Silvio Rodríguez and Eusebio Leal have a common ancestor, study reveals

October 3, 2019

Eusebio Leal and Silvio Rodríguez share a common ancestor between the sixth and eighth generation back in their family origins. And the DNA of actor Osvaldo Doimeadiós shows coincidences with those of intellectuals María del Carmen Barcia, Víctor Fowler and Jesús Guanche.

But those are not the only discoveries that surprised the participants in the DNA study of 26 Cuban personalities and the author of the research herself.

Dr. Beatriz Marcheco Teruel, who is preparing a book based on these results, along with essayist Zuleika Romay, shares these and other surprises from the "exploration into the past of Cubans" in the most recent edition of La luz de la Memoria.

In a study carried out by Cuban doctor Beatriz Marcheco Teruel, director of Cuba's National Center for Medical Genetics, it was revealed that Silvio Rodríguez and Eusebio Leal possess genetic kinship.

According to the specialist, the troubadour, 72 years old, and the Historian of Havana (77) share a common ancestor between the sixth and eighth generation back in their family origins, a fact that has generated surprise on the island.

The news, distributed by the digital portal Cubadebate, came to light in the radio program "La Luz de la Memoria," hosted by official journalist Arleen Rodríguez Derivet in which the researcher asserts that all "Cubans are family" based on a study of the genetics of a group of Cubans.

The study also revealed DNA coincidences between actor Osvaldo Doimeadiós and those of intellectuals María del Carmen Barcia, Víctor Fowler and Jesús Guanche.

The sample taken by Dr. Marcheco Teruel included 26 personalities from the world of art and culture in Cuba and includes, among others, historian Eduardo Torres Cuevas, actor Jorge Perugorría and painter Roberto Diago.

"We aim to bring knowledge of our history and what the mixture of Cubans means a little closer to our people's understanding," said the specialist.