Unknown parents of Barillas siblings — San Juan Opico, La Libertad · ~1750s–1770s
Francisca Barillas (Stem D) likely also descends from this same Opico stock — unconfirmed
Identity unknown
A family radiating outward from San Juan Opico across two centuries and two continents. Three lines descend from documented siblings — Cecilia, Bernardo, and Mariano. A fourth, Stem D, traces through Francisca Barillas, also of Opico, through her daughter Socorro and likely to Isabel Barillas of Texistepeque — the keystone of your direct line. Researched through civil registers, Catholic baptism records, death certificates, and verified primary sources.
If Francisca Barillas of Opico is connected to the same Opico stock as Cecilia, Bernardo, and Mariano — which her documented origin strongly suggests — then the four Stems share common ancestors and the cousin relationships hold. El Mágico (Stem B Gen 5) and María Cristina (Stem D Gen 4) would be roughly 4th–5th cousins. Dalila (Stem D Gen 5) and Rodrigo González (Stem B Gen 6) are in the same genealogical generation. The precise degree depends on exactly where Francisca fits in the Opico tree — that is the single remaining research question that determines whether the Mágico connection holds. The oral tradition rumor is neither confirmed nor contradicted — it waits on Isabel's birth record naming Socorro as her mother, and on tracing Francisca's own parentage in the Opico registers. Francisca's own baptism record, if found, would show her parents — only if those parents connect to the founding siblings would the Mágico relationship be confirmed.
Isabel Barillas's first documented act in the historical record is a legitimate union with Pascual Magaña in 1913. That single union created a thread that has never broken. A Magaña governed Texistepeque when Isabel's last child was born in 1953. Your family has an unexplained closeness with the Alcalde's office in Metapán today — same Santa Ana department, same corridor, same warmth nobody alive can explain. The Magaña connection is the best-documented continuous thread in your family's history — running from a partida signed in 1913 to a Facebook friendship in 2026. Whatever else remains unresolved about Isabel's origins, this part is real. It started with her. It has not stopped.
Partida Nº 286 (Texistepeque, September 4, 1953) is unambiguous: Isabel Barillas is Ruth Isabel's mother. Isabel held cédula Nº 846,555. She could not write — Valeriano Alfredo Leiva signed by proxy. Alcalde: Abel Magaña Z. The document is clean and the chain is clear.
The alternate theory — that Ruth Isabel is biologically María Cristina's daughter, registered under Isabel's name — is unproven but not implausible. Isabel in 1953 would be in her mid-50s at minimum, possibly older. María Cristina, born ~1935, would be approximately 18 in 1953 — exactly the age at which an unmarried young woman in rural El Salvador might have a child registered under her mother's name to preserve appearances. It was not an uncommon practice. If true, Ruth Isabel and Dalila are half-sisters, not aunt and niece. The official record says otherwise, and the official record is what stands — but the question is honest and the documents cannot resolve it alone. Only María Cristina's birth record, which has not been found, could place her definitively in Texistepeque in 1952–53 and make the alternate theory possible or impossible to sustain.
The oldest documented stem. Remained largely within La Libertad department. Notable: Jacobo Barillas + Emilia Contreras produced multiple children including a "Simona María Cristina Barillas" (~1910) and "Francisca Aurora del Tránsito Barillas" (1904) — neither of these are your family, but the shared names caused repeated research confusion. Stem A is entirely separate from your direct line.
The Mágico stem. Bernardo Barillas + Juliana Avelar → Pedro de Jesús → Jacoba Angela → Victoria Barillas García → Jorge "El Mágico" González (1958) → Rodrigo González. The "Pachines" nickname shared with Atanasio's line (Stem C) suggests a Panchimalco corridor connection common to both Bernardo and Mariano's descendants.
The youngest of the three documented founding-sibling stems. Fully documented from Mariano through Tránsito Barillas (born 1896, Rosario de Mora) via four verified primary sources. The chain ends at Tránsito — no document connects Tránsito to Isabel Barillas or to your direct line. Stem C is your family's closest documented Barillas stem, but the bridge to Isabel runs through Stem D, not through Tránsito.
The most recently identified stem and the most probable direct line for your family. Francisca Barillas, documented as originaria de Opico in her daughter Socorro's 1892 marriage record, connects to the same San Juan Opico stock as the three founding siblings — but through an untracked branch. The chain Francisca → Socorro → Isabel → María Cristina → Dalila is the working hypothesis supported by geography, generational math, naming patterns, and the consistent family culture of matrilineal surname transmission with absent fathers.
Ruth Isabel may be María Cristina's biological daughter registered under Isabel's name. Isabel having a child in 1953 is very late. Unresolvable without María Cristina's birth record.
Isabel Barillas is the keystone of your direct line — documented in Texistepeque from 1913, mother of three daughters across two unions, carrier of a Magaña connection that persists to the present day. Her birth record has not been found. The working hypothesis is that she is Socorro Barillas's daughter, making her Stem D rather than Stem C. What is certain is that she existed, she was rooted in Texistepeque, and every thread of your family passes through her.
Partida Nº 4,608 (Santa Ana, Oct 23, 1913): Names her as mother of María Isabel Magaña Barillas, in a legitimate union with Pascual Magaña. Signed by A.R. Barrientos and José M. Guillamy.
Partida Nº 286 (Texistepeque, Sep 4, 1953): Names her as mother of Ruth Isabel Barillas. She held cédula Nº 846,555 issued by Texistepeque. She could not write — Valeriano Alfredo Leiva signed by proxy. Alcalde: Abel Magaña Z.
Two confirmed unions: First, a legitimate marriage with Pascual Magaña (~1913). Second, an informal relationship with Emilio Urías (oral tradition via aunt) — father of María Cristina and possibly Ruth Isabel. No father listed on the later children's records, consistent with an unregistered union.
She was entirely rooted in Texistepeque, Santa Ana. All three daughters born there. The Magaña family governed that municipality. The matrilineal surname pattern — children carrying only the mother's Barillas name — is consistent across three generations: Francisca, Socorro, Isabel.
Francisca Barillas (Opico) → Socorro Barillas (~1875) → Isabel Barillas (~1893–1900)
Socorro Barillas is documented having children in Santa Ana city with no father named from ~1898 onward. Her first documented Isabel died at 22 days. A second, surviving Isabel born ~1893–1900 would be the right age to have a child in 1913 (~13–20 years old) and fits the geographic migration from Santa Ana city to nearby Texistepeque (~15km).
The naming pattern supports this: Francisca named a daughter Isabel in 1862. Socorro named a daughter Isabel in 1898. The name recurs deliberately in this family — your Isabel is most likely the third woman to carry it.
The critical missing document: Isabel's birth record in the Santa Ana civil register, roughly 1893–1900, naming Socorro Barillas as her mother. If found, it closes the chain completely.
1913: Isabel partners with Pascual Magaña — legitimate union, Texistepeque. Partida Nº 4,608.
1953: Abel Magaña Z. is Alcalde of Texistepeque when Ruth Isabel is born. The Magaña family holds civic authority in the same municipality forty years later.
Present day: Your family has an unexplained friendship with the Alcalde of Metapán — same Santa Ana department, ~30km from Texistepeque. Treated with unusual warmth on your 2026 visit. Nobody alive knows where the connection comes from — because it started with Isabel and Pascual Magaña over a century ago.
A pattern of connection between your family and the Magaña name spanning at least 110 years, three municipalities, and two continents. None of it ever formally explained. All of it quietly persistent. Presented not as coincidence, but as a documented thread originating with Isabel Barillas and Pascual Magaña in 1913.
Primary sources encountered during research, listed in chronological order — weighted toward the later exploration of unestablished Barillas lineages and the Stem D / Quijada threads. Sources marked verified have been directly read from document images. Sources marked oral are family tradition. Sources marked inferred are logical conclusions from verified records.