| 02/07/2021 – 14:56 (GMT-4)
A DNA test from the company African Ancestry, dedicated to ancestral research through genetic information, located the ancestors of the legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz in the Balanta African ethnic group, from Guinea Bissau.
It is one of the largest communities that has also acquired a language in this country, according to an office of the agency EFE.
It was the artist’s maternal line that led the company’s researchers to the ethnicity of the African nation. African Ancestry, founded in 2003 and based in Washington DC, said in a statement that it was a way to honor the renowned Cuban singer.
“It’s an exciting time for us, because Celia Cruz fully embraced her African heritage in her life and her music, which is quite innovative for her time,” said Gina Paige, president and co-founder of African Ancestry.
“Now we know that she belongs to the Balanta community (known as “those who resist”) and we are proud to celebrate his legacy in this unprecedented way, ”Paige stated.
It was Celia Cody, niece and namesake of the Cross, who offered her DNA through a simple swab on the cheek, the statement said, as part of the “Remember Who You Are” campaign. of the said company.
Linda Bécquer Pritchett, another niece of Celia Cruz living in Georgia, United States, said on social media, “Very interesting to know where my African ancestry came from.”
The Balanta ethnic group currently represents 30% of Guinea Bissau’s population, which in 2011 was 1,683,000. The other ethnic groups that make up the country are Fula (20%), Manjace (14%), Mandinga (13%) and Papd.
Discovered in 1446 by Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristão, the Republic of Guinea Bissau is located in West Africa and is bordered on the north by Senegal, on the east and south by Guinea Conakry and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Its official language is Portuguese and it has 19 local languages.
In her music, Celia, a prominent representative of Cuban culture in exile, Used to incorporate elements of African music.
The “queen of salsa,” who in her prolific career won a total of four Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammys and millions of records sold worldwide, died in New Jersey at the age of 77 in 2003.
The artist, born in Havana in 1925, left Cuba in 1960, just a year after the triumph of the revolution led by the late dictator Fidel Castro, and was a staunch detractor of Castroism.
He went into exile in the United States after a trip to Mexico, where he performed with the “Sonora Matancera”. His figure is a world icon of Latin music.
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