WHERE YOUR DNA MEETS YOUR SOUL
NANICHI ROOTS Puerto Rican Genealogy
In the Taíno language, Nanichi means "My Love, My Heart". I am Maritza Arroyo Pérez and I specialize in Puerto Rican genealogy, helping to uncover the powerful stories of resilience, love, and survival that are woven into our DNA. This work begins with Nanichi - love - for the family we know, for the ancestors we seek, and for the island that holds their memories. I guide you on this soulful journey into the heart of your legado - legacy. Let's find the ancestors who live on in you. Credit: Mural by Ángel Blanco Botey, 1989 Tres Razas-Una Cultura - La Puertorriqueña
Their Survival Was the Resistance. Your Story is the Proof.
For so many of us, the story of our Boricua heritage is a puzzle—a collection of cherished family tales, faded photographs.
A deep connection to an island we may call home, or the home our parents and grandparents were forced to leave behind.
We feel its beat, but we long to know the names, faces, and stories that created it.
While honoring our indigenous foundation, my research embraces the full, complex tapestry of our raíces.
I trace the threads that lead from Spain, West Africa and many other countries, specializing in the unique challenges of Puerto Rican records to find the voices silenced by history.
I do more than build family trees.
I unearth your legado—the living legacy passed down through generations, weaving together the lives of the jornaleros, libertos, artesanos, madres, y padres who survived, adapted, and forged a culture of unbreakable strength.
YOUR STORY IS WAITING.
Let me help you find the path home—to the heart of your legacy, and to the giants whose shoulders you stand on.
In English and Español.
GENEALOGY IS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE!
A story is being told about Puerto Rico. It’s a story written by outside investors, by luxury developers, and by the forces of disaster capitalism. With every new high-rise and every displaced family, this new story tries to erase the ones that came before. This is the modern face of colonization, telling us that our presence is temporary, that our culture is a commodity, and that our history can be bought and sold. But they cannot buy our legacy. They cannot gentrify our bloodline. This is why, now more than ever, the work of genealogy has become an act of profound resistance, to fight back against erasure. To invest in your genealogy is to declare that your family’s story matters. It is an investment in the collective memory of our people. This is why I created Nanichi Roots.
TESTIMONIALS - Breakthrough Journeys
Be inspired by the powerful legacies they have reclaimed!
Is Their Resistance Your Inheritance?
YES!!! To trace your lineage is to honor every act of survival. It is a defiant declaration that you are the legacy of a people who would not be broken. Let me stand with you in this mission.