They discover that Celia Cruz’s roots are the Libra African ethnic group

Miami. The African roots of the legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz (1925-2003) return to the Balance community in Guinea Bissau, one of the largest ethnic groups that has endowed the country with a language, the company revealed on Wednesday African ancestry, dedicated to ancestral DNA search.

African Ancestry, founded in 2003 and based in Washington DC, used an ancestry test to track Cruz’s maternal line to the Libra community in that African country and thus be able to honor her, according to a statement.

“It’s an interesting time for us, as Celia Cruz has fully embraced her African heritage in her life and music, which is quite revolutionary for her time,” said Gina Paige, president and co-founder of African descent.

As part of the “Remember Who You Are” campaign, Celia Cody, Cruz’s niece and namesake, donated her DNA with a simple cheek pad, the statement said.

The test result led them to the Libra ethnic group, which currently represents 30% of Guinea Bissau’s population.

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, the population of Guinea-Bissau in 2011 was 1,683,000. The majority ethnic groups are Libra (30%), Fula (20%), Manjace (14%), Mandinga (13%) and Papd (7%).

The Republic of Guinea Bissau was discovered in 1446 by the Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão. It is located in West Africa and borders Senegal to the north, Guinea Conakry to the east and south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

Its official language is Portuguese, although there are 19 local languages, including Libra.

Born in Havana and died in New Jersey (USA), Cruz has generally incorporated the influences of the Yoruba tribe (an ancient Nigerian ethnic group) into her interpretations as a sign of her African pride.

“We now know that he belongs to the Balance community (known as the ‘resisters’) and we are proud to celebrate his legacy in this unprecedented way,” Paige said.

With a database of over 30,000 indigenous African DNA samples, African ancestry determines certain countries and ethnic groups of origin with an unmatched level of detail, accuracy and trust, says its website.

Cruz, an icon of Latin music and considered the “queen of salsa”, was one of the most popular singers in the industry, with a total of four Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammys and millions of records sold worldwide.

In 1960, a year after the triumph led by Fidel Castro, Celia Cruz left the island where she was born, taking advantage of an outing to play in Mexico with “Sonora Matancera” -an orchestra whose voice was solo-, she went into exile in United States and never returned to his island.