Superstar Beyoncé is among the focal points at this year’s Super Bowl, especially as she talked about her local ties during a press conference Thursday.

“My family is from New Iberia, so it really makes me emotional to have a halftime performance — I think of all my heroes,” said Beyoncé at Thursday’s Super Bowl press conference in New Orleans.

Beyoncé, who was under fire for a lip-synced rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the recent presidential inauguration, silenced critics when she belted out an a capella version of the national anthem to start her press conference.

“Any questions?” asked the Grammy-winning performer following the song.

There were few about the incident, though she said she will “absolutely be singing live” during the Super Bowl halftime show, and not one about her casual mid-conference New Iberia name drop.

Beyoncé was raised in Houston, but her mother, Tina Knowles, and maternal grandmother, Agnéz Deréon, were both born in New Iberia, said cousin Willie Mae Broussard. Deréon was married to Abbeville native Lumis Biyince, after whom the singer’s first name was inspired. Deréon was a seamstress and served as the inspiration for Beyonce and Tina Knowles’ fashion line, “House of Deréon.”

Broussard, whose father was first cousins with Tina Knowles, remembered meeting Beyoncé for the first time at a family reunion in 1992. She said she has fond memories of visiting with Tina Knowles at New Iberia’s Holiday Inn. Beyoncé was 11 years old at the time, but when she performed for the family, Broussard said she could see a star in the making.

“I knew she had talent,” said Broussard. “I knew she was going somewhere in life.”

Broussard said she next saw Beyoncé at the family’s 1998 reunion when Destiny’s Child, the singing trio of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, performed their first single.

There are rumors the group may reunite during the Super Bowl halftime show, according to an article in the online publication The Huffington Post. According to huffingtonpost.com, Beyoncé was asked whether Jay-Z or Rowland and Williams would appear in the halftime show, but the internationally renown artist only smiled and dodged the question.

Broussard said she thinks her son Kennedy Broussard and daughter Cheryl Broussard were the last local family who may have met with Beyoncé. The two briefly met the superstar during a meet and greet before a San Antonio concert in 2007.

“It was great,” said Cheryl Broussard of the meeting. “We gave her a gift set of the reunion and pictures and everything. She remembered it. She appreciated it. She loved it.”

Beyoncé thanked “family” in the audience while on stage that night, Cheryl Broussard said. She added that Beyoncé can’t attend reunions because of her demanding schedule, but that she sends personal memorabilia whenever the occasions do occur.