Jeff Bezos may be finalizing his wedding to Lauren Sánchez in some exclusive corner of Venice, but there’s a much more humble and unknown place that left its mark on his personal history more than a decade ago: a small Castilian town where his adoptive grandfather came from and which is part of what we now call Empty Spain.
Although Bezos is often said to have Spanish roots, the truth is that he has no direct bloodline ancestry. His mother, Jackelin Gise, gave birth to him when he was just 17 years old in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his current surname comes from Miguel Bezos, the man who adopted him and whom he has always considered his real father. Miguel was born in Cuba, but his family—the Bezoses—originally came from Spain. Specifically, from a town in Valladolid called Villafrechós, from where his father, Salvador Bezos, emigrated to the Caribbean island in the 1920s after living there for the first 14 years of his life.
This family connection led the Amazon founder to make a discreet visit to Villafrechós in 2011, accompanied by his family and a small security detail. There were no major announcements or official photos, but the gesture was etched in the town’s memory and cemented an emotional connection between the entrepreneur and this rural enclave in the heart of Castile and León.
Located in the Tierra de Campos region, Villafrechós (Valladolid) is a clear example of the depopulation affecting much of the peninsula’s interior. At the end of the 19th century, it had over 1,700 inhabitants. Today, its registered population is barely around 460, according to the latest municipal census from 2024.
ANCIENT HISTORY AND HERITAGE IN EVERY CORNER
Despite its current size, Villafrechós has a long history dating back to prehistoric times. Archaeological remains in places like Zalengas and El Picón attest to ancient settlements. For centuries, it was a town of kings and lords, and it still preserves traces of that past in buildings such as the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara—founded in 1406 by Doña Urraca de Guzmán—and the parish church of San Cristóbal, which houses a remarkable 18th-century Rococo altarpiece.
In its streets, you can still see old facades with noble coats of arms and historic fountains such as the Caminante and Zalengas fountains, linked to ancient villages that have now disappeared. The bastion of the old castle, transformed over time into wineries, has been partially restored and converted into a restaurant, integrating history with contemporary life.
TRADITION, CANDIED ALMONDS, AND A SLOW PACE
Villafrechós’s identity is also preserved in its customs. Festivals such as Nuestra Señora de Cabo, every September 8th, are celebrated with bull runs and the unique “Vaca Enmaromada” (Cow Enmaromada), declared a traditional spectacle by the Regional Government of Castilla y León. There are also celebrations of San Isidro, San Antón, and Santa Águeda, as well as the peculiar “curiesada,” a popular snack with origins lost in time.
At the culinary level, the artisanal cheeses and cured meats stand out, and above all, its famous candied almonds, a tradition more than 200 years old and kept alive by the Cubero family. Organic legumes are also grown using traditional methods.
Villafrechós promotes itself as a place where life is taken slowly. “Slowly, but surely,” could be its unofficial motto. And perhaps that’s what Bezos valued most when he visited his grandfather’s village.
