Our history is not to be lost; it is to be treasured by future generations. This book is about a family, its ancestors, and events that shape their lives. It is a collection of the stories of the Arrechea and Crespo families and is my effort to capture my family's past through conversations, letters, and documentation. The stories are comprised of oral histories transcribed from recorded tape conversations and interviews. I hope that the richness of the Spanish interviews has not been lost in my translation to English. Our roots reach into China, Africa, Spain, and Cuba. The descendants are the narrators of this story and through their voices there are stories ranging from survival during political warfare to the recollections of family celebrations that are now traditions. I have tried to stay as true as I possibly can to their voices. The purpose of this book is to bring together the lives of my family and shed light on the questions that, three generations later, I once had. The days of sitting around the fireplace, baking, cooking, and sharing family legacies are disappearing. Although our ancestry is far from our physical reach, it is well preserved within us.