Isabel Singh Garcia
Isabel Garcia (January 1, 1935-January 21, 2011) was a member of the Punjabi/Mexican American community in Yuba City. Her father was of Punjabi Sikh heritage and her mother of Mexican heritage. On June 6, 1953, she married Alfred Paul Garcia, and together they raised one child. Isabel Garcia’s experiences growing up in the Punjabi/Mexican American community survive today in letters she wrote to local newspapers and in her interviews with Karen Leonard in her book documenting the Punjabi/Mexican American community.
Our fathers and mothers lived a very rich life. They raised us to be very proud, and gave us the best and the finest quality of life that one could ask for…
Our fathers with the help of our mothers became well-to-do in our community and were well-known for what good people they were. They could take a piece of ground, and turn it into a rich farmland…
Isabel Singh Garcia, Valley Herald and Independent Herald, April 1983. Quoted in Karen Leonard’s Making Ethnic Choices, 195.
Isabel Singh and Alfred Paul Garcia Wedding, June 6, 1953.
Daughters of Punjabis, Campfire Girls All States Nation Dinner, Marysville, CA. Left to right: Isabel Singh Garcia, Carmelita Singh Shine, Stella Ardave Singh, Sally Singh Dove, c 1964. Courtesy: Isabel Singh Garcia family and Yuba City’s Punjabi American Heritage Society. Women identified in Leonard’s Making Ethnic Choices.