The Cuban Family Roots Podcast feature stories and interviews of everyday Cubans and their journey to finding ancestral roots. Since its discovery in 1492, Cuba became a migration hub for Europeans, Asians, and people all over the world. Do you know your family roots? This podcast will provide historical facts, interviews and genealogical tips to help you get started in your genealogical journey. We hope every episode will provides a roadmap in finding your Cuban family roots.
Due to the diverse number of podcast guests, some episodes have been recorded entirely in Spanish 
or English 
.
Please see the podcast episode titles below. If they are written in English, then the episode was recorded in English. Otherwise, if they are written in Spanish, the episode was recorded in Spanish.
Listen to the episodes hosted by Aileen Vega
Descendant of the Crypto Jews
byCuban Family Roots
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 Inquisition. Her Journey led her to writing books, digitizing archives and most recently, created a tell all documentary of her journey. She even established a website to help those wanting to research their own Jewish Ancestry through the Archives in Spain.
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Descendant of the Crypto Jews
byCuban Family Roots
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 Inquisition. Her Journey led her to writing books, digitizing archives and most recently, created a tell all documentary of her journey. She even established a website to help those wanting to research their own Jewish Ancestry through the Archives in Spain.
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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 Inquisition. Her Journey led her to writing books, digitizing archives and most recently, created a tell all documentary of her journey. She even established a website to help those wanting to research their [...]
March 13, 2024
Cuban Family Roots
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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 who tells us about the Chnese migration to Cuba and all the contributions made by Chinese in Cuba. And finally, a very passionate French Cuban Author, William Navarrete who discusses his Genealogy book abut the town of Holguin. [...]
December 8, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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, cemeteries, land and military records, and passenger lists just to name a few. Lourdes also discusses her role as collaborator in the PBS show Finding your Roots. [...]
November 2, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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 and types of records to find. I wrap up the podcast with information on how to chose a family tree software, DNA testing and cemetery searches. [...]
October 29, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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 tu ser una parte integral en él. ¡No te pierdas este interesante episodio! [...]
October 29, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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 1730 y 1763. Gracias a este estudio, los descendientes de los Holguineros de ayer podrán encontrar una fuente confiable para sus búsquedas genealógicas. Debido a su pasión por la genealogía desde muy joven, Navarrete aspira a [...]
August 2, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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 beautiful. As a Dean at Indiana University, he was fortunate to initiate a scholarship fund to help other who came looking for a better [...]
February 23, 2023
Cuban Family Roots
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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 learned he was related the DiPuig families of France and Italy and that the line connects with the Germans and Austrians. With a sample of his raw DNA, he was able to uncover his ancient ancestors. Luis, a military [...]
December 14, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 developments at Punta Rassa, several Spanish and Cuban fishermen settled in the region establishing fishing camps called “ranchos. Throughout the interview he tells us what he discovered and enlightens us on the presence of Cubans [...]
November 1, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 religions, where, in Cuba at least, the instruments, the language, the chants, the dances and their interpretations are quite well preserved. Aside from the Spanish and African influence, Cuban music has been immensely influential [...]
October 1, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 your ancestors! [...]
September 1, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 documents, verify and corroborate information. Christian and I debunk these myths to maintain truth and honest family history. [...]
August 18, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 por mantener su identidad e independencia. Si no hubieran detenido el desarrollo del pueblo de Santo Cristo de la Salud, hubiera sido una de las ciudades más importantes de [...]
August 16, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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! [...]
May 31, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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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 their genealogy. Throughout the interview, Ed tells us what motivated him in starting this resourceful site to help those to search their family history and information. [...]
April 30, 2022
Cuban Family Roots
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Find out more about the Cuban Family Roots Podcast and Aileen Vega
- Aileen was recently interviewed by ShoutOutMiami magazine. You can read more about here story by clicking here: Meet Aileen Vega | Host of the Cuban Family Roots Podcast
- Additionally, you can also read more about the Podcast on this blog post written by Aileen Vega: Cuban Genealogy Podcast Created Admist Genealogy Frenzy