Well, every family has a skeleton in the closet and ours is no exception. At this generational milepost, however, we sort of look back at this "scandalous" beginning with detached amusement--more like a clown in the closet.
Nevertheless, once upon a time a naughty priest made a contribution to the gene pool of this family and with that also came a history and, now, very distant relatives rooted in another continent.
This is the Bravo family tree (Padre Bravo is number five on this list):
Don Joaquin Bravo and Doña Maria Elena Estepar's Descendants*
I. Exequiel Bravo – married Asuncion Velasquez
Children:
- Perfecto Bravo – married Angelita de los Reyes
- Consuelo Bravo – married Marclo Mendez
- Martin Bravo – married Pacita Gomez
- Emiliano Bravo – married Sofronio Cortez
- Mansueto Bravo – married Isabel Romero
II. Encarnacion Bravo – became a nun
III. Alfonso Bravo – married Cristina Valencia
Children:
- Roberto Bravo – married Fatima Valencia
- Alvaro Bravo – married Gloria Corpuz
- Veronica Bravo – married Ismael Buenavides
IV. Marciana Bravo – married Cesar Elizalde
Children:
- Julio Elizalde – married Adora Morales
- Andres Elizalde – married Leonor Soriano
- Ma. Victoria Elizalde – married Dominador Ramirez
- Rosario Elizalde – married Gregorio Camposano
- Manuel Elizalde – married to Magnolia Vergara
- Quirico Elizalde – married Concepcion Villanueva
V. Cresencio Estepar Bravo – married Francisca Aujero
Children:
- Exequiel Estepar Bravo – married Felicidad Padernilla;
married Rosario Aguilar
- Federico Estepar – not married
- Asuncion Estepar – married Filemon Ortizo
VI. Lourdes Bravo – married Ignacion Soriano
Child: Prudencio Soriano – married Victoria Tolentino
VII. Elvira Bravo – married Bonifacion Hernandez
Children:
- Miguel Hernandez – married Aurora Gonzales
- Tomas Hernandez – married Josefina Rios
- Marieta Hernandez – married Ernesto Velado
- Horacio Hernandez – married Conchita Ruiz
- Moises Hernandez – married Natividad Riego
- Adelina Hernandez – married Consolacion Santiago
*Compiled by:
Señor Salvador Cortez Bravo
Valencia, Spain
December 9, 1983
UPDATE:
- Tiyoy Nono said, Padre Bravo’s family originated, from Palencia, not Valencia. There is a small town near Palencia called "Estepar." Tiyoy also said Padre Bravo went to the University of Salamanca. These 3 towns are in the northern region of Spain called "Castile-Leon."
- Gigi Papa Pawley posits that the Bravo’s are of Jewish descent, not Moroccan. It was circa 14th c. when the Spanish monarchy ordered the expulsion of Jews in Spain. Option was to convert to Catholicism. This was... what led Christopher Columbus (who was himself Jewish) to “sail around the ocean blue”… leading to “discovering the Americas”…
- Connecting the dots, Padre Bravo’s mom is from Estepar, his dad from Palencia, he went to school in Salamanca, then sailed to the Islands… and voila, here we are…
- More info on the BRAVO surname.
"BRAVO- Sephardic name. 18th century London financier Abraham Bravo, descendant of a Spanish-Portuguese family.”
- Add'l info fromTiyoy: After Spain ceded the Phil to the Americans in the treaty of Paris in 1898, Fr Bravo was sent to south america by the Augustinian order. The country was not specified, but most probably in Brazil. Papa used to subscribe to "Selecciones del Reader's Digest" to brush-up his knowledge of Spanish. He saw that one of the richest Brazilians in the mining industry was a Bravo. He attempted to communicate thru letters but he never got a reply. Knowing the abilidad of Fr Bravo sa mga Chicks, i am not surprise if we have relatives in Brazil. (Amo dia ya mga manggaranon, waay ga sapak ka mga paryente basta imol. Hahaha.)
