Meet Aileen Vega | Host of the Cuban Family Roots Podcast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aileen Vega and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aileen, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The idea for my podcast took shape in 2021, driven by a desire to connect with fellow Cubans and guide them on the intricate path of tracing their family roots. For the past three years, I’ve consistently posted over 30 episodes, one each month. The goal is to provide listeners with interesting interviews with historians, genealogists, credible authors, and ordinary Cubans, each offering a unique insight into the realm of Cuban genealogy based on their personal experiences. Building a dedicated fan base, the podcast has reached audiences in more than 60 countries that Cubans now call home. Month after month, eager to gain experience, Cubans eagerly tune in to explore their favorite subject: genealogy!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always been a creative person. As a young girl I wrote songs and participated in theater. Podcasting was new creative avenue to me, Because I was dedicated to Genealogy, and there were many challenges in Cuban genealogy, I saw that as an opportunity to combine genealogy with my creative side through the realization of a podcast show. Creating the genealogy podcast was not easy to say the least. For one, I have to do research and I spend a lot of time. Then promoting is a challenge as well. Lastly, credibility with the audience is another. Taking from all these challeneges, it was not easy to start and create an audience. However, after three years of constant podcasting and dedicated promotion, Cuban Family Roots Podcast has achieved an impressive ranking of 17th out of 40, considering factors such as internet traffic, social media followers, and freshness of content. I’m very proud that a podcast started three years ago has been recognized by the panelists as one of the top 40 genealogy podcasts on the web. I invite you to support my podcast by simply tuning in and listening to it every month.

I have focused on the basics of Cuban genealogy, providing a comprehensive guide on the necessary elements, where to obtain them, and the valuable insights this information can reveal. In addition, I’ve conducted interesting interviews with notable people like Diahan Southard, an esteemed DNA educator and author, an expert in unraveling the mysteries of DNA, and Roger Curtis, the founder of GEDMATCH, a website designed to make it easier to discover DNA connections. In addition, the Podcast has featured distinguished intellectuals, including French-Cuban author William Navarrette who, among other works, has published invaluable books on the founding families of Holguín and their descendants.

Others I’ve had the privilege of including in the Podcast are Ed Elizondo, a pioneer who was instrumental in the creation of CubaGenWeb, the first Cuban genealogy website of its kind, and Lourdes DelPino of the Cuban Genealogy Club of Miami, the foremost Cuban genealogy organization. From one episode to the next, I’ve explored diverse histories of migration to and from Cuba, from Koreans, Chinese, Jews, and Irish. Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with author Alina García LaPuerta, who delves into her book dedicated to the Countess of Merlin, a Cuban aristocrat who offers insight into early colonial Cuba. The Countess of Merlin is the daughter of the Count of Jaruco, author of the influential book “Historia de Familias Cubana”. An entire episode was dedicated to the Count of Jaruco to ensure that newcomers to the field of genealogy become familiar with his enduring legacy and important contributions to Cuban genealogy..

Along the way, I learned many lessons and one that comes to mind is to be consistent for without consistency there’s no credibility and that is sometime all we have, our credibility. My listeners are waiting for me 1 x every month to deliver t an episode with information and encouragement and that is my promise to them 1 x a month.

I want people to know that we are not going anywhere. The Cuban Family Roots Podcast is here to stay. We will not be on Spotify but, we will not be making any changes that our audience should be concerned about and no matter the platform, we will maintain the same quality podcast and we hope for improvement.

As a genealogy enthusiast, I plan expand with our genealogy work in other areas as well. I have joined a fellow Cuban who has a website that focuses on the collection, preservation of genealogical date. I will be working with him to continue to work on the preservation of Cuba genealogy and history. Some of the work ential digitization, transcription to name a few and it’s not easy but someone has to do it. I invite anyone who cares about Cuban family history and studies to join us. There are many ways to contribute to our work and one of them is reaching into their pockets and donating funds that we so much need to continue this important preservation work. My email is Cubanfamilyrootspodcast@gmail.com

Later on in life our descendants will look back and thank us for what we are doing today to capture yesterday so that they can have it tomorrow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love history so, I would take my friend to Scotland and we would go Castle hoping across as many areas of Scotland possible. Day 1, we make a stop at Dunnottar Castle which sits atop a cliff overlooking the northeast coast of Scotland. This medieval fortress has a rich history connected to Scottish persona such as William Wallace, Mary Queen of Scots and Charles II so, I would definitely take my friend there. Then I would go hang out n Edinburgh, where the Arcade Haggis & Whisky is. or anywhere in Edinburgh where we can enjoy Scottish music and some great food and Scotch. If Cuba is ever free, I would go there as wel. Take them on a tour of Habana, eat some ropa vieja and drink some Mojitos. For now, I will settle going to St Agustin, Florida. to enjoy the fountain of youth and some other fun places.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank my children (Jake and Ari) for their patience’s with me while I am recording and interviewing a guest and for the amount of time I take away from them to prepare an episode. Professionally, I would like to give a shout out to my friend, Richard Villalba with the Cuba Research Project website.. His work is encouraging helpful to many. Our mutual collaboration in this area keeps Cuban Genealogy moving in the right direction.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cubanfamily.roots

Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cuban-family-roots-podcast/id1550405140

Image Credits
Anthony M. Llanes, created the Cuban Family Roots logo