Bruno Mars' Family Tree Revealed: Historic Photos and Archival Roots from Manila to San Juan
By James H. Sterling
The paternal side of the family brings another geographic collision. Mars’ father, Peter Hernandez, known locally as "Pedrito", was born in New York, raised with strong ties to Puerto Rico, and possessed an unconventional genealogical background. While widely identified by his Puerto Rican heritage, elder church and civil registry records show that Hernandez's mother, Herminia Sanchez, was Puerto Rican, while his father brought an entirely different heritage to the table.
Mars' paternal grandfather carried European Jewish ancestry, with roots tracing back to Hungary and Ukraine. This Jewish heritage entered the family line prior to mid-century migrations to New York City, where diverse immigrant enclaves regularly overlapped. Pedrito grew up steeped in Latin percussion, mastering the congas and timbales while absorbing the doo-wop and early rock sounds circulating through Brooklyn and the Bronx.
When Pedrito eventually moved to Oahu, he brought that Northeast street-corner rhythm with him. He launched "The Love Notes," a nineteen-fifties-style musical revue that dominated the local Polynesian show circuits throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mars entered that show as an infant spectator before becoming its centerpiece.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
