Cuban Genealogy Podcast
By Cuban Genealogy Podcast
Cuban Genealogy PodcastFeb 29, 2020
406b: Canary Islands in Your Family Tree part 2
Rich Denis present Canary Islands in Your Family Tree...part 2, mostly in Spanish
406a: Canary Islands in Your Family Tree
Canary Islands in your family tree - presented by Richard Denis.
405: Cines de Cuba - photographer Carolina Sandretto
Welcome to episode 405: we interview Italian photographer Carolina Sandretto about her book "Cines de Cuba"
Exerpt from the book jacket: "In 1953, Cuba had 694 cinemas and theaters. Havana alone had 134, more than New York or Paris. In 2014, documentary photographer Carolina Sandretto set out to find and photograph, with a 1950s medium-format camera, the remaining cinemas from that golden era. This book is a visual document of her journey."
Her book is available on Amazon. You can also visit her website: www.cinesdecuba.com for free access to an interactive map with cinema locations throughout Cuba.
Instagram: carolina_sandretto_photo
404: Boston Archdiocese Digitization Project: lessons for Cuba
Episode 404: April 2021. Join us for our discussion with Molly Rogers of American Ancestors. Molly and her team are digitizing ecclesiastical records in the Boston area. We discuss the project and how we can attribute their successes with the Cuba digitization project. For more information please visit www.AmericanAncestors.com
403: Irish Cuba: LaHabana|Matanzas 1859-1862 plus Cuban Cemetery Timeline
In honor of St Patrick's Day, we would like to share a research project by Giselle Gonzalez-Garcia from the book, Ireland and Cuba: Entangled Histories. The researcher uses cemetery records (1859-1862) to explore Irish immigration to Cuba.
The full survey can be found here:
https://irlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Irlanda-y-Cuba-historias-entretejidas-030120-with-cover.pdf
In the second part of the podcast, we present the Cuban cemetery timeline, including important dates and events. This work-in-progress will be posted on www.digitalcuba.org.
Thank you for your continued support as we begin our fourth year of preserving our Cuban heritage. Please also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
402: Women's Movement in Cuba 1898-1940 Interview with Dr Lynn Stoner
Celebrating Women's History Month/El Mes de la Historia de la Mujer!
Welcome to the Cuban Genealogy Podcast! Where we discuss all things related to tracing your Cuban genealogy! In this episode we will hear about the women’s movement in Cuba from 1890-1940. We will have a candid conversation with my university professor, Dr Lynn Stoner. We will discuss the women’s movement by comparing two generations, that of my grandmother and her mother, my great grandmother. My great grandmother was born before Independence from Spain and my grandmother after Independence from Spain. I hope you enjoy the discussion and can get a glimpse of what life was like for our female ancestors in Cuba. Thank you for listening, I’m your host…Brian Tosko Bello.
Show notes:
Bio for Lynn Stoner:
https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/186878
Author of From the Kitchen to the Street: Women’s Movement 1890-1940
309: Cesar Romero: Famous Cubans in Your Family Tree
Podcast 309: We discuss Cuban-American actor, Cesar Romero, and his possible connection to Jose Marti. This podcast snippet is part of our Famous Cubans in Your Family Tree webinar broadcasted on Facebook Live December 2020. Other episodes from this series include: Carly Simon, Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista, Marta Abreu and Catalina Laza. Full video version available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRosOnzV3XT3N0XLDxtZRMQ
You can also follow us at digitalcuba.org
308: Famous Cubans: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista
Part of our final podcast series for 2020, Famous Cubans in Your Family Tree Part 1: the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg - Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista. In this episode we explore Maria Teresa's journey from Marinao, Cuba to the United States and eventually to European royalty when she becomes the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
307: Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way- interview with Gustavo Perez Firmat
Continuing our series on How to Be Cuban American in 30 Days, we interview Cuban-American author, Gustavo Perez Firmat. Topics include his book "Living on the Hypen: The Cuban-American Way," what it means to be Cuban-American, family history and the importance of speaking Spanish! Thank you for supporting the Cuban Genealogy Podcast and our efforts to digitize historic records to preserve our Cuban heritage. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook and at DigitalCuba.org.
306: Cuban Food: Marta Darby of My Big Fat Cuban Family
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we present blogger, Marta Darby of My Big Fat Cuban Family! We discuss the importance of Cuban food, Cuban family history, speaking Spanish at home, the perfect flan and life as a Cuban American in Southern California! This podcast is part of our How to be Cuban American in 30 Days challenge. For more information visit: mybigfatcubanfamily.com
The video version of this interview is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YPboMZG08wQ
305: Irish Genealogy - Interview with Nicola Morris of Timeline.ie
Welcome to Podcast 305: Irish Genealogy. First in our series covering Irish Genealogy in Cuba: we interview Nicola Morris, Director and Co-founder of timeline.ie - a website specializing in Irish genealogy.
304: Cuban Marriage Records with Rich Denis! June 2020
Welcome to Podcast 304. Rich Denis presents Cuban Marriage Records. In this episode we explore what to look for when researching your Cuban ancestors using available marriage records. Learn when to ask for an expediente, where to find marriage records and the future digitization efforts to preserve parish records for family research!
303: US Census Interview: Fernando Armstrong
Episode 303: We take a break from genealogy and interview Mr Fernando Armstrong, US Census Regional Director of the Philadelphia Office. We talk about the success of the mail and online versions of the 2020 census and the effects of Covid19.
302: Interview Pero Let Me Tell You Podcast: DJ & Ish
Welcome to the Cuban Genealogy Podcast episode 302! Our mission is to keep you updated on Cuban genealogy and keep you entertained and informed about how to preserve your Cuban heritage. We hope you will enjoy this interview with DJ and Ish, the hosts of the Pero Let Me Tell You Podcast! In this podcast we talk about Cuban family stories, heirlooms, genealogy, Miami life and everyone’s favorite topic: Cuban food! And this is our first ever interview episode! Thank you DJ and Ish! The Pero Let Me Tell You podcast is available on your favorite podcast platform. And now, on to the interview!
You can find the Pero Let Me Tell You Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pero-let-me-tell-you/id1347023906
301: The Bacardi Family (Part 1) + intro to French immigration to Cuba
The Bacardi Family: origins including an intro to French immigration (4 waves).
News: DigitalCuba launches a quarterly digital Cuban genealogy newsletter. Upcoming Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami meeting on March 7, 2020: email secretary@cubangenclub.org to register.
Keywords: #frenchimmigration #santiagodecuba #bacardi #rum #sugar #coffee #taino #freemasons
References:
1. Tom Gjelten: Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba
2. www.bacardifoundation.org
203: Notable Cuban Women: Pt 1: Mariana Grajales Cuello
Our first podcast on Notable Cuban Women: the mother of Cuban Independence: Mariana Grajales Cuello
Listen to her life story as we trace her and her children through the course of Cuban independence.
Cuban Genealogy News:
Digital Cuba is officially a 501c3...digitization of Cuban parish records has begun. We digitized 3 parishes but we need your support to continue our preservation efforts. For more information: www.DigitalCuba.org
Find A Grave: Community Days - October 4, 2019. Digital Cuba celebrates Find A Grave Community Day by adding over 1,000 cemetery records for Cementerio San Carlos in Matanzas.
October is Family History month. Why not attend the Oct 19th Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami meeting: Beyond the Family Tree – Ways to share your Family’s Story. More information can be found at www.CubanGenClub.org.
Featured Notable Cuban Woman - Mariana Grajales Cuello and her 14 children
Mariana Grajales Cuello:
Articulo sobre la bisnieta de Mariana Grajales:
http://www.cubahora.cu/historia/confesiones-de-una-bisnieta-de-mariana-grajales-fotos-audios
202: Chinese Ancestry in Cuba
News: DigitalCuba is officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The cemetery in Camajuani has been added to FindaGrave.com.
In this episode we discuss the history of Chinese migration to Cuba. We breakdown the discussion into migration waves starting in 1847 when the first ship arrived with 400 Chinese migrants. We discuss the Cementerio Chino located in Havana and the efforts to preserve Cuban Chinese culture. We also discuss the 2012 discovery of an abandoned Chinese cemetery in the Artemisa province. We then discuss the findings of a 2008 DNA study of mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y-DNA and what to expect from your DNA results.
Show notes section:
Digitization fundraising: http://www.paypal.me/digitalcuba
Chinese Cuban preservation project:
http://www.mychinaroots.com/portfolio-items/mariel-cuba-americas-oldest-chinese-cemetery/
www.mychinaroots.com/es/
Cuban DNA study:
https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004488
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2492877/
https://www.thoughtco.com/short-history-of-the-chinese-in-cuba-688162
For further reading:
Yun, L. The Coolie Speaks: Chinese Indentured Laborers and African Slaves in Cuba. (Temple University Press, 2008).
Baltar Rodríguez, José. Los chinos de Cuba. Apuntes etnográficos. Havana: Fundación Fernando Ortiz, 1997.
The Cuba Commission Report: A Hidden History of the Chinese in Cuba. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1993.
Jiménez Pastrana, Juan. Los chinos en la historia de Cuba, 1847-1930. Havana: Ediciones Políticas, 1983.
Perez de la Riva, Juan, and Pedro Deschamps Chapeaux. Contribución a la historia de la gente sin historia, Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 1974.
Encyclopedia of Cuba:
201: Desi Arnaz: Famous Family Tree
The Cuban Genealogy Podcast presents our first famous family tree: featuring Desi Arnaz. Desi Arnaz was the first Latin superstar to takeover America. Born in Santiago de Cuba to a local politician, Desi would venture to America, marry a famous red head and start one of the most successful production companies in America: Desilu Productions. Come learn something new about Desi Arnaz in our first famous family tree mini podcasts!
Ep 105: Are there Jewish Roots in your Cuban family tree?
Podcast reference links:
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/cuba-virtual-jewish-history-tour
www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2421045/united-hebrew-congregation-ashkenazi-at-guanabacoa
smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0977620700/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4
data.jewishgen.org/imagedata/jowbr/CUBA-00347/uhcc.html
Ep 104: Taino in your Cuban family tree + intro to Cuban DNA
Welcome to podcast #104: we are discussing the Taino ancestry…
But first, it’s news time! Here’s some express news we’d like to share! The Cuban Genealogy Podcast was mentioned on the Genealogy Gems most recent podcast #223! Genealogy Gems is hosted by Lisa Louise Cook. Her podcasts are informative and so useful, covering so many family history topics and she is the one who inspired us to start the Cuban podcast. You can follow her podcast on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you listen to podcasts. Cemetery record news: more and more cemetery records are going online at FindAGrave.com. La Salud is at 200, it was at 3 records earlier this year. We also have photographers documenting: San Antonio and Bejucal. Cementerio Viejo are going online soon! Here’s a quick message we got from Bill on Facebook: Hey, Brian... I wanted to thank you. Amongst the more than 1,500 tombs you documented in Colon cemetery was the brother of my great great grandmother. Thank you, Bill, that is what this project is all about. Collaboration! We also have a free Cuban Genealogy presentation on Jan 12, 2019 at the Seacaucus Public Library in NJ. 11 am…free! And there’s RootsTech in February, the Cuban Genealogy Podcast will be there to report live and keep you updated on genealogy research if you’re unable to attend this year. I went last year and I learned so much from the workshops and there’s a large expo where you can explore DNA companies, family history societies and genealogy gift booths.
To help you with your research we are planning a few interesting podcast projects: how to join or start a Cuban surname study, a one sheet reference sheet for beginners and the ongoing cemetery records project. 2019 will be another exciting year for Cuban genealogy.
And for fun and historical reference we are going to start a monthly book club… and a quarterly newsletter that you can download for free from DigitalCuba.org and we will also start with some famous…celebrity family trees starting with the next podcast where will dive into the Bacardi family and focus on some of their French ancestry.
And on to the podcast! Just as a brief note, I am not a Taino expert but I do find the history fascinating. And according to 23andMe, I also have 4% Native American DNA ancestry categorized under Cuba. So, in this podcast we will discuss the Taino and then the second half of the podcast will cover an introduction to Cuban DNA in general.
In October I went to New York City to visit the Smithsonian museum, which is located in the financial district near Battery Park.
Here’s a description of the Taino exhibit from the website:
Over the past thirty years, a diverse Taíno movement has taken form. This movement challenges the prevalent belief that Native peoples became extinct shortly after European colonization in the Greater Antilles. It is spurring a regeneration of Indigenous identity within the racially mixed and culturally blended societies of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, as well as other areas of the Caribbean.
In this exhibition, visitors will explore the rural roots of the Taíno movement and find information about the legacy of Native peoples throughout the Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands and their U.S. diasporas. Welcome to part 2 we are going to discuss what to expect from a DNA test and how it can help you with your Cuban ancestry research. I know some of you are researching all the way back to Spain, I am not quite ready to focus my personal research on Spain yet but last week I did make my first Spain DNA connection and it made me think, you know, maybe I can work from both ends to link myself to the past. And it is certainly fun to know that I have living cousins in Spain!
Okay, enough about me! Drum roll please, the main DNA tests are: ancestry.com, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, and MyHeritageDNA. LivingDNA is also on the rise.
103: Freemasons in your Cuban Family Tree
So, first of all, why are we bringing up the topic of Freemasons in a Cuban genealogy podcast? Well, there are multiple group lodge cemetery plots scattered throughout the Colon Cemetery.
But before we get too deep in the secret society adventure, let’s review some quick facts about Freemasons and secret societies in Cuba… and then move on to our first case study. In future podcasts we will further discuss the Freemasons, the Oddfellows and the AfroCuban version of the Freemasons, the Abakua.
Quick facts:
Let’s take a quick break and then jump right it.
Okay. Upon visiting the Necropolis Colon Cemetery in Havana, you will notice Freemason symbols on various tombstones as well as entire group cemetery plots for masonic lodges.
Cuban Genealogy Episode 102: Parish Records
Cuban Genealogy Episode 101
You can find my Cuban tree on ancestry.com by doing a member search… btoskobello. You can also visit the Digital Cuba website at www.DigitalCuba.org or FamilyDrama.org and make sure you follow us on Facebook under Digital Cuba.