Matanzas Province Church Records

September 12, 2022 0 By Anna Bayala

In the province of Matanzas, Cuba, there are many Catholic Churches. These church records include baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and death records. Undoubtedly, many church records in the Caribbean are in poor condition or permanently gone due to insects, weather, fire, and invasions. Therefore, preservation of the remaining records is underway in hopes of preserving history. In the end, we benefit from the preservation efforts for those seeking information from the Matanzas province church records.

The collection may seem familiar to some. Hence, this has to do with a prior post I did in 2017. Therefore, I removed that post to avoid confusion since it had only 4 books. Finally, this post will contain all the references from that post as well as the new content added. The Matanzas church records, first separated by type of records and then by the church. Obviously, I did this to ensure I cut down your research time in finding an ancestor.

Matanzas – Location & Book Explanation

So where is the Matanzas province? Well, it is located east of Havana and is quite large. To show that, I have included a map below with the area outlined in red. Additionally, this province includes the town of Cardenas, Varadero, Jaguey Grande, Playa Giron, Playa Larga, and many small towns. Therefore, this means that the Matanzas province church records could include your Cuban ancestors.

Also, the Matanzas church records cover the time period of 1719 to 1918. Apart from this, the books cover individuals that were either Black or Brown. They are listed as “Pardo” which means brown or “Moreno” which means Black. It should be noted that “Pardo” is believe to mean either Indigenous or people mixed with Black and European, or Black, European, and Indigenous. In addition, there are Asians and they are listed as “Asiáticos”. Lastly, keep in mind that at times darker toned White people could be identified as “Pardo”. Being labeled this way was subject to the priest’s view. I have found European ancestors listed as “Pardo” who were not. Lastly, if a European White person was married to a “Pardo” or “Moreno” person, you will also find those records in these books.

Matanzas Province Church Records

Finally, I made changes to how to view the links. Firstly, look at the parish names under baptisms and death. Secondly, look at the tabs in pink and blue, click on the tabs to view the links. Thirdly, for marriages and deaths, I consolidated them all under one grouping so the tabs will list the name of the church. Lastly, all links will open in a new tab.