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Mexican Roots

Season 8 Episode 5 | 49m 54s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.

Aired: 01/31/22 | Expires: 03/02/22
Corporate support for Season 11 of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. is provided by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Ancestry® and Johnson & Johnson. Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Support is also provided by Ford Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Candace King Weir; by the Inkwell Society together with many of its members; and by public television viewers.
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Family mysteries are solved for actor Laurence Fishburne & scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of married actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.
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Extras
Family mysteries are solved for actor Laurence Fishburne & scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Laurence discovers the identity of his great-great-great-grandmother.
Skip discusses Jane Gates, his oldest known ancestor up until now.
Sheryl's third great grandparents, a mixed race couple, got married in 1837.
Lonnie learns about his grandfather who served on a school committee for mainly Black students.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of actor Sheryl Lee Ralph & historian Lonnie Bunch.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the family trees of actors Debra Messing & Melanie Lynskey.
Melanie discovers a potential match for her great-grandfather.
Debra discovers her grandfather's earliest years in America after leaving Poland.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of married actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.
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