Since Camila Ribeaux Valdes placed third on JYP Entertainment’s A2K competition in September 2023, fans have questioned the GIRLSET member’s origins. The answer is straightforward: she’s ethnically Cuban, born to two Cuban musicians, with a story that spans three countries before she turned 18.
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Cuban Parents, Musical Roots
Both of Camila’s parents come from Cuba. Both work as professional musicians. This detail matters because it explains why a girl born in Barcelona, Spain on August 10, 2005 speaks Spanish at home, identifies as Cuban, and grew up surrounded by music.
Her mother appeared briefly during the first episode of A2K, offering viewers a rare glimpse of the family that raised her. Her brother, Zion Luna, shares her vocal talent. The siblings competed together on La Voix Junior in Quebec in 2016, then again on The Voice Kids France in 2018, performing Katy Perry’s “Chained to the Rhythm” for the French finals.
Spanish dominates family conversations. During A2K episode 9, fellow contestant Yuna Gonzalez called out Camila’s Spanish skills as the strongest among participants. That fluency came from home, where Cuban heritage stayed alive through language.
Barcelona to Cuba to Montreal
The timeline works like this: Camila was born in Barcelona in 2005 to Cuban parents. The family moved to Cuba when she was an infant. They lived there briefly during her early childhood. By 2016, at age 10, they had settled permanently in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
That 2016 date holds firm because she appeared on La Voix Junior, the Quebec version of The Voice Kids, that same year. She was already living in Montreal, already speaking French, already Canadian. The Cuba chapter had closed.
Why Barcelona for her birth? The records don’t say. Why Cuba next? Likely family ties pulling them back. Why Montreal? That question has a clearer answer: opportunity, stability, and a French-speaking city that would let her parents continue their music careers while raising two talented kids.
Quebec immigration records aren’t public, but the family had established Canadian residency well before Camila’s 2016 television debut. She grew up in Montreal’s French-speaking environment, attended French schools, and became fluent in the province’s dominant language.
What the Surnames Tell
Valdés, her paternal surname, traces back to Asturias in northern Spain. During Spain’s colonial period in Cuba, this surname spread across the island. Today it ranks among Cuba’s most common family names. Spanish in origin, Cuban by association.
Ribeaux, her second surname, points to French heritage. The French naming tradition in her family likely comes from her mother’s side, though this hasn’t been publicly confirmed. What matters is the combination: Valdés (Spanish-Cuban) plus Ribeaux (French) equals a name that reflects her mixed heritage before you even hear her speak.
Cuban naming customs traditionally use both paternal and maternal surnames. Camila’s full name, Camila Ribeaux Valdes, follows this pattern. In Spanish-speaking countries, she would be “Camila Ribeaux Valdes.” In English-speaking contexts, often just “Camila Valdes.” The Korean entertainment industry lists her as “Camila Ribeaux Valdes” in full.
Three Languages, Three Identities
Walk through Camila’s languages and you walk through her life:
Spanish connects her to Cuban parents and heritage. At home in Montreal, the family speaks Spanish. This kept Cuba alive in Canada, maintained ties to relatives, and gave her the accent that impressed A2K judges.
French became necessary in Quebec. Montreal runs on French. Schools teach in French. Television broadcasts in French. When Camila and her brother auditioned for La Voix Junior in 2016, they performed in French for French-Canadian judges. Two years later, they competed on The Voice Kids France, singing for a European French audience. She code-switches between Quebec French and European French naturally.
English filled the third gap. Montreal is bilingual in practice, even if French dominates officially. North American life requires English. The K-pop industry operates largely in English. JYP Entertainment’s A2K was filmed in English. GIRLSET promotes in English.
During A2K’s star quality evaluation, Camila wrote and performed a rap in all three languages, switching between English verses, Spanish flow, and French bars. The judges gave her top marks. That performance wasn’t just skill. It was autobiography.
From Quebec Contestant to K-Pop Trainee
The path from Montreal to Seoul doesn’t run straight for most people. For Camila, it started with those Voice competitions. La Voix Junior in 2016 put her on Quebec television as a finalist. The Voice Kids France in 2018 expanded that to European audiences. By 2023, when JYP Entertainment announced A2K auditions across North America, she had already spent seven years performing publicly.
She chose to audition in Dallas, Texas instead of a closer city. The reason: she planned to perform “Dalla Dalla” by ITZY, making a play on words with Dallas. That decision paid off. JYP himself gave her the first pendant of the competition in episode one.
She was studying nursing at John Abbott College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec when A2K started. The survival show meant putting college on hold. Finishing third in the final rankings meant joining VCHA (later rebranded GIRLSET) and signing with both JYP Entertainment and Republic Records. The group debuted January 26, 2024.
She’s now the Cuban-Canadian member of a North American K-pop group based in Seoul and Los Angeles. Quebec to Korea. Spanish to Korean. Nursing student to professional singer.
The Cuban-Canadian Label
Immigration creates hybrid identities. Camila Ribeaux Valdes is Cuban by ethnicity and blood. She’s Canadian by citizenship and upbringing. Both matter. Neither cancels the other.
Her parents brought Cuba to Canada through language, music, and family traditions. She added Quebec through French fluency and Montreal residency. The K-pop industry added a third layer through training, debut, and international promotion. Each layer is real. Each shaped who she became.
When fans search for Camila Ribeaux Valdes’ ethnic background, they’re really asking: where does she come from? The answer is Cuba, through parents who chose Barcelona for her birth, Cuba for her childhood, and Montreal for her future. That journey made her trilingual, bicultural, and ready for an industry that values global appeal.
The 20-year-old singer from Montreal with Cuban roots now performs Korean pop music for international audiences. Her ethnic background isn’t just Cuban. It’s the foundation everything else was built on.
