How to Get Baptismal Records From Cuba
You will need a combination of persistence and patience, and some luck, to obtain baptismal records from Cuba. The Roman Catholic Church has been recording baptisms in Cuba since the 16th century but not many records have been microfilmed or digitized. It is not possible for Americans to travel to undertake research in Cuba in person. And although Cuba has been a secular country since 1992, churches are still somewhat restricted in their freedom to communicate with individuals outside of the country. Therefore, you will find that ascertaining where the records are, and obtaining them, can be a challenge.
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Things You'll Need
- Internet
- Access to interlibrary loans of microfilm
- Telephone
- Fluency in Spanish
- Stationery
- Stamps
Instructions
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Obtaining Cuban Baptismal Certificates
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1
Find out which towns your ancestors came from in Cuba. Ask older family members if they have any baptismal certificates among their family papers. Even if they do not have these, they will probably know the town, or at least the province that the family came from. You must know this in order to begin your search for baptism records.
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The earliest parish records in Cuba date from the 1500s. Check online to see whether the baptismal records are online or published in book form. The LDS Library has microfilmed the parish records of Camaguey, Camaguey province; these can be ordered from the LDS Library in Salt Lake City. The Cuban Genealogical Society has published five indices to parish records for the provinces of Camaguey, Habana, Las Villas, Matanzas and Oriente. The earliest of these records date from the 1500s, and include baptisms. Transcripts can be ordered from the society for a fee, which in 2010 was $3.50 each. Some microfilmed parish records are available at the St. Augustine Historical Society in Florida.
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3
Make a list of churches in your family's hometown or province. If the parish records you need have not been transcribed, find a list of churches in the Cuban town or province that your family came from, such as the one at Cubagenweb.
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4
Call the parish priest of the church in Cuba where the baptism was performed. Call the parish priest of the church your ancestors attended to ask for help in obtaining baptismal records. Ask if a copy of the baptismal record can be sent to you.
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Write a letter requesting the baptismal record. Write a letter to the parish priest requesting the baptismal record, giving as much information about the individual as possible, such as full name, date of birth, and parents' names if known.
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Tips & Warnings
Ask someone fluent in Spanish to help you speak with the priest.
Be aware that it is illegal to send money to Cuba from the U.S. Cubagenweb suggests that an offer to donate money in the church's name to the Vatican Embassy in Washington may expedite a response.
If you cannot locate a baptismal record, consider ordering a birth certificate using the document retrieval service at the Cuba City Hall website.
Be patient when requesting records from Cuba; you may have to wait a long time for a response, and in some cases, you may not get a response at all.
References
Resources
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