The most famous “anonymous Basque” in the world is now identified…and he was from Balmaseda

Natxo Ibargüen – Documents

After a few incredibly busy days, with the media following our entries on the story of Natxo Ibargüen and taking interest in gathering more information to corroborate that it really is him sitting on that beam high up in Rockefeller Center in New York in that mythical 1932 photograph, we’re going to quench your thirst for knowledge with some reports kindly provided to us by Arturo López Guinea at the Biscay Government.

These would be documents found on FamilySearch.org, which stores millions of documents, microfiche, and scans.  This mega-archive is in the Rockies, near Salt Lake City, and was created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Documentation Found

Here is a document about his wife, Esperanza Ojinaga, at the top, born in 1911 and entering the US in April 19178.  Below her name is in red with a green background, appearing as the spouse of Ignatius Ibarguen, with their daughter, Shirly Ibarguen.

Next, we found a document certifying the passing of their daughter Shirley on April 9, 1935, along with her birthdate, December 20, 1934.

Based on the documentation found and shown in the previous entry on this topic, Esperanza Ojinaga was born in Berango, Biscay, Spain on January 25, 1911, and arrived in the United States in 1917.  She was, therefore, 12 years younger than her husband, Ignacio Ibargüen, and they had their first child when Esperanza was only 17, in 1928.

Next, we bring you the documentation of the 1940 US Census, showing the Ibarguen-Ojinaga family at their domicile at 40 Pacific St., Brooklyn, NY.

Sheet from the US Census with the Ibarguens highlighted in red.

The following documents show the Naturalization of Ignacio Ibarguen in June of 1944.  Here, we can see their new address is 80 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY, and Ignacio Ibarguen’s signature is perfectly legible.

Certificate of the Naturalization of Ignacio Ibarguen

Finally, we bring you the documents certifying the passing of Ignacio Ibarguen in March of 1957 in New York City.  The names of his wife, Esperanza Ojinaga, and his living children, Louise and Donald (Dani), also appear.

In this document, which states that Esperanza Ibarguen (in the United States and most other Anglo-Saxon countries, it is common for the wife to take her husband’s surname) passed away on February 25, 1989, aged 78 (she was born on January 25, 1911), and she resided in Queens, NY.

More photos of Ignacio Ibargüen

At Gizmodo, we’ve found two more photos where Ignacio Ibargüen appeared at the same time of the famous beam photo, and you can also see the documentary they filmed during the construction of the RCA Building (Rockefeller Center).

On this webpage, there’s a descriptive paragraph about how the photo was taken.  It is known for a fact that it was taken on the 69th floor, at 790 ft/240 m, towards the end of construction.  Moreover, and here’s the trick few know about, even though it must have been dangerous that day, taking the mythic photograph was not as risky as it might seem, as just a few feet below them, the floor had already been completed.  Obviously, there is nothing done by chance in the picture.  The workers are acting like they have lunch every day with the best views in the city, but actually, the photo was set up to advertise real estate.

In these two new photos, you can see Natxo Ibargüen alongside his workmates.  In one, they’re tossing around a football, and in the other, they’re quietly listening to the radio while standing among the beams in a corner of the worksite.

Research continues

Meanwhile, we’ll be continuing our research to prove beyond all doubt that Balmaseda-born Ignacio Ibargüen Moneta is the second-from-the-left worker in the legendary photo taken atop Rockefeller Center in New York.  A collaborator drew up a list of the names of the eleven workers, based on information found online, but #2 is just a question mark, when the rest have a full name, or sometimes more than one.

List of the workers drawn up from internet sources

1. 1. Matty O’Shaughnessy, from County Galway, Ireland, friend to €11 and identified with him.
   2. ??
   3. There are several options: Austin Lawton, from King’s Cove, Newfoundland / Sheldon London, from New York, identified by his great niece / Ralph Rawding, from New York, identified by his granddaughter / Joseph Eckner?
   4. John Charles Cook, from the St. Regis Mohawk (or Akwesasne) Reservation, identified by his daughter.
   5. Claude Stagg, from Catalina, Newfoundland (??)
   6. John Johansson, from Okome; Sweden, identified by his niece’s husband (??)
   7. John Doucette, identified by his daughter
   8. Francis Michale Rafferty, identified by a nephew
   9. Stretch Donahue / Joe Curtis (??) (lacking info)
   10. Thomas Norton (born Naughton), from County Galway, Ireland
   11. Patrick “Sonny” Glynn, from County Galway, Ireland, identified by his son / Gusti Popovic, Czechoslovak (doubts about his letter to his wife which identifies him; sent in 1932, though his wife died in 1930?)

If anyone has any more information about the Ibargüen-Ojinaga family, we’d appreciate it if they’d share it with us, in order to prove that Ignacio Igargüen is worker #2 in the famous photo

Harresi – /3/2021 – Euskadi

Natxo Ibargüen. Documentos

Después de un par de días de vorágine, en los que todos los medios de comunicación estaban interesados en la historia de Natxo Ibargüen y en recabar más datos para corroborar que realmente es él la persona que está sentado en la viga del Rockefeller Center de Nueva York, en esa mítica foto de 1932, vamos a satisfacer sus demandas ofreciendo la información que amablemente nos ha brindado Arturo López Guinea desde la Biblioteca Foral de la Diputación de Bizkaia.

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Last Updated on Mar 19, 2021 by About Basque Country