Puerto Rican Ancestry

Latino and Hispanic people often have DNA that includes the signature of the Native American people’s who first populated the continent, as well as the Europeans — mostly from Iberia but from a mix of European countries — who settled here, and the Africans who were brought here as slaves. So for example, on average, people of Mexico have about 4 percent African ancestry, while for the average Puerto Rican the percentage is much higher.

Although his family had always told him they were of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry, David Aguilar never thought that truly captured who he was. “I always felt that I...