Clara Restrepo and Archilla Family Papers

The Clara Restrepo and Archilla Family Papers document the genealogical research of the Archilla Family. The patriarch Gustavo Edmundo Archilla was born to Modesto Archilla and Ángela López in Comercío, Puerto Rico (date undetermined). Gustavo Edmundo was one of seven children, including a brother and five sisters: Alfredo, Matilde, Gloria, América, Lidia, and Luz. The family lived for some time in other areas of Puerto Rico, such as Morovis, Naranjito, Corozal, and Toa Alta. They owned a large amount of land and property, gaining a majority of their wealth from their farmed tobacco crops.

Since the early twentieth century, the Archilla Family has grown to include many relatives who were descendants of the Archilla children. The family descendants collectively uncovered a wealth of information about the family's roots. The surname “Archilla” is of Basque origin from the seventeenth century, later settling in other regions of Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba. Both Modesto Archilla Ramos and Ángela López were born in Puerto Rico after their families left Spain in the mid-1850s. As of 1979, the Archilla Family has descendants from nine other branches of families who married the children of Modesto and Ángela. These additional surnames include Chimelis, Travers, Hackett, Baranowski, Smith, Claudio, and Miranda. An extensive history documenting the various branches of the Archilla Family can be found in the “Archilla Family Reunion” (June 18-24, 1979) booklet within the collection.

Gustavo Abimael Archilla is the son of Gustavo Edmundo Archilla and Miranda Estrada. He, along with his cousins, organized several family reunions and contributed their own written documentation to memorialize the roots of the Archilla Family. Although the Archilla Family is considerably large, the most notable family member is Graciany Miranda Archilla, a poet, journalist, essayist, and co-founder of the Atalayismo literary movement. His own papers can also be found at Centro, since they provide a unique insight to the political and cultural milieu of Puerto Rico during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as of the Puerto Rican community in New York during the 1950s and 1960s.