My father is a Spanish mestizo while my mother is a Chinese mestiza. Having multiracial parents have impacted me in several ways during my formative years. Growing up in the Philippines, it is easier for me to relate to the Filipino culture of course. However, I was taught some Spanish and Chinese customs so I could have a positive identity on my tri-ethnic background and a better understanding of my parents’ cultural differences. When I was younger, my father once took a pen and a piece of paper and broke down the different percentages of my ethnicities. But thanks to the advancement of DNA technology now we can truly discover my heritage with AncestryDNA.
But before I explain how the AncestryDNA kit works and delve on my test results, I want you to know a little more about my family background. Grab some biscuits and tea because this is a long discussion.
MY PATERNAL LINEAGE – PART UN
First Generation – The Maternal Lineage of my Father’s
According to research and records, the furthest we can trace back on my paternal lineage is to my paternal great-great-grandfather, Salvador Lluch. He was the son of Salvador Lluch and Rosa Enistar Sotto and was born around the 1860s in Vellimeli, Valencia, Spain.


“LLUCH – Ancient and noble lineage of Catalan origin. A branch passed to the Balearic Islands.
This family crest describes the general Catalan nobility of Don Felix Domenech y Roura as follows:
ARMS – Quartered Shield
1: and 4: In a golden field is an ox in gules.
2: and 3: In azure, a silver mill wheel with the saber cube.
Brochante is completely over an ox’s neck, with a gold padlock, from which a gold key also hangs.”
It is said that he was enlisted into the army of Queen Isabella II and was then deployed to Cuba to help quell rebellions against the Spanish rule. But it was later discovered that he was actually helping the Cubans fight for their independence instead. And because of that, he was exiled to the Philippines (a Spanish colony that time) along with his comrades who sided with the Cubans.
He eventually ended up in Iligan and met my native Filipina great-great-grandmother, Leoncia “Ama” Lluisma Taborra, daughter of Timeteo Taborra and Salustiana Lluisma. His persistence in pursuing her, plus through the intervention of his friend Antonio Bartolome Sr. (more about him later), ended in marriage. Together they had 7 mestizo children – one of them is Gregorio Taborra Lluch.
MY PATERNAL LINEAGE – PART DEUX
Second Generation – The Maternal Lineage of my Father’s
My paternal great-grandfather, Gregorio Taborra Lluch married my paternal great-grandmother, Juaña Torres Actub (whose roots were said to be from Leyte – could Lucy Torres-Gomez be our distant relative? hehe). Together they had eight children, one of them is my paternal grandmother, Virginia Actub Lluch.
Don Gregorio Tabora Lluch
(My Great-grandfather)Doña Juana Torres Actub
(My Great-grandmother)
Side note: After the death of my great-grandmother, my great-grandfather was wed to Mauricia Balbin and together they have 6 children plus 1 adopted child.
Trivia: Iligan’s City Hospital is named after my great-grandfather and the school across it is named after my great-grandmother.
MY PATERNAL LINEAGE – PART TROIS
First Generation – The Paternal Lineage of my Father’s
Antonio Bartolome Sr. (My Great-grandfather)
and Antonio Bartolome Jr. (My Grandfather)
Antonio Bartolome Sr. was born in a province of central Spain named Soria on June 13, 1872. He was a layman who was said to have fled from Spain due to familial problems. According to records of the Augustian Recoletos of the Province of San Nicolas de Tolentino of the Philippines, he embarked on a journey from Barcelona to the Philippines on September 14, 1894. He made it to the shores of Manila a month after and was later ordained into the Augustinian Order upon arrival in Cebu City on September 15, 1895. He was then assigned to Mindanao to help spread Christianity but he ended up marrying my native Filipina great-grandmother, Francisca Badelles Nadayag. Together they had 3 mestizo children (sadly one died before reaching adolescence), one of them is my paternal grandfather, Antonio Bartolome Jr.
Side note: Although my paternal great-grandfather was married, he was still working actively as a friar until his untimely death. My great-grandmother, later on, remarried but she had no children with her second husband.
MY PATERNAL LINEAGE – PART QUATRE
Second Generation – The Paternal Lineage of my Father’s
Left to Right: Antonio III (My Father), Edgar, Marlon, Antonio Jr. (My Grandfather), Virginia (My Grandmother), Brenda, Pancho Antonio, Jessica Marie
My paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother together had six children – my father being the 2nd child.
Side note: My grandfather sired children with several other women but that’s a story for another day.
MY MATERNAL SIDE OF THE FAMILY
Un Tiam Lim Khu (My Grandfather) and Luisa Cuevas Suñiega (My Grandmother)
In contrast to my father’s side of the family, not much is known about my maternal grandparents. But what I do know is that my maternal grandfather, Un Tiam Lim Khu, was a Taiwanese national who traveled to the Philippines and left his first family in Taiwan. When he made his way to Iligan, he met and then later married my native Filipina maternal grandmother, Luisa Cuevas Suñiega whose roots hailed somewhere from Dumaguete. Together they have nine children – my mother being their 7th child.
In this picture is my grandfather, his first wife (third from the left upper row) and their daughter (standing behind the first wife), and some of his children with my grandmother (my mother is the second one from the left bottom row).
My grandmother stands at the far left of the photo. Yes, my grandfather’s first family visited Iligan City and met his second family.
Side note: My maternal grandmother begot a child out of wedlock before she met my maternal grandfather. On the other hand, my maternal grandfather sired a child(or who knows maybe children?) when he was traveling in the Philippines before he met my maternal grandmother. That’s also a story for another day.
MY FAMILY TREE
To sum up everything before I proceed to explain how the AncestryDNA DNA kit test works and show my results, here is a visual diagram of my genealogy:

As I have known all my life, my father is 37.5% Spanish (more accurately Catalan and Spanish but I could not be bothered to get too technical about it) and my mother is 50% Chinese. So that should make me 18.75% Spanish, 25% Chinese, and 56.25% Filipino right? But we’ll see what AncestryDNA has to say about that.
ANCESTRYDNA TEST KIT
While there are several genealogical DNA test kits available online, I specifically chose AncestryDNA because they have the most extensive database of DNA results for comparison. It allows results to be stored indefinitely plus it can also connect me with people who match with my DNA through anonymous messaging. But also because… it’s what my best friend got for me as pasalubong hehe. 😉
AncestryDNA kit
The AncestryDNA kit comes with an instruction booklet, a collection tube, a collection bag, and a mailing box.
The instructions are very easy to follow. First, set up an AncestryDNA account on their website and activate the kit online using the 15-digit activation code from the collection tube. Next, spit in the collection tube (no eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum for 30 minutes before giving saliva sample), remove funnel from collection tube, seal it tightly with a cap that releases a stabilizing solution, shake it for a minimum of 5 minutes, and place the collection tube inside the collection bag. Finally, place it inside the prepaid mailing box, ship it, and then it’s a waiting game after that…
ANCESTRYDNA TEST RESULT
After three very long weeks, I got an email that my result was finally published on my here is my result:
My AncestryDNA Test Result
I’m not gonna lie… the result is definitely SHOCKING. The AncestryDNA test result not only revealed what I kinda knew about my ancestry but it also showed how much I didn’t know about it!
While I was surprised to see France (Catalans live very close to the French border so I was able to wrap my mind around it easily), I was completely caught off-guard to see Turkey/Caucasus, Ireland/Scotland, Vietnam, and Sweden. And I know I said that my mother is 50% Chinese so why in the world am I only 5% Chinese then? This rhetorical question may never be fully satisfied until my mother also gets her ancestry DNA tested. But I do know how DNA is passed on from parent to child is not as simple as we think. Just because I have the potential to inherit 25% of her Chinese gene doesn’t automatically mean I get to have it all. This could explain why siblings with mixed ancestry look more mestizo or less mestizo depending on how much of which genes they were able to inherit.
ANCESTRYDNA TEST RESULT AFTERMATH
I have not regretted one bit about taking this test because my AncestryDNA test result has shed more light on my lineage. Thanks to them I am able to connect with relatives from around the world who are also registered on their database. Plus, I have more places to look forward to visiting based on my geographical ancestry. And although I know myself differently now, it has not at all changed with how I still choose to identify myself culturally.
I highly recommend this kit to everyone. The more the AncestryDNA database and network grow, the more the results become refine, accurate and detailed. You can purchase the AncestryDNA kit on Amazon.