The year 2013 will always be remembered by the Garcia-Fernandez family, because of two days in particular that will hold special places in their hearts.
The first unforgettable day for Drs. Anton Garcia-Fernandez and Erin Garcia-Fernandez was June 28, the day their daughter, Lillian Sabela, was born. The second and most recent unforgettable day was Dec. 9, the day Dr. Anton Garcia-Fernandez became a naturalized American citizen.
“It is a long-winded process. It is almost like a journey really, but it was important for me because Tennessee is my home now. I was born in Spain. You don’t choose where you are born; you are just born there. But when I moved to Tennessee about 10 years ago, things started happening little by little that made this home: I met Erin here, and my daughter was born here. So, when I think of home, it is not Spain anymore, it is the United States, it is Tennessee, particularly. I thought that since my wife and my baby are both Americans, it would be only natural for me to become an American, and I am really happy that I did,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Anton Garcia-Fernandez’s journey began years earlier in Vigo, Spain, where he grew up with his parents and sister. His father, Antonio Garcia Teijeiro, is a high school teacher and an award-winning author of over 70 children’s books. He writes poetry and short stories in both Spanish and Galician. At this time, none of his works have yet to be translated into English. His mother, Susi Fernandez Dominguez, works in a hospital pharmacy. His sister, Noa Garcia Fernandez, works in the press cabinet at Zara in Spain.
His last name is a combination of his father’s first last name and his mother’s first last name. It is the custom in Spain that the children are the only ones that share the same last names. In Spain the last names are not hyphenated; however, he chose to Americanize his name by hyphenating his last names, but his sister who still lives in Spain, did not.
Music and literature became important to Garcia-Fernandez very early in life. His father is a huge collector of books and records. His collection includes about 20,000 books and 15,000 records.
“I learned most of my English from listening to Bing Crosby,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Besides of course his native Spanish and English, he also speaks French, Galician, German and Portuguese.
Garcia-Fernandez started doing radio work when he was a teenager in Spain and continued it in college. His undergraduate major was in English Philology at the University of Vigo. He was an exchange student for a year at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. He enjoyed studying in the U.S. so much that he decided to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he earned his Ph.D. in Spanish Language and Literature.
While at Vanderbilt, he was given the opportunity to do a radio show that he called “Music City USA” on their station WRVU featuring classic Country Music from the 1920s to the 1970s. At the time, he was known on the radio as “Cowboy Anton.” He also did a show called “Music City Bandstand” that featured old Jazz when he was asked to substitute for another DJ at WRVU. His radio show ran for approximately six years.
“Radio work really helps you a lot when it comes to teaching classes. Because even though it is not really public speaking, it is public speaking in a way. You have an audience; you just don’t see the audience, but hopefully, somebody is listening at the other end of the microphone,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
It was while he was still a student at Vanderbilt that Garcia-Fernandez first met Erin Elizabeth Spinka. An English class that he had signed up for did not have enough people for it to make. When it was canceled, he was told to just choose any English class that interested him for a replacement. He decided to sit in on a British Romantic Literature class to see if he liked the class, the syllabus and the professor.
“That very first day I saw Erin in the class; so, I just decided, I’m not quitting this class,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
After the couple began dating, they started doing the radio show together. Once, they were even asked to DJ a wedding by some of their friends who were fans of the show.
The couple married July 18, 2009 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. The ceremony was conducted in both English and Spanish to accommodate both families present, some only speaking one language or the other.
Being liked and accepted by her new in-laws was important, but she had the added obstacle of not speaking the same language as they did. Although she took French all through school and was an exchange student in France while in college, she has actually had only four weeks of formal training in Spanish.
“Luckily Anton’s family has always been very welcoming to me and very patient with me. They’ve appreciated my efforts at learning Spanish. So, they made it very easy for me to take a moment, take a deep breath and try again. We have now been to Spain together three times, and I have made enough progress each time that I now feel comfortable enough on my own there,” said Garcia-Fernandez.
Although women in Spain do not take their husband’s names and some women in America chose not to take their husband’s names, Garcia-Fernandez said her decision was an easy one.
“I decided for a couple of reasons that I wanted to take Garcia-Fernandez. My maiden name was Spinka. I thought I might want to keep my maiden name, but it was important to me to have the same last name as my children. When we talked about going through all the paperwork and things for Anton’s immigration process, we decided it would probably be easier if we had a family name. So, that made the decision quite easy for me. We have a lot of friends that don’t change their names when they get married, and I think it’s an important choice for everybody, but for me it was an easy choice,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Even though they do not currently have a radio show, Garcia-Fernandez is not letting that keep him from expressing his love for music, especially Jazz. He is currently writing two music blogs, one in English and one in Spanish. The English one is called “The Vintage Bandstand.” It is devoted to classic Jazz, Swing, composers and lyricists of the Great American Songbook and the music of crooners such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. The Spanish one is called “Postales de Jazz,” which translates to “Jazz Postcards.” It is where he shares his opinions about Jazz records that he considers indispensable.
“I grew up around literature and music. [My dad] likes all kinds of music. I concentrate more on American music, mostly Jazz, Blues and Country. Literature and music means a lot to me. It’s almost a family tradition now because of my dad, and that’s why I write the music blogs. I want to give exposure to the music that I like, mostly the Jazz that I like,” Garcia-Fernandez said.
Spinka’s journey also began years ago, but in Nashville rather than Spain. She and her parents and three sisters moved around a lot while she was growing up. Her dad, Scott Spinka, was an engineer in the Navy, before trying his hand at songwriting and then opening his own medical marketing company. Her mother, Susan Spinka, earned a business degree and worked as a buyer for Kroger when Erin was little. She stayed at home with Erin and her sisters for a while and then went back to school and worked towards an Interior Design degree, but now mainly does accounting for various companies. Michelle Spinka is the oldest sibling and actually her half-sister. Amanda Pfennig is the next oldest sibling and Laura Spinka is her identical twin sister who currently lives in North Carolina near their parents.
Spinka graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, where she majored in poetry with an honors project in British Literature. After graduation she worked as an editor for five years before returning to school. She first worked for a magazine in Atlanta and later for a grant project at Peabody College in Nashville. She earned her Ph. D. in Victorian Literature from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
While teaching different subjects, both professors are dedicated to their students’ learning. Dr. Erin Garcia-Fernandez mainly teaches writing courses and British Literature. She feels that writing is a very personal thing and that giving a student feedback on their work is crucial to their learning process. Dr. Anton Garcia-Fernandez teaches Spanish and is always reminding his students that he will be glad to turn off the Jazz music in his office anytime they want to stop by for help. He also serves on the EMFL Awards Committee, as the faculty adviser for the Spanish Club and is involved with the Spanish honor society, Sigma Delta Pi.
They both enjoy listening to music, reading books, watching old movies, cooking together, playing with their dog, Cary Grantand, and watching soccer and baseball. He also enjoys singing, playing and referring soccer, playing baseball and tennis and claims to be the biggest Bing Crosby fan in the world. She additionally likes to ride her bike. But the one thing they enjoy most is spending time with their six-month-old daughter, Libby.
The couple speaks both English and Spanish to Libby in order to expose her to both languages at an early age. Since many of Libby’s extended family only speak one language or the other, it is important to the Garcia-Fernandez’s that she be able to understand both languages so she can communicate easily with all of her loved ones.
The couple hopes to acquire a dual citizenship for Libby before her first birthday to honor her dual heritage. While Spain does not currently require its citizens to give up their citizenship when they become citizens of another country, Garcia-Fernandez says he will gladly give it up should it ever become necessary.
For more information regarding Garcia-Fernandez’s blogs, go to http://vintagebandstand.blogspot.com for the English blog and http://postalesdejazz.blogspot.com for the Spanish blog.
Go to the photo gallery “Garcia-Fernandez” to view more family photos and photos of Dr. Anton Garcia-Fernandez’ naturalization ceremony.
