Cuban Family Roots PODCAST

In this episode, I have the honor of interviewing Genie Milgrom. Genie is a Cuban-American born to a Catholic family. She wrestled most of the life with the Catholic dogma and although rooted in a traditional Catholic family, she converted to Judaism. She immersed herself in the search for her past and in her quest to discover her ancestry discovers her ancestors were part of the Spanish Inquisiti...

In this episode I compiled three fascinating interviews from years passed. If you never listened to these episodes before, this interviews are fascinating. The first is with Alina Garcia LaPuerta who discussed Spanish Nobility in Cuba through her book, La Belle Creole: The Cuban Countess who Captivated Havana, Madrid and Paris. Next, I am fortunate to interview Steven, Ownyeng, a chinese American...

In this episode I get to chat with Lourdes Del Pino Olazabal, Vice-President of the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, about how she became part of the club during its initial founding back in 2002. Throughout our chat she explains the many benefits of becoming a member of the club. The Club's website is a hub for numerous databases, including documents from 21 churches in various provinces, cemet...

In this episode of the Basic of Cuban Genealogy, I hope to share with my rookie genealogist information on how to begin their Cuban genealogy search. They will learn about Cuban church and parish records, where to search military records. I emphasize the importance of understanding Cuban history and where to search for ship passengers, newspaper announcement, and places where records can be found...

En este episodio tengo el placer de entrevistar a Samuel Martínez Alcalá, un joven cubano residente en España que inició un ambicioso proyecto combinando la genealogía cubana con la ciencia de tras de los Haplogrupos para encontrar la populación genética de cubanos y definir a que grupo ancestral pertenecen. A lo largo de la entrevista, Samuel explica cuál es el objetivo del proyecto y cómo puedes...

En este episodio de Cuban Family Roots tenemos el placer de entrevistar al escritor cubano, William Navarrete quien publicó su segundo libro de genealógia titulado, Primeras Familias, Pobaldo y Ciudad de San Isidoro de Holguín: Estudios de Genealogía Cubana. El explica que el libro se basa en los matrimonios sacramentales registrados en el primer libro de la iglesia de San Isidoro de Holguín entre...

In this episode I interview Gerardo Gonzalez who recounts his childhood in Placetas. He discusses with me how it was to return to the Cuba he left as a young boy to reconnect with his roots. He recounts moments in his life while in Cuba and his love for his grandfather who he never was able to see again. He dedicates his memoir to all the refugees who have an opportunity to come to America, the be...

Today I interviewed Luis Tomas Puig as he recounts his family search dating back to 1600.  A trip to Blanes, a village only an hour North of Barcelona, Spain  awakened his curiosity further as he reconnects with his Grandfather's family, a family he had never met. During the trip, he visited cemeteries, churches and collected pictures of his great-grandfather and other ancestors. He lear...

Christian recounts his journey to rescuing Spanish – American heritage and  tells us of fishermen on the Gulf Coast who fished the waters alongside their Indian fishing partners known as the “Spanish Indians” and some freed black slaves. Christian was inspired to and began to investigate the lives of these fishermen and their influence in the region. From the Tampa Bay down to the condominium...

It is obvious that the first popular music played in Cuba after the Spanish conquest was brought by the Spanish conquerors themselves, and was most likely borrowed from the Spanish popular music in vogue during the 16th century. Then at the end of the 18th century, the piano rapidly became one of the favorite instruments among the Cuban population. The best preserved are the African polytheistic r...

In this episode Christian highlights five unknown Cubans who played a major role in America's early formation. We can no longer depend on others to discuss our involvement in America's story, it is now up to us to identify Cubans who made significant contributions to America. The story belongs to us and must be told by us.  Don't miss this episode and learn about these five Cubans who may be...

In this episode, Christian and I explore six Cuban Genealogy myths. Although Cubans do not use online resources to find Cuban Genealogy information, there’s a considerable amount of misinformation and false myths in Cuban genealogy and history. Some are comfortable in maintaining these myths and no one dares to challenge them. An honest genealogist/family historian will go to great length to docum...

En este episodio tengo el placer de entrevistar a Ignacio Cabrera Mas, un Saludeño de pura cepa que dedicó 20 años a construir una enciclopedia del Municipio de La Salud. La Salud es la localidad más pequeña de la provincia de La Habana y por diversas razones se fue quedando cada vez más atrazagada hasta perder su Ayuntamiento. En este episodio nos dedicamos a rendir homenaje a un pueblo que lucha...

En este episodio #18 de Cuban Family Roots tengo el placer de entrevistar a mi amiga y presentadora del Green Plantain Podcast (Plátano Verde), Susana Jiménez Mueller. Susana nos cuenta su trayectoria genealógica y anécdotas de su paso por Cuba. También nos da un poco de información sobre sus nuevos libros y colaboraciones. ¡No te pierdas este episodio!

In this episode of the Cuban Family Roots podcast, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ed Elizondo, a retired engineer and the first to bring us virutal Cuban genealogy repository through the CubanGenWeb.org website which he created back in 1996. Since then, the CubaGenWeb.org has been a great resource for Cuban genealogy data and has facilitated the search for many Cubans when looking to finding...

The history of the Korean migration to Cuba was small by the number and forgotten. It was revived recently when Joseph John, a Korean American featured the film JERONIMO in 2019. The film explores the life of a Cuban of Korean-descent named Jeronimo Lim. Throughout the document we see Jeronimo's  attempt "t o unveil a forgotten chapter in the history of Korean diaspora" Throughout the intervi...

March is Women's History Month. In this podcast episode we celebrate Women's History Month by celebrating our Cuban Countess, Maria Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, a woman larger than life which little is known or written about in our Cuban history. She was not only part of Cuban aristocracy, she was a singer and the first Cuban-woman writer of her time.  Mercedes' memoir and travel writings speci...

This episode of The Irish in Cuba provides a historical perspective of the Irish migration in the Island. Although the Irish migration to Cuba was not directly from Ireland, the host explains how significant it was to the development of Cuban economy and culture. Prohibition is mentioned as a time when several Irish bar owners from both New York and Boston also settled in Habana. In addition, an i...

In this episode I discuss the Chinese migration to Cuba from 1850 when the Chinese arrived to toil in Cuba's Sugarcane fields to the second migration of 1870's when more than 40,000 Chinese arrived to the Island. In addition, I discuss the establishment of El Barrio Chino in La Habana and later the migration from California in the 1900's. My guest, Steven Owyang, a Chinese American with family in...

As young Cuban Americans who loves genealogy, Aileen and Christian want to share their passion and knowledge of genealogy they've gathered through the years with the rest of the Cuban Community. In honor of the 12 months of the year, they bring you Cuban Genealogy resources that they feel are the greatest resources for searching your Cuban family roots. The resources mention include databases for...

En este episodio entrevistamos al escritor y novelista cubano William Navarrete. Navarrete analiza su primer libro genealogico titulado, G enealogia Cubana. San Isidoro de Holguín, el cual trabajó con la colaboradora María Dolores Espino. Durante la entrevista habla de las pruebas y tribulaciones de armar esta gran producción genealógica. Fue durante la década de 1990, cuando no había Internet, qu...

In this episode 11, we focus on the Miyares Family of Cuba. A family that extended its roots throughout Central, South America, and Puerto Rico. In this episode, we'll explore the history of Miyares Family originally from Spain and how they made their way to the Americas. In addition, we tell the story of one of their descendants, Jack McGhee. Jack was secretly adopted by a maternal family member....

In this episode, we bring you Common Cuban Surnames which have originated from Spain and Portugal, and later Italy and other parts of Europe.  Today, some Cubans can traced their surnames all the way back to places from which their families emigrated. We also discuss some not-so common Cuban Surnames. So, Where did your last name come from? Could it have been a distant ancestor’s occupation ?...

In this episode I recount the early settlement of Jews to Cuba beginning in 1508 when the new Christians arrived in Habana. I discuss the inquisition proceeding to the tribunals of 17th century until the abolition of the Spanish Inquisition in 1834. I also discuss the many contribution Jews made in Cuba from aiding Cubans in the war of independence to the founding of Cuba's cane sugar fields and t...

Did you know that in Cuba there were approximately 10 Count titles? Today we are going to dive deeply into the story of El conde de Jaruco. We will interview one of the the family member of the descendants, Ernesto Bustillo y Sotolongo. He provides information about the Santa Cruz family and explain the history behind this noble title, why and how the nine volumes of “Historia de Familias Cubana”...