From a Las Cruces pool hall to the royal courts of Spain

Ever played pool at Munson Senior Center in Las Cruces? You might be surprised to know that Jose “Pablo” Jaramillo, holding the pool stick beside you, is descended from royalty.

Born in Chimayo, New Mexico, Pablo has an ancestry richly woven into the culture and history of New Mexico, with family roots stretching from the New World to Andalusia, Spain, and beyond.

A family history specialist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pablo uses genealogical resources available through the Family Search Center in Las Cruces to research his own ancestry and help other families discover theirs.

His research has revealed connections not only to Spanish royalty but also to the rulers of the Aztec Empire, including Huei Tlahtoani Moctezuma I Ilhuicamina. Other branches of his family tree reach back to Andalusia, the southern portion of modern Spain, which was under Moorish rule from the eighth to the 15th centuries.

It was there that one of Pablo's ancestors, Abd ar-Rahman al-Dakhil, the Umayyad emir of Andalusia, built the Great Mosque of Córdoba in 785 CE. More than five centuries later, another of Pablo's ancestors, Gedalia ben Shlomo ibn Yahya haZaken, a Jewish physician, served as King Ferdinand's chief physician until he lost favor with the court in 1320. His daughter, Yonah bat Gedalia ibn Yahya haZaken, converted to Catholicism and married Infante Fadrique Alfonso Enriquez de Castilla, who became custodian of the Portuguese frontier.

During those centuries, Jewish, Catholic and Muslim peoples lived together, and intermarriage to combine kingdoms and gain riches was common. It was through this part of Pablo's lineage that his family became connected to the hereditary Dukedom of Medinaceli, a title that continues in Spain today.

But the world of Pablo's Spanish ancestors was changing.

The year 1492 was momentous for Andalusia and the world. Christopher Columbus, with the blessing and financial support of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, set out for the Indies, while the last Muslim ruler of the Alhambra was defeated.

The Spanish Inquisition, established by the monarchs in 1478, was in full swing. Royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to Catholicism or leave Castile, with those who remained facing persecution and possible death. Hundreds of thousands of people faced forced conversions, torture and execution.

Those events became part of the history that eventually brought branches of Pablo's family to the New World.

As Pablo investigated his roots, he began to understand how deeply his ancestry was tied to the history of New Mexico. Some of his Jewish and Muslim ancestors, known as conversos, had been sent to New Spain by order of the inquisitors. Others, seeking fame and fortune, joined the ranks of the conquistadors, including his ancestor Captain Cristóbal Cabeza de Baca III.

Still other ancestors were already living in the region when the Spanish arrived.

Over time, branches of Pablo's family moved north into the area around Santa Fe and Chimayo, where he was born. Their histories were not always on the same side.

During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Pablo's family fought on both sides. Some of his ancestors built Catholic churches, while others celebrated in kivas.

Centuries later, those different branches of New Mexico history are connected through the family tree of the guy playing billiards at Munson Senior Center.