Jaimie Lelaine GuiretBorn March 30, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia to Joel & Jeanette Guiret (nee Monillas), Jaimie Lelaine Guiret is a third generation Cavinti diaspora and her link to our hometown is through her great grandmother Senen Villanueva de la Cruz. Jaimie is also the first American born in the family… now, how did that happen?

(Photo at left: Jaimie Lelaine at 1 year old)

Jaimie’s mother Jeanette Guiret nee Monillas is the daughter of the late Lily de la Cruz Monillas, the daughter of Senen de la Cruz. Lily was the first generation Cavinti diaspora in the family, who left our hometown and moved to the city to find work. She was also an Overseas Contract Worker in Saudi Arabia.

Jeanette, who is an only child, spent her growing up years in Metro Manila, visiting Cavinti during summertime and special occasions like the fiesta, Christmas or birthdays. A second-generation Cavinti diaspora, Jeanette’s link to our hometown was already tenuous but life’s twists and turns made it stronger.

When Jeanette was in high school, tragedy struck. Lily became ill and she never recovered. Jeanette moved in with her grandmother, Senen de la Cruz, who raised the teenage Jeanette and made sure she finished college.

Again, life surprised Jeanette, and this time it was a pleasant one. After marrying Joel Guiret, the couple got an H2 visa to work for a computer company in Atlanta, Georgia. While there, Jaimie Lelaine was born, thus making her the first American in the family.

Just for clarification, for those who do not know. In the U.S., the law is very specific, if you are born within U.S. territory, meaning the 50 states and any of its possessions like Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, that makes the individual an American citizen by birth.

The Guiret’s H2 visa expired and the Guirets moved to London where they also found work in a computer company. They spent a year there and now they are back here in the U.S., again on an H2 visa working for another computer company.

The Guirets reside in Atlanta, Georgia. Senen de la Cruz stays with them, helping raise her great grand child Jaimie Lelaine.