Credit: Nuestro Stories
It’s no secret that Walt Disney was a fan of all things fantastical. An abusive family and terrible upbringing led him down a path of disassociation and escapism. A path that led him to become a multi-millionaire and solidified his place in the history books as a man who built an empire off of his overactive imagination. Though his legacy has been tarnished over time due to the exceedingly racist and hateful views he espoused, his animation works remain a collective thread that ties together generations of children who grew up with his films.
His vivid imagination, however, is only part of his mythos. In his legend, there is also a thus far unproven, but widely held belief that makes up the mysterious upbringing of Walt Disney.
Was Walt Disney Mexican?
The many urban legends of Walt Disney being Mexican leads anyone into a deep rabbit hole once you begin your research. One of those legends dates back to 1901. Or 1902 – depending on where you first find yourself in the story. According to his official biography, Walt Disney was born in Chicago on December 5th, 1901.
Leading us to the first strange aspect of the Disney story.
Though Disney’s mother eventually signed an affidavit saying Walt was born at home in Chicago, no official record of Walt Disney exists until his baptism, which happened in 1902, months after his alleged home birth in 1901. This nearly year-long gap in Disney’s history is what brings us to the legend of his Mexican heritage.
Read more: These Three Mexican Artists Are Known As ‘The Three Greats’ of Muralism
Isabel Zamora was a washwoman who lived in the town of Molcajar, Mexico. According to local legend, Isabel began an illicit love affair that defied the class divide of the time, jumping head-first into a relationship with Spanish nobleman Dr. Gines Carillo. When people discovered Isabel was pregnant, the Carillo family is said to have bribed (and bullied) a local family by the name of Girao. They forced their son to marry Isabel before she and her baby, a boy by the name of Jose Luis, was shipped off to the United States. Isabel and her son took the name Girao, and almost immediately left to live with Isabel’s brother Juan in Chicago.
There are too many loose ends
Once she arrived in the U.S., it is said Isabel lost interest in caring for her son. According to the legend, the newly Mrs. Girao then gave the baby up for adoption, sometime in 1902. Making the story even more sensational? It is said that Elias and Flora Call Disney, Walt’s parents, lived only houses away from Juan Zamora in Chicago. The house where both Isabel and Jose stayed.
It would be years before Walt discovered the strange discrepancy in his birth records. At the age of 17, he attempted to volunteer with the Army Red Cross, where it was discovered he didn’t meet the age requirements.
As he moved forward in life and became this looming figure in American history, it is said Disney himself seemed to want to know more about himself. When Disney became an FBI informant for the Hoover regime bureau, he also employed Hoover to look into his background. Some suspect he suppressed the truth from ever coming out.
Molcajar vs. Disney
The rumors of Disney’s heritage are well-known – with many calling his background into question over the course of his life. The Disney family blames the town of Molcajar for using the notoriety of the urban legend to boost tourism; the town itself still speaks of the legend as if Disney was born yesterday.
Records of his birth were never found. Not only were the 1901 birthing records in Molcajar destroyed, but the only proof of his birth in Chicago also came after the fact when his mother signed his at-home birth affidavit.
Decades later, in a mysterious move, Disney had his mother sign another affidavit to the effect of his birth.
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