My Caribbean DNA Uncovered

Most of my immediate family members were born in the Caribbean; particularly in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Like many other Caribeños, my family's history was never properly documented. Spain's colonization of these islands intermixed with its indigenous population and African slaves made recording family history a luxury reserved for only a few.  The things I know about my family have been passed down through storytelling. While I've always loved my family's ability to vividly recall memories of their childhoods in this way, I never felt like I knew enough, and their limited ability to provide photos or proof of my ancestors' existence made me sad. I had such an interest in knowing what they looked like, when they were born, what their names were etc. but knew it'd be close to impossible to go far back in our undocumented family history.

With all of this in mind, upon finding out that I could have my DNA analyzed to provide information on my family history I ordered my kit IMMEDIATELY!!! The process was fairly simple, and after 8 weeks I received my ancestry report. This is what I discovered:

Interesting stuff right?! It was pretty cool pairing up my families descriptions of their grandparents and great-grandparents with the findings of these charts. Being able to pinpoint the regions in which my DNA is found semi-satisfied my curiosity to learn more about my history, and I'm so stoked that others in my situation can learn it too!

Next order of business is to travel to these regions & tap into these roots!

*DNA kit was purchased from 23andme*