Nan Rubin

Community Media Services
Gloria Trujillo at the entrance to the old Jewish Quarter, Guarda, Portugal
Photo:   Nan Rubin

The Hidden Jews Of New Mexico

A Journey of Drama and Discovery
These three radio documentaries, produced by award-winning producer Benjamin Shapiro,  share the moving personal experiences of present-day descendants of the original settlers of New Mexico as they discover their true past, find a renewed sense of history, search for their ancestors, and develop a special pride in their unique religious and cultural identity as crypto-Jews.

Were the earliest colonial settlers of New Mexico really Jewish exiles forced to become Catholics by the Spanish Inquisition? Do their modern-day descendants really continue to pass down a legacy of Jewish rituals in secret after 400 years?

  • Search for the Buried Past: The Hidden Jews of New Mexico [1988] Introduces the extraordinary story of a secret Jewish heritage shared by many New Mexicans brought up in families that still carefully hide their true identity.

  • The Hidden Jews of New Mexico: Rekindling a Spirit [1992]
    On the eve of the Columbus Quincentennary and the anniversary of the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, descendants of New Mexican crypto-Jews research their unique religious past and begin to rebuild a new community identity.

  • The Hidden Jews of New Mexico: Return to Iberia [1995]
    Follows New Mexicans Ramon Salas and Gloria Trujillo to Spain and Portugal, where they search for their secret past and have an emotional meeting with a community of crypto Jews much like themselves

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Listen to excerpts from the programs on the Hidden Jews of New Mexico, and check out the Bibliography  with books about Crypto-Jews and closely related topics.  Transcripts are also available.
Contact me for information on ordering complete programs.

And for more information and discussion on crypto-Jews, get in touch with the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. They have an Annual Conference, and publish Ha Lapid, an excellent magazine of commentary, poetry and articles about history and the crypto-Jewish experience.