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Dear Norman,
Thank you for your message.
Using Y-DNA markers as a genealogical tool may not be the best method to establish (paternal) genealogical lines in Latin America, but in many instances it may simply be the best we have at our disposal. I have, for example, tried to research my paternal line in Colombia, but have run into a brick wall going back only five generations due to missing records and the like. I am aware of the fact that surnames were not passed on from generation to generation as clearly in the past as they are nowadays. But again, you have to start somewhere. Besides, it may very well be possible that two individuals with the same surname appear to share a common paternal ancestor as the result of the application of Y-DNA genealogy, where they did not have any other indications for this claim beforehand and irrespective of unclear naming conventions. Application of Y-DNA genealogy might in other words lead to positive results, so lets search for those results, we have nothing to loose. Furthermore, Y-DNA genealogy may also be interesting to find matches with individuals who do not share the same surname, possibly as a result of the unclear naming conventions you mention. I have for example many close matches with individuals with other surnames who are Jewish, which leads me to believe that my paternal ancestors were at one time Sephardim, although it is not clear proof of course.
As for your remark that children of brothers and sisters will show not to be related at all (at least normally) using Y-DNA testing, that speaks for itself. When I write about being related, of course I do so in the context of Y-DNA testing. For others, who are not aware of how Y-DNA testing works the following:
Every human cell contains DNA which regulates the reproduction of cells among others. Two parts of DNA (X-DNA and Y-DNA) are special in the sense that they pair at conception and by doing so determine the sex of an individual. X-DNA is passed on from mother to daughters and sons and from father to daughters only, whereas Y-DNA is passed on from father to sons only. Female individuals do not carry Y-DNA and thus cannot pass it on to their children. When an individual has an X-X pairing, the individual is female (one X from the father and one X from the mother). When an individual has an X-Y pairing, the individual is male (the X from the mother and the Y from the father).
Y-DNA is furthermore special in the sense that it does not change or changes at a very slow rate when passed on from father to son. Because of this feature of Y-DNA, the specific Y-DNA constellation of a male individual is very much the same as the Y-DNA constellation of its direct paternal ancestors even many generations back in time. This is of course not only true for the former individual, but for all descendants of a particular joint paternal ancestor. This is the treat on which Y-DNA genealogy is based: by comparing the particular Y-DNA constellations (the markers) of two male individuals - ideally with the same surname - one can establish the likelihood that those individuals share a common paternal ancestor (this is referred to as matching). A perfect or very close match is a good indication that two male individuals share a common paternal ancestor, in particular of they share the same paternal surname. The challenge is then to establish when their lines diverged. And this should be done by old fashioned genealogical research wherever possible.
Regards,
Oscar Leal
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