Danny Trejo is left 'overwhelmed' after discovering the truth about his ancestors

Many people recognize Danny Trejo for his unforgettable roles in Hollywood, but his rise to fame was anything but conventional. Trejo’s childhood was fraught with challenges, including the absence of his mother, which left him disconnected from much of his maternal family’s story. On his father’s side, the narratives he heard offered little in the way of inspiration or optimism. However, in a life marked by struggle, Trejo recently uncovered a transformative piece of his family history. He shared this discovery during the January 23 episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots available on YouTube.

While speaking with host Henry Louis Gates Jr., Trejo reflected on the lives of the men in his family. Many pursued careers in construction, not out of passion, but necessity, often expressing dissatisfaction with their work. The exception was his Uncle Gilbert, who lived a very different kind of life. Gilbert, though free of complaints, was entrenched in the dangerous world of drug dealing. This had a profound effect on the young Trejo, who started selling heroin and joined a gang. By the age of 12, he had turned to committing robberies—a stark reflection of the environment that shaped him.

Life was quite turbulent for Trejo, with his uncle passing away a few years later and multiple jail visits. Everything changed when he managed to get the attention of a casting agent on a chance visit to a Hollywood set. He probably would have ended up like his uncle if he had never seriously got into acting. He had very little idea of his family's origins then and continued living and working as an actor. Gates helped Trejo take a deep dive into understanding who his ancestors were to give him a better understanding of where he came from.

Trejo learned from him that his great-grandfather, Cirilo Garay, moved to America from Mexico in 1918. He went to work on a farm in Texas, barely making ends meet. But his great-grandfather persevered and, by 1930, could buy a house and a grocery store. Seeing how his hard work paid off, the actor felt deeply grateful and "proud" of him. Gates also provided Trejo with some vital information about his family on his mother's side. Josefa Garcia, his maternal grandmother, moved to the US from Mexico in 1904, going on to become an American citizen.

She was born on a ranch located in San José del Cabo, a popular tourist spot in Mexico's Baja California area. His fourth great-grandfather was granted a huge 4337 acres of land, which is how he started the ranch. Trejo had visited Cabo before and always felt a special sense of love towards the place. The actor is very happy to have known that his ancestors owned such vast stretches of land in Cabo San Lucas. The actor said, "I think it's shined a light on who I am, where I come from, and who I come from. I'm proud of the whole deal."

This article originally appeared 10 months ago.