Epic Gen Tours

07/06/2022

03/02/2022

Before I even left, I was planning my trip back, with a stronger desire to learn Italian than I had ever had to learn another language. I continue to think about my family in Italy often, and in many ways, a big part of my heart is there with them. - M. Della Gatta

How has your heritage motivated you to learn another language?

What feelings have you experienced traveling to your family's country of origin?

03/02/2022

Every man has two deaths, when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name. In some ways men can be immortal. - Ernest Hemingway

Today was my father's birthday. It has been over two months since he left mortality and I still think of him daily.

I didn't realize until he was gone how much of a steady presence he had been throughout my life.

He was like a dimly lit candle that was always burning, so subtle I didn’t know it was there until it was fully gone.

My mind still cannot believe that something that had been true my whole life is not true anymore.

Nothing in life can fully prepare you for the only certainty of life.

I am grateful for the man my father was. For the way he lived his life. And for the legacy he has left behind.

02/21/2022

02/09/2022

Does your family have a Bruno? Is there someone or some event in your family's past that no one wants to talk about? How does your family address the skeletons in their closet?

Few families willingly and openly recount stories of betrayal, abandonment, mental illness, abuse of any kind, or other trauma.

But digging into the past, intentionally and mindfully, can open up the path for healing for generations to come.

You may find peace and reconciliation by uncovering your family's history.

Pay special attention to emotional triggers, try to see the big picture and circumstances of the times.

Researching your past is a form of therapy.

08/09/2021

Growing up with a mother from Uruguay, I could tell our home customs were distinct from the other kids in my neighborhood. When I finally had the chance to visit Uruguay — walk around the towns where my mom grew up, smell and taste the food, and hear the language of my ancestors — I felt like a part of me found home. - Em

Have you had a similar experience?
If so, please share!

08/04/2021

Big families part II - siblings

Be nice to your siblings, they're your best link to your past
And the people most likely to stick with you in the future - Everybody's Free by Baz Luhrmann

Out of all the people you will get to know during your lifetime, the people who will have known you the longest will almost always be your siblings.

📷: 10 of 11 Della Gatta siblings, Culver City, CA, August 1983

08/02/2021

Humans are tribal people.

We gather with people who are similar to us.

Immigrants from the same place tend to gather in communities in their new home country.

Here are maps of Asia and Europe that show which US state has the highest percentage of immigrants from that country.

Are any of these surprising to you?












Original maps credit:

07/27/2021

"Traveling to China was like stepping through a window into an undiscovered memory. Being able to immerse myself in these ancestral lands addressed a side of my soul that had been suppressed. The ancient feeling of everything rural and urban was in my blood. God was with me every step of the way."
- S. Li

Ancestral touring is about connecting worlds.

Bridging past, present, and future.

Old and new.

Deceased and living.

Are you ready to take that trip?








#中国

07/24/2021

Pioneer - a person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area. There are many different kinds of pioneers; pioneers in thought or innovation, pioneers of space exploration.

In American history, we traditionally think of pioneers who crossed the plains in covered wagons to settle the West and the hardships they faced.

A pioneer who stands out from my family is my 2x great-grandfather, Samuel Lewis (1829-1911). Born in Kentucky, he survived a massacre at Haun’s Mill, Missouri when he was 9.

At age 16, he was the 2nd youngest person to join the Mormon Battalion during the armed conflict between the United States and Mexico.

He walked nearly twice as far as most other pioneers; from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California where he was discharged, only to then walk to Salt Lake City to join his family. He was the first to deliver mail from Salt Lake City to San Francisco.

He married Sarah Jane Huntsman. After raising 12 children together, they separated. Sarah kept the house and Samuel became a walking wanderer, staying with his children from time to time.

While cutting stone for a temple, a piece of stone flew into his eye and eventually had his eye removed. He later ruptured himself moving a large stone, placing himself in a Phoenix hospital where he died at age 81.

Blessed, honored pioneer.

07/23/2021

Travel is more than moving from one place to another. It involves opening a strange door and acquainting yourself with a new perspective.

Family history is more than learning names and dates. You learn to weave a giant tapestry that links all of humanity.

Ancestral touring unites time and place. Wholeness and healing.

Come start your journey.

07/22/2021

"Going to Ghana feels like going home. It's where I am truly free and feel the most at peace and secure. There's always more to learn about myself, my people, and the beautiful country."


Do you have Ghanaian or West African heritage? 🇬🇭

Epic Gen Tours helps you connect with your heritage, no matter how strong or loose your ties are. We help you learn your past, be present, and create a future that would make your ancestors proud.

07/20/2021

Do you come from a large family? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

In 1940, the average US household size was 3.8 persons, while over 45% of families had 4 or more people living under the same roof. 🏠

Since then, the average family size in the US has shrunk by one third. 👨‍👩‍👧

And the average US home size has more than doubled! 🤯

What factors do you think have led to larger houses and smaller households?

Do we now hold a higher value on personal space?

Have we shifted away from a tight knit family culture?











📷 : Lewis-Cluff family, circa 1942, Farmington, NM

07/12/2021

What is the most common family name in your country of origin?



Source: forebears.io
Visual:

07/12/2021

What is the most common family name in your country of origin?



Source: forebears.io
Visual:

07/05/2021

Summer 1996 -
Hoping to learn Spanish by immersion, I spent my summer break between ninth and tenth grade living in Costa Rica. I attended school with my cousins who spoke almost no English and I spoke almost no Spanish.

It would take more than one summer abroad for me to become fluent, but the experiences I had, the family relationships I made, and the cultural insights I gained have shaped who I am today.

Visiting and/or living with relatives will do more to strengthen your connection to a place than any other experience.

Have you visited family abroad? What kinds of experiences did you have?

07/04/2021

After spending 33 months as a missionary in Norway, Anthon Lewis arrived in the New York Harbor on July 4, 1956. He had left Oslo 8 days earlier on the maiden voyage of the Bergensfjord. He was met with fireworks in the NY harbor that evening, celebrating his return home.

04/20/2021

For as long as I can remember, I have loved maps. When I was 10 years old and long before , I stared at the map of our city as it appeared on the cover of the phonebook that was delivered to our front door. After examining the map, I decided I wanted to bike the perimeter of my hometown, Glendale, California.

I found another map that helped me decide which streets to take. Few of these streets were bike-friendly and definitely not safe enough for a 10-year-old child to ride down.

Over the course of a few days, I rode my bike for an hour everyday after school, following the route I had mapped, picking up where I left off from the day before. I had to trick a couple friends to come along on the adventure, even though they usually bailed halfway through the trip each day.

I had a small, single speed BMX bike. The route wasn’t a perfect perimeter since I avoided criss-crossing mountains with no trails, but I was dedicated to my journey. I biked up and down windy, single lane mountain roads, through quiet residential streets, industrial zones and busy LA traffic. The memory of that trip has stayed with me and has served as a reminder to me that I can stay dedicated to a plan.

What are some of your favorite childhood memories? What adventures did you create for yourself?

04/13/2021

Unique architecture gives character, charm, and identity to regional landscapes. Puglia, in southern Italy, is known for its trulli, traditional dry stone huts with a cone shaped roofs. These rural houses are built with no mortar or cement and reached their highest popularity during the nineteenth century as temporary homes for agricultural workers and farm owners.

Is there an architectural style from your ancestral homeland? What old architecture styles would you like to see come back? Comment below if you have visited the trulli in Alberobello, Puglia.

04/01/2021

Castillo-Matamoros family & Gómez-Castillo family, circa 1912. Every photo carries a story. There are at least 3 family members missing from this photo because they had already deceased. Two children and their father.

What clues have you uncovered by investigating timelines of old family photos?

04/01/2021

Wouldn’t you like to see the world from a different view? Take some time to slow down. Or maybe speed up. With each new place you visit, you have an opportunity to learn to adapt and grow with new surroundings. What new place would you like to explore?

03/31/2021

Doors are more than a function of entering and leaving a room or building. In Tunisia, doors are adorned with nail head designs and symbols that reflect the owners’ beliefs.

Do you know of any other cultures who decorate their entryways?

03/24/2021

Women’s history month is coming to an end. While we celebrate the contributions of women from around the world, how do you recognize and honor the contributions of the women in your family?

03/23/2021

Which cemetery would you most like to visit?
1. Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France
2. Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
3. Cimetière Sidi Djebali, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
4. Cimetière Sidi Benachir, Salé, Morocco
5. Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
6. St. Louis Cemetery No.2, New Orleans, Louisiana
7. Cimetière Américain en Normandie, Normandy, France

03/23/2021

Basque pelota, along with a variation of the sport called Jai-Alai, originated in the Basque Country around the 13th century. The game is played with a ball, a hand-held wicker basket, and two teams facing each other or against a wall. Today, the sport’s culture remains tied to the Basque Region of Spain and France, as well as a few Latin American countries.

What sport is most popular in your culture? Are you curious what games or sporting activities your ancestors played?

03/18/2021

DNA tests look at your unique genetic code as it compares to others and their geographic places of origin. Your results become more accurate as a larger pool of people take the test.

Here are the most recent results from my and DNA tests.

Have you taken a DNA test? Where does your ancestry come from?

03/17/2021

Religion and architecture each represent culture, taking and borrowing from neighbors or distant lands. As communities invest in their locality, they find ways to stand out and be a little different from the rest.

This beautiful and unique red church was made in Belgium out of prefabricated steel plates, shipped to Costa Rica in 1892, where it was transported from Puerto Limón to Grecia by train and ox carts, then finally assembled in 1897.

Like many communities in Latin America, this church remains at the heart of the city, a gathering place and a reference point, as it has been for countless numbers of my ancestors for the past 125 years.

03/15/2021

My great-grandfather, Hyrum Albert Cluff, son of pioneer and polygamist, Moses Cluff. Hunter, frontiersman, wilderness guide. Mormon colonist in Mexico. At age 38, his wife Rhoda age 33, he took a second wife, Floretta, age 18. He had a total of 18 children, 6 of whom died as infants/children. Eventually chased out of Mexico by rebels during the Mexican Revolution. Their family returning to the United States as refugees. As I learn more about my forbearers, I empathize with how complex their lives were, the difficult decisions they made and how that has crafted who I am today.