THE SON OF CARLOS CASTANEDA

In 1955 Carlos Castaneda became involved with an American woman named Margaret Runyan.

Margaret wanted a child, but Castaneda could no longer father a child because he had undergone a vasectomy. So, he suggested to a man named Adrian Guerritsen, Jr. (a Swedish businessman) that he have sex with Margaret. She became pregnant and on August 12, 1961, gave birth to a baby boy in Los Angeles. Margaret says that Castaneda was present during the delivery.

Castaneda was listed as the 'father' on the birth certificate. The child was given the name 'Carlton Jeremy Castaneda', although he was usually just called 'CJ', and affectionately known as 'Chocho'.

Shortly after CJ was born, Carlos and Margaret separated, then she went with the child to Washington DC, and later to Phoenix, Arizona.

Castaneda continued to visit them; he adored CJ and they spent time together.  This photo is said to have been taken in 1964, and CJ does appear to be about three years old.

 

Another photo of Castaneda with CJ:

This photo appears in Margaret's book and below it says: "CJ with Carlos in New York in 1968."

 

The BBC produced a documentary in which they interviewed CJ:

 

There, CJ says:

 

-      "My father sacrificed having a normal life with my mother and said that was the saddest day of his life, but my father had an unwavering intention and at that time he needed to give what was necessary for his thesis, and then that became something much bigger."

(Cid's note: Castaneda didn't separate from his wife out of "sacrifice for his thesis." I'm not sure who wanted to separate; Margaret says in her book that it was her, which could be true, but what I do know is that shortly afterward Castaneda was with another American woman named Mary Joan Barker, who was a librarian at UCLA.)

CJ commented:

 

-      "This is a postcard sent from Sonora, Mexico, and it says:  'I've been here in Mexico for a while, take care, bye.'

     I went with him on several field trips and spent a lot of time with him. We made trips to Topanga, the Grand Canyon, and Mexico, and I was like his little apprentice. I remember meeting a Native American in the desert; I was really young and didn't know his name was Don Juan."

(Cid's note: While the postcard appears genuine, I am suspicious of CJ's statement because it doesn't seem reasonable that Castaneda would take a small child to the remote areas where he was conducting his research. First, it would have greatly hampered his search, and second, if something happened to CJ  — if he became ill or injured —  it would have been very difficult to care for him.)

CJ mentioned:

 

-       "The last time I saw him alive, he made me write down my phone number, took it, and put it in his bag. That was the last time I saw my father alive."

Richard Jennings, who was one of Castaneda's close students during his later years, recounts that:

 

-       "At some point, Castaneda fell out with CJ, so he stopped responding to his letters and answering his calls. Castaneda eventually disinherited him explicitly in several versions of his will.

     When Castaneda died in 1998, his close associates did not want to announce his death, but CJ was the one who finally made the news public, after receiving notification that the probate process for Castaneda's estate was beginning."

CJ gave a somewhat different version, in an interview with journalist Geoffrey Gray, he recounted that he learned of his father's death two months after it occurred, and not from the people who lived with Castaneda but from a phone call he received from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

And it was only after communicating with Castaneda's executor (lawyer Deborah Drooz) that CJ discovered that he had been completely excluded from the will.

CJ filed a lawsuit against Cleargreen, the organization created by Castaneda, to fight for the ultra-million dollar inheritance left by his father, but he lost this lawsuit.

Exhausted by the length of the trial, and without resources because it was very expensive; also with his mother already elderly and in delicate health and himself also facing financial difficulties, CJ decided not to appeal.

Upset by what happened, CJ changed his name to 'Adrian Vashon', Adrian because that is the name of his biological father, and Vashon because of a character from the television series "Hawaii Five-0".

He continued with his life and achieved financial success, first by running a coffee shop franchise, and later by working in marketing.