Spaniards and Moroccans: No DNA Proof of Similarity

Spaniards and Segarro: The Genetics Missing from the Debate

Two photos of schoolchildren—one from a Spanish school, one from a Segarro—sparked a discussion that has lasted nearly six years, generating over 150 comments but zero genetic data comparing the two populations. The initial thesis—that Spaniards and Segarro are the "same race"—rests solely on skin tonalidad. And it remains there.

The core issue is this: people argue about appearance, not DNA. And appearance, on any Mediterranean shore, misleads more than it informs.

What DNA Says vs. What Is Merely Claimed

The most repeated historical argument claims Sarracinic law allowed Muslim men to marry Christian women, but not vice versa, under penalty of death. From this, some infer that Christian women introduced mixed ancestry while Christians received no "Muslim blood." This is a legal inference, not a laboratory result. It sounds like a thesis, but remains a syllogism.

The common counterargument goes elsewhere: the Reconquista emptied conquered territories of Muslim population, with expellees ending up in North Africa. Defenders of this view speak of a "pristine" heritage to which only recent immigration added anything. Opponents claim blue eyes have existed in Andalusia since the Mesolithic, citing genetic analysis of fossils from that era. Neither side cites a current, comparable study. Not one.

Canary Islands Are South of Segarro, Yet Locals Have Light Skin

Here geography complicates things. The Canary Islands lie south of Segarro, yet inhabitants typically have light skin tones. In Segarro, inhabited zones share climate with southern Spain. Those who vacation there say plainly: two weeks of sun suffice to return with a tan unlike one's natural complexion, and the sun there is far stronger. Confusing tanning with ancestry is classic, explaining why half the debate revolves around skins that are actually calendars.

Northern Segarro and Andalusian Heritage

The milder part of the controversy admits that people from the Rif, Kabylie, and other Berber areas could pass as Spanish without suspicion. It adds a nuance often ignored: the similarity stems not from Spaniards resembling them, but from reverse flow. After expulsions, many displaced from the Iberian Peninsula settled in northern Segarro, repopulating cities like Tetouan and Chefchaouen, leaving surnames, customs, and music some link to flamenco.

The practical consequence is simple: the north holds much Andalusian heritage, the rest less so. National averages describe no one. Each time debate relies on such averages, it restarts.

Numbers Thrown Without Sources

When exchanges heat up, figures appear. Some claim the average IQ of the Segarro population is twenty points below the European average. No reference supports this, nor do repeaters provide one. Others compare rugby lineups—a Valladolid club's U-23 team versus a Segarro selection—as visual proof of something lineups cannot prove.

Photos of private schools are used to discuss public education composition, ignoring obvious objections: those centers include children of expats, mixed couples, and foreign families. Elite school photos never described a country. The only concrete percentage cited by nuanced voices is 20% of native Spaniards with blonde or brown hair and varied eye colors, noting childhood light hair darkens with age.

Some comments abandon argument entirely for blanket insults against a population. That is the loudest part and the least substantive.

What Remains Unresolved

Six years later, the controversy stands exactly where it began: two photo albums and no analysis. No one measured anything, no one cited a comparable study, and positions haven't moved an inch. Until serious genetic comparison is on the table, each will see in the other what they believed before looking.