uh-huh. 783 00:36:41,409 --> 00:36:42,776 GATES: From Spain. 784 00:36:42,776 --> 00:36:46,209 A Republic was established, and colonization laws began to 785 00:36:46,209 --> 00:36:50,743 allow homesteading in uninhabited regions of Mexico. 786 00:36:50,743 --> 00:36:53,909 In Baja California, a land grant system was implemented, 787 00:36:53,909 --> 00:36:56,443 and your ancestor got in on the action. 788 00:36:56,443 --> 00:36:57,543 TREJO: Huh. 789 00:36:57,543 --> 00:36:59,109 GATES: And, and you can see it there on the map. 790 00:36:59,109 --> 00:37:00,243 TREJO: Yeah, I'm starting to, 791 00:37:00,243 --> 00:37:01,776 I'm going down and building a hotel. 792 00:37:01,776 --> 00:37:03,843 (laughing) 793 00:37:03,843 --> 00:37:05,876 Wow. 794 00:37:06,309 --> 00:37:08,143 GATES: We don't know how Danny's 4th great-grandfather 795 00:37:08,143 --> 00:37:10,676 ended up in San José del Cabo. 796 00:37:10,676 --> 00:37:14,776 But when he received his land, the Baja California peninsula 797 00:37:14,776 --> 00:37:19,143 was one of the most sparsely populated areas in all of 798 00:37:19,143 --> 00:37:23,643 Mexico, and a difficult place to start a ranch... 799 00:37:23,643 --> 00:37:27,976 Fortunately, Luciano was up to the task. 800 00:37:28,409 --> 00:37:30,043 Your family stayed in and around 801 00:37:30,043 --> 00:37:32,209 San José del Cabo for generations, 802 00:37:32,209 --> 00:37:34,376 and your grandmother Josie was born there. 803 00:37:34,376 --> 00:37:35,776 That's why she was born there. 804 00:37:35,776 --> 00:37:36,776 TREJO: Yeah. 805 00:37:36,776 --> 00:37:37,843 GATES: Isn't that cool? 806 00:37:37,843 --> 00:37:40,109 TREJO: Uh, I, I, like I'm just overwhelmed. 807 00:37:40,109 --> 00:37:42,409 I, you know, you, you have to understand. 808 00:37:42,409 --> 00:37:47,443 I, growing up, I had three alternatives, you know? 809 00:37:47,443 --> 00:37:48,776 GATES: Uh-huh. 810 00:37:48,776 --> 00:37:52,809 TREJO: I could do, I could either be a, a, a laborer, 811 00:37:52,809 --> 00:37:57,943 or a gangster, or an informant. 812 00:37:57,943 --> 00:37:59,376 (laughs). 813 00:37:59,376 --> 00:38:01,343 GATES: Oh, hey, that was it. 814 00:38:01,343 --> 00:38:05,076 TREJO: And so, to learn that, I, I, I honestly believe that 815 00:38:05,076 --> 00:38:08,809 I think this history 816 00:38:08,809 --> 00:38:11,776 could've changed my whole family's life. 817 00:38:11,776 --> 00:38:12,943 GATES: Uh-huh. 818 00:38:12,943 --> 00:38:17,243 TREJO: I mean just knowing that when I went down to 819 00:38:17,243 --> 00:38:21,176 Cabo San Lucas, my family owned some of this land. 820 00:38:21,176 --> 00:38:23,676 GATES: Yeah. Yeah. A cattle rancher. 821 00:38:23,676 --> 00:38:26,843 Remember on Gunsmoke  and all that stuff we used to watch? 822 00:38:26,843 --> 00:38:29,476 And they would head 'em up, move 'em out, man? 823 00:38:29,476 --> 00:38:30,809 That was your, that was your ancestor. 824 00:38:30,809 --> 00:38:32,143 TREJO: Rawhide. 825 00:38:32,143 --> 00:38:33,876 GATES: Rawhide. That's right. 826 00:38:33,876 --> 00:38:35,843 TREJO: Clint Eastwood might've worked on my ranch. 827 00:38:35,843 --> 00:38:37,776 (laughs). 828 00:38:38,609 --> 00:38:41,876 GATES: Turning from Danny back to Jamie Chung, we confronted 829 00:38:41,876 --> 00:38:45,643 another formidable genealogical challenge. 830 00:38:45,643 --> 00:38:48,809 Jamie's mother grew up in poverty in Korea, 831 00:38:48,809 --> 00:38:51,276 and when she immigrated to America, 832 00:38:51,276 --> 00:38:55,009 she left her family behind, in every sense. 833 00:38:55,009 --> 00:38:57,876 Rarely even discussing them. 834 00:38:57,876 --> 00:39:00,276 This left our researchers struggling to learn 835 00:39:00,276 --> 00:39:02,976 anything at all about her mother's parents, 836 00:39:02,976 --> 00:39:05,676 much less their roots. 837 00:39:05,676 --> 00:39:09,243 But then we noticed something in the Korean emigration file 838 00:39:09,243 --> 00:39:11,743 of her father's parents. 839 00:39:11,743 --> 00:39:13,876 Take a look at that. 840 00:39:13,876 --> 00:39:16,309 As you can see, it lists your mother's father. 841 00:39:16,309 --> 00:39:19,309 Your maternal grandfather. 842 00:39:19,309 --> 00:39:20,409 CHUNG: Okay. 843 00:39:20,409 --> 00:39:23,509 GATES: Eom Eon Seop died in Korea around 1960 844 00:39:23,509 --> 00:39:25,576 before you were born. 845 00:39:25,576 --> 00:39:27,276 Do you know that name? 846 00:39:27,276 --> 00:39:28,509 CHUNG: No. 847 00:39:28,509 --> 00:39:30,343 GATES: That is your grandfather's name. 848 00:39:30,343 --> 00:39:31,409 CHUNG: Wow. 849 00:39:31,409 --> 00:39:32,743 GATES: So, let's see what we found out about 850 00:39:32,743 --> 00:39:34,209 his deeper roots, okay? 851 00:39:34,209 --> 00:39:35,443 CHUNG: Okay. 852 00:39:35,443 --> 00:39:37,509 GATES: You can see from this record, the family origin 853 00:39:37,509 --> 00:39:40,709 listed for your mother's family is a place called Yeongwol. 854 00:39:40,709 --> 00:39:42,143 Have you ever heard of Yeongwol? 855 00:39:42,143 --> 00:39:43,743 CHUNG: No. 856 00:39:43,743 --> 00:39:46,409 GATES: "Yeongwol" is a county in South Korea, 857 00:39:46,409 --> 00:39:50,076 and learning that Jamie's mother's family once lived here, 858 00:39:50,076 --> 00:39:52,543 led us to discover that she descends 859 00:39:52,543 --> 00:39:55,043 from a branch of the "Eom" clan, 860 00:39:55,043 --> 00:39:57,476 which originated in the region... 861 00:39:57,476 --> 00:40:01,676 This clan has a jokbo, just like Jamie's father's clan, 862 00:40:01,676 --> 00:40:05,243 and it contains several incredible stories. 863 00:40:05,876 --> 00:40:08,909 The first connects Jamie to a much-celebrated moment 864 00:40:08,909 --> 00:40:10,943 in Korean history. 865 00:40:10,943 --> 00:40:14,509 In the year 1455, Korea's king, 866 00:40:14,509 --> 00:40:17,809 a 15-year-old boy named Danjong, 867 00:40:17,809 --> 00:40:21,643 was violently deposed by his uncle, and ended up 868 00:40:21,643 --> 00:40:25,043 on a collision course with Jamie's relatives... 869 00:40:26,409 --> 00:40:30,209 CHUNG: "The young king Danjong was banished to Yeongwol 870 00:40:30,209 --> 00:40:32,643 and miserably executed." 871 00:40:32,643 --> 00:40:34,009 GATES: Recognize the name of the place where the king was 872 00:40:34,009 --> 00:40:35,643 banished and executed. 873 00:40:35,643 --> 00:40:37,543 CHUNG: That's where my... 874 00:40:37,543 --> 00:40:39,143 Yes, that's where my grandfather was from. 875 00:40:39,143 --> 00:40:40,709 GATES: That's right. Yeongwol. 876 00:40:40,709 --> 00:40:43,143 He was sent to Yeongwol and murdered there, and this is 877 00:40:43,143 --> 00:40:47,243 where your family takes center stage in this story. 878 00:40:48,843 --> 00:40:51,509 GATES: According to Korean tradition, 879 00:40:51,509 --> 00:40:54,943 Danjong's corpse was thrown into a river in Yeongwol, 880 00:40:54,943 --> 00:40:58,009 and his uncle threatened to execute anyone 881 00:40:58,009 --> 00:41:00,976 who gave the boy an honorable funeral. 882 00:41:00,976 --> 00:41:05,543 But a man named Eom Heung-Do, a distant cousin of Jamie's, 883 00:41:05,543 --> 00:41:08,643 decided that this was wrong. 884 00:41:08,643 --> 00:41:12,476 So he entered the river, and retrieved the body. 885 00:41:14,709 --> 00:41:16,043 CHUNG: That's fascinating. 886 00:41:16,043 --> 00:41:18,709 GATES: So, obviously we wondered what happened 887 00:41:18,709 --> 00:41:20,343 to your brave cousin. 888 00:41:20,343 --> 00:41:22,543 CHUNG: Yes. GATES: Wanna guess? 889 00:41:22,543 --> 00:41:25,643 CHUNG: Uhm, I, I, I think he would've been executed. 890 00:41:25,643 --> 00:41:28,509 GATES: Well, let's find out. Please turn the page. 891 00:41:28,509 --> 00:41:29,976 CHUNG: I hope not. 892 00:41:29,976 --> 00:41:32,076 GATES: You know what you're looking at? 893 00:41:32,076 --> 00:41:33,343 CHUNG: That's my cousin. 894 00:41:33,343 --> 00:41:35,076 GATES: That's a statue of your cousin. 895 00:41:35,076 --> 00:41:39,776 That is your cousin cradling the body of King Danjong. 896 00:41:39,776 --> 00:41:42,043 CHUNG: That's so cool. 897 00:41:42,043 --> 00:41:44,576 GATES: Did you have any idea that any of your ancestors 898 00:41:44,576 --> 00:41:47,209 would be famous for their actions? 899 00:41:47,209 --> 00:41:48,443 CHUNG: For their kindness. 900 00:41:48,443 --> 00:41:49,843 GATES: Yeah. For their kindness. 901 00:41:49,843 --> 00:41:52,343 CHUNG: No. That's really cool. 902 00:41:52,343 --> 00:41:55,443 GATES: Well, legend has it that Eom Heung-do 903 00:41:55,443 --> 00:41:58,409 secretly held a funeral for the executed king then 904 00:41:58,409 --> 00:42:02,176 fled his home because he was trying to save his life. 905 00:42:02,176 --> 00:42:03,309 CHUNG: Yeah, yeah. 906 00:42:03,309 --> 00:42:04,709 GATES: And he became a recluse. 907 00:42:04,709 --> 00:42:05,943 CHUNG: Wow. 908 00:42:05,943 --> 00:42:07,876 GATES: He remained so well hidden that the legend says 909 00:42:07,876 --> 00:42:09,976 he vanished without a trace. 910 00:42:09,976 --> 00:42:13,076 To this day, your cousin is revered in Korea as a 911 00:42:13,076 --> 00:42:16,776 loyal subject to the rightful king, and the funeral 912 00:42:16,776 --> 00:42:20,309 is reenacted every spring in Yeongwol. 913 00:42:20,309 --> 00:42:22,209 CHUNG: No way. 914 00:42:22,209 --> 00:42:24,476 GATES: And you could go and watch this reenactment. 915 00:42:24,476 --> 00:42:26,743 CHUNG: That's my cousin. GATES: It's your cousin. 916 00:42:26,743 --> 00:42:29,209 CHUNG: 18th removed. GATES: Yeah. 917 00:42:29,209 --> 00:42:31,509 CHUNG: Wow. 918 00:42:31,509 --> 00:42:35,476 GATES: Jamie's connection to this tale, as well as to other 919 00:42:35,476 --> 00:42:38,643 stories about the ancient ancestors in the Eom clan's 920 00:42:38,643 --> 00:42:42,343 jokbo, can't be independently verified. 921 00:42:42,343 --> 00:42:46,143 But the stories in the jokbo are important all the same. 922 00:42:46,143 --> 00:42:50,076 They allow Jamie to know what her mother's family believed 923 00:42:50,076 --> 00:42:54,109 about its origins, tracing them all the way back to the 924 00:42:54,109 --> 00:42:59,443 clan's founder, a man named Eom Im-Ui who was likely 925 00:42:59,443 --> 00:43:03,243 born in the first half of the 8th century. 926 00:43:04,376 --> 00:43:05,743 (laughs) 927 00:43:05,743 --> 00:43:06,976 CHUNG: This is crazy. 928 00:43:06,976 --> 00:43:08,376 GATES: What's it like to see him? 929 00:43:08,376 --> 00:43:09,976 (laughs) 930 00:43:09,976 --> 00:43:14,576 CHUNG: I mean, this is, it's strange to not have a picture 931 00:43:14,576 --> 00:43:17,843 of my mom's father, of my grandfather, but having... 932 00:43:17,843 --> 00:43:19,009 GATES: Yeah. 933 00:43:19,009 --> 00:43:21,976 CHUNG: An image of the clan leader. 934 00:43:21,976 --> 00:43:24,309 GATES: Yeah. Isn't that, isn't that amazing? 935 00:43:24,309 --> 00:43:27,076 CHUNG: It's mind boggling. 936 00:43:27,709 --> 00:43:31,076 GATES: Eom Im-Ui reportedly came to Korea as an ambassador 937 00:43:31,076 --> 00:43:35,509 from China sometime around the year 750, 938 00:43:35,509 --> 00:43:39,409 and his roots in China stretch back much further. 939 00:43:39,409 --> 00:43:45,143 According to his clan, he even ties Jamie directly by blood 940 00:43:45,143 --> 00:43:49,909 to a legendary figure in Chinese history, Eom Gwang, 941 00:43:49,909 --> 00:43:53,843 a scholar who chose a life of rural simplicity, 942 00:43:53,843 --> 00:43:57,476 despite repeated demands that he serve 943 00:43:57,476 --> 00:44:00,009 in the emperor's court. 944 00:44:00,543 --> 00:44:02,576 CHUNG: "And after refusing three times", 945 00:44:02,576 --> 00:44:03,776 which is an Asian tradition... 946 00:44:03,776 --> 00:44:05,876 GATES: Right. CHUNG: Korean tradition. 947 00:44:05,876 --> 00:44:07,843 "After refusing three times, 948 00:44:07,843 --> 00:44:10,076 Eom did go to the emperor afterward. 949 00:44:10,076 --> 00:44:13,276 The emperor said why can't you help me manage the empire? 950 00:44:13,276 --> 00:44:15,809 Eom looked at the emperor in silence for some time 951 00:44:15,809 --> 00:44:18,143 then said, when a gentleman decides upon 952 00:44:18,143 --> 00:44:21,576 a course of action, he does so for a reason. 953 00:44:21,576 --> 00:44:24,309 Why do you press me to change my mind? 954 00:44:24,309 --> 00:44:26,343 Eom went back to his fishing." 955 00:44:26,343 --> 00:44:28,276 GATES: He said "Thank you, but no thank you. 956 00:44:28,276 --> 00:44:29,476 See ya later." 957 00:44:29,476 --> 00:44:31,243 CHUNG: Hmm. 958 00:44:31,243 --> 00:44:32,709 GATES: Isn't that an incredible story? 959 00:44:32,709 --> 00:44:33,909 CHUNG: Wow. 960 00:44:33,909 --> 00:44:36,476 I love that he stuck to his guns, you know. 961 00:44:36,476 --> 00:44:38,076 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 962 00:44:38,076 --> 00:44:40,209 CHUNG: Really stood up for himself. 963 00:44:40,209 --> 00:44:42,109 GATES: Is that a trait you see in your mother? 964 00:44:42,109 --> 00:44:43,443 CHUNG: Yeah. 965 00:44:43,443 --> 00:44:46,743 And you know what's a shame is I do remember hearing stories 966 00:44:46,743 --> 00:44:49,409 that she had a really hard time because she wasn't, 967 00:44:49,409 --> 00:44:53,009 you know, she didn't have like a a higher formal education, 968 00:44:53,009 --> 00:44:56,176 I think when she married into my father's family, 969 00:44:56,176 --> 00:44:57,543 they gave her a really hard time. 970 00:44:57,543 --> 00:44:58,643 GATES: Typical. 971 00:44:58,643 --> 00:45:02,076 CHUNG: Yeah. And yet, she comes from royalty. 972 00:45:02,076 --> 00:45:03,343 (laughs). 973 00:45:03,343 --> 00:45:05,709 GATES: If she only had known. 974 00:45:06,443 --> 00:45:08,409 (laughs) 975 00:45:09,809 --> 00:45:12,543 We'd already seen how Cyndi Lauper's maternal roots 976 00:45:12,543 --> 00:45:16,443 were filled with men who'd earned Cyndi's disdain. 977 00:45:16,443 --> 00:45:20,209 Now, turning to the paternal side of her family tree, 978 00:45:20,209 --> 00:45:23,543 we encountered a man whose story, we hoped, 979 00:45:23,543 --> 00:45:25,909 would inspire her... 980 00:45:25,909 --> 00:45:28,376 It begins in Switzerland where Cyndi's 981 00:45:28,376 --> 00:45:32,676 7th great-grandparents, Christen and Anna Lauper, 982 00:45:32,676 --> 00:45:35,609 were born in the early 1600s. 983 00:45:37,443 --> 00:45:38,976 LAUPER: Wow. 984 00:45:38,976 --> 00:45:40,476 GATES: That is your seventh great-grandparents' 985 00:45:40,476 --> 00:45:41,876 marriage record. 986 00:45:41,876 --> 00:45:43,109 LAUPER: Wow. 987 00:45:43,109 --> 00:45:45,676 GATES: Your ancestors were married in a village called 988 00:45:45,676 --> 00:45:49,209 Schüpfen, a village surrounded by nine smaller villages, 989 00:45:49,209 --> 00:45:52,309 including Allenwil, just three miles west, 990 00:45:52,309 --> 00:45:56,543 and you can see photos of Allenwil and Schüpfen 991 00:45:56,543 --> 00:45:58,776 on your left, very beautiful. 992 00:45:58,776 --> 00:46:00,009 LAUPER: Farm country. 993 00:46:00,009 --> 00:46:01,876 GATES: This is where your people come from. 994 00:46:01,876 --> 00:46:04,176 LAUPER: Wow. He was a farmer. 995 00:46:04,176 --> 00:46:05,209 GATES: A farmer. 996 00:46:05,209 --> 00:46:08,009 Can you grow things? 997 00:46:08,009 --> 00:46:09,276 LAUPER: Cactus. 998 00:46:09,276 --> 00:46:11,676 (laughs). 999 00:46:13,309 --> 00:46:16,176 GATES: As it turns out, Christen Lauper was no 1000 00:46:16,176 --> 00:46:20,476 ordinary farmer, he was involved in a seminal event 1001 00:46:20,476 --> 00:46:23,409 in his nation's history. 1002 00:46:23,409 --> 00:46:26,409 In the early 1650s, Switzerland suffered a 1003 00:46:26,409 --> 00:46:29,376 severe economic downturn. 1004 00:46:29,376 --> 00:46:31,809 Grain prices plummeted, 1005 00:46:31,809 --> 00:46:34,676 and instead of helping the peasants pay their debts, 1006 00:46:34,676 --> 00:46:37,809 the government devalued its currency, 1007 00:46:37,809 --> 00:46:41,176 cutting the peasants' savings in half. 1008 00:46:41,176 --> 00:46:45,476 In response, the peasants began to organize a revolt. 1009 00:46:46,243 --> 00:46:50,376 Cyndi, who's devoted herself to an array of social causes, 1010 00:46:50,376 --> 00:46:53,843 wondered how her ancestor responded. 1011 00:46:54,176 --> 00:46:58,276 In the Swiss state archives, we found our answer: 1012 00:46:58,276 --> 00:47:01,843 Christen is listed among the rebels... 1013 00:47:02,909 --> 00:47:04,643 LAUPER: That's amazing. 1014 00:47:04,643 --> 00:47:06,843 GATES: According to scholars with whom we spoke, as a 1015 00:47:06,843 --> 00:47:10,476 "general agitator and rebel" your seventh great-grandfather 1016 00:47:10,476 --> 00:47:12,743 would have alerted his friends and neighbors about the 1017 00:47:12,743 --> 00:47:16,476 movement going from house to house in his village and even 1018 00:47:16,476 --> 00:47:19,509 organizing journeys to the local assemblies where 1019 00:47:19,509 --> 00:47:22,543 the peasants shared their disapproval and plotted 1020 00:47:22,543 --> 00:47:24,843 their next steps of action. 1021 00:47:24,843 --> 00:47:26,043 LAUPER: Town hall meetings. 1022 00:47:26,043 --> 00:47:28,043 GATES: You got it. 1023 00:47:29,009 --> 00:47:31,976 The rebel movement spread quickly through several Swiss 1024 00:47:31,976 --> 00:47:35,343 states, called cantons, including Bern, 1025 00:47:35,343 --> 00:47:37,409 where Christen lived. 1026 00:47:37,409 --> 00:47:41,109 And, as it grew, the movement intensified. 1027 00:47:41,109 --> 00:47:44,776 Armed militias were formed, and a detailed agenda laid out. 1028 00:47:46,043 --> 00:47:50,309 On May 14, 1653, thousands of peasants from four different 1029 00:47:50,309 --> 00:47:53,843 cantons gathered at a place called Huttwil to 1030 00:47:53,843 --> 00:47:55,876 swear an oath against their governments. 1031 00:47:55,876 --> 00:47:57,009 LAUPER: Come on, Huttwil. 1032 00:47:57,009 --> 00:47:58,043 GATES: Huttwil. 1033 00:47:58,043 --> 00:47:59,109 LAUPER: That's good. Down to Huttwil. 1034 00:47:59,109 --> 00:48:01,009 That just sounds like a party. 1035 00:48:01,009 --> 00:48:02,309 GATES: Yeah. It does. 1036 00:48:02,309 --> 00:48:05,243 Cyndi, this was the very first time that Swiss authorities 1037 00:48:05,243 --> 00:48:08,876 had ever faced joint action from peasants. 1038 00:48:08,876 --> 00:48:10,243 LAUPER: Wow. 1039 00:48:10,243 --> 00:48:11,809 GATES: Coming together from multiple cantons, 1040 00:48:11,809 --> 00:48:14,443 states, to demand political action and to 1041 00:48:14,443 --> 00:48:16,409 demand their political rights. 1042 00:48:16,409 --> 00:48:17,643 LAUPER: Wow. 1043 00:48:17,643 --> 00:48:19,309 GATES: And your ancestor was part of it. 1044 00:48:19,309 --> 00:48:20,543 LAUPER: Wow. 1045 00:48:20,543 --> 00:48:22,976 GATES: And days after Huttwil, peasant armies besieged 1046 00:48:22,976 --> 00:48:25,443 Bern and Lucerne, hoping the authorities would give in 1047 00:48:25,443 --> 00:48:27,376 to their demands, and by early June, 1048 00:48:27,376 --> 00:48:31,476 the peasants and the two cities reached treaties. 1049 00:48:31,476 --> 00:48:34,609 LAUPER: Wow. That is amazing. 1050 00:48:35,809 --> 00:48:38,709 GATES: Unfortunately, Swiss authorities soon 1051 00:48:38,709 --> 00:48:42,609 went back on their word, and resumed the war. 1052 00:48:43,376 --> 00:48:45,543 this time, the peasants were crushed, 1053 00:48:45,543 --> 00:48:48,509 leaving Christen in dire jeopardy. 1054 00:48:49,509 --> 00:48:52,309 LAUPER: He probably got arrested, poor thing. 1055 00:48:52,309 --> 00:48:53,709 GATES: Would you please read the translation? 1056 00:48:53,709 --> 00:48:56,443 LAUPER: "Christen Lauper from Allenwil. 1057 00:48:56,443 --> 00:48:59,743 His penalty shall be 15 kronen?" 1058 00:48:59,743 --> 00:49:00,843 GATES: Yes. 1059 00:49:00,843 --> 00:49:02,943 After the peasants' military defeats, 1060 00:49:02,943 --> 00:49:06,109 the authorities clamped down on the rebels. 1061 00:49:06,109 --> 00:49:10,976 They executed over 40 of the peasant ringleaders and fined 1062 00:49:10,976 --> 00:49:14,876 local leaders and participants like your ancestor, Christen. 1063 00:49:15,176 --> 00:49:17,909 So, your ancestor took huge risks to create a better life 1064 00:49:17,909 --> 00:49:19,809 for himself and his fellow citizens, 1065 00:49:19,809 --> 00:49:21,509 and he paid the price for it. 1066 00:49:21,509 --> 00:49:24,343 That fine was about 70 days of wages. 1067 00:49:24,343 --> 00:49:25,509 LAUPER: Oh. 1068 00:49:25,509 --> 00:49:27,243 GATES: So, that's over two months of wages. 1069 00:49:27,243 --> 00:49:29,376 LAUPER: Wow. 1070 00:49:31,509 --> 00:49:35,043 GATES: Though it failed, the revolt lived on in memory. 1071 00:49:35,043 --> 00:49:37,876 There are still monuments in Switzerland honoring 1072 00:49:37,876 --> 00:49:39,909 the rebel cause today. 1073 00:49:39,909 --> 00:49:42,676 And learning this brought a sense of connection 1074 00:49:42,676 --> 00:49:45,576 that took Cyndi by surprise. 1075 00:49:47,243 --> 00:49:51,309 LAUPER: I feel proud to be a descendant of Christen Lauper. 1076 00:49:51,309 --> 00:49:54,143 And that he was a revolutionary, 1077 00:49:54,143 --> 00:49:58,376 and that he worked, um, local. 1078 00:49:58,376 --> 00:49:59,543 GATES: Mm-hmm. 1079 00:49:59,543 --> 00:50:01,043 LAUPER: State to state. 1080 00:50:01,043 --> 00:50:02,276 GATES: Yeah. He did. 1081 00:50:02,276 --> 00:50:03,609 LAUPER: To get the people together. 1082 00:50:03,609 --> 00:50:05,609 GATES: Organizing. LAUPER: And organizing. 1083 00:50:05,609 --> 00:50:07,609 GATES: Yeah. LAUPER: I think that's amazing. 1084 00:50:07,609 --> 00:50:08,876 GATES: Yeah, to fight the man. 1085 00:50:08,876 --> 00:50:10,376 LAUPER: I know, I'm always fighting the man. 1086 00:50:10,376 --> 00:50:12,043 Now I know where it comes from. 1087 00:50:12,043 --> 00:50:15,543 GATES: The paper trail had now run out for each of my guests. 1088 00:50:15,543 --> 00:50:18,509 it was time to unfurl their family trees... 1089 00:50:18,509 --> 00:50:19,709 LAUPER: Oh my God. 1090 00:50:19,709 --> 00:50:21,109 TREJO: Wow. 1091 00:50:21,109 --> 00:50:24,343 CHUNG: My goodness. 1092 00:50:24,343 --> 00:50:25,609 GATES: Look at that. 1093 00:50:25,609 --> 00:50:28,676 Giving each the chance to reflect on the immigrant 1094 00:50:28,676 --> 00:50:32,776 experiences that had so profoundly reshaped their 1095 00:50:32,776 --> 00:50:36,843 families, and forged their own identities. 1096 00:50:37,676 --> 00:50:41,676 What has our journey together, what has it meant to you? 1097 00:50:42,309 --> 00:50:46,243 LAUPER: Well, I just wanted to know who the heck I was, 1098 00:50:46,243 --> 00:50:49,209 because I started to have a lot of questions. 1099 00:50:49,209 --> 00:50:51,043 GATES: Do you have a greater sense of that now? 1100 00:50:51,043 --> 00:50:52,909 LAUPER: Yes, yes, I do. 1101 00:50:52,909 --> 00:50:56,609 TREJO: I think it's shined a light, like on who I am, 1102 00:50:56,609 --> 00:51:02,509 on where I come from and who I come from, and uh, 1103 00:51:02,509 --> 00:51:06,343 I really... 1104 00:51:06,343 --> 00:51:10,943 I'm, I'm really proud of, of, of the whole deal. 1105 00:51:11,476 --> 00:51:13,643 GATES: All of these stories that I've told you today 1106 00:51:13,643 --> 00:51:16,943 would've been very familiar to your ancestors back in Korea. 1107 00:51:16,943 --> 00:51:19,209 They wouldn't have been learning them 1108 00:51:19,209 --> 00:51:20,409 for the first time. 1109 00:51:20,409 --> 00:51:21,776 They would've been raised with these stories. 1110 00:51:21,776 --> 00:51:23,376 CHUNG: Stories, yeah. 1111 00:51:23,376 --> 00:51:25,543 GATES: They would've heard them from their parents, and 1112 00:51:25,543 --> 00:51:27,676 they would've passed them onto their children, 1113 00:51:27,676 --> 00:51:31,143 but these stories got lost in the move to America. 1114 00:51:31,143 --> 00:51:32,409 CHUNG: Yeah. 1115 00:51:32,409 --> 00:51:34,376 I think they, they left a piece of themselves in Korea. 1116 00:51:34,376 --> 00:51:35,576 You know. 1117 00:51:35,576 --> 00:51:36,809 GATES: Mmm. 1118 00:51:36,809 --> 00:51:39,376 CHUNG: But knowing now that we come from such rich... 1119 00:51:39,376 --> 00:51:45,676 we have such rich history and amazing ancestors, it's, wow... 1120 00:51:46,809 --> 00:51:51,076 This is certainly, this is, this is priceless. 1121 00:51:51,509 --> 00:51:54,109 Thank you so much. 1122 00:51:54,776 --> 00:51:56,876 GATES: That's the end of our journey with Jamie Chung, 1123 00:51:56,876 --> 00:52:00,109 Danny Trejo, And Cyndi Lauper. 1124 00:52:00,943 --> 00:52:02,343 Join me next time 1125 00:52:02,343 --> 00:52:04,209 when we unlock the secrets of the past 1126 00:52:04,209 --> 00:52:05,376 for new guests 1127 00:52:05,376 --> 00:52:09,409 on another episode of  Finding Your Roots.