An occasional writer's journal

The lengths a Welshman will go to in tracing his family roots know no bounds, as seen in the annual rush of hotel bookings by wealthy Americans fulfilling a lifetime ambition of visiting the land of their fathers.

Every summer the public libraries of Wales are full of the chatter of genealogy enthusiasts, conspicuous by their US and Canadian accents, engaged in the task of determining which of the hundreds of identical surnames listed in parish records might belong to distant relatives.

The modern Americas were built on the backs of Joneses, Morgans, Williamses and Evanses who left the poverty of their valleys of green for the prospect of a new life, many bound for the South American expanse of Patagonia.

Nowhere can the influence of Welsh language and culture be seen as sharply as in the Argentine community of Gaiman, and notably the town of Trelew (‘Lewis Town’) where street names are in Welsh and tea rooms serve Welshcakes in the shadow of memorials to the first settlers.

One of the more intriguing stories of the Welsh in Patagonia comes not from the rugby field or chapel hall, but from the pen of Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals, whose heritage has inspired a debut feature film — completed after years in the making.

As reported by The Guardian, it was in Bala, Wales, that a farmer named Dafydd Jones challenged his cousin to a race on horseback in 1882. Jones rigged the race, giving his cousin a horse that he knew would lose, but tragically the cousin was killed and Jones fled his family’s wrath — all the way to South America.

Rhys, who is related to the errant Jones, takes the tale as the basis for his surreal road movie Separado! in which he travels between Wales and Patagonia in a matter transporter in the shape of a crash helmet. The film follows Rhys as he performs solo concerts across South America while  searching for Jones’s great grandson, a 1970s Argentine pop star called René Griffiths.

“At worst, it’s a Borat-style search for someone,” Rhys tells The Guardian. “At best, it’s a musical road trip couched in a magical realist style. But it’s also a product of wanting to find out more about René, who is not only a fantastic guitarist and my distant relative, but also the only man I have ever heard of who arrives on stage on horseback. I only wish I could do that myself.”

Super Furry Animal’s family quest in Patagonia – The Guardian