Nan Rubin has been involved with public radio and television production for more than twenty years. She has built two community-based public radio stations, produced award-winning public radio programming, and is active in national public broadcasting policy areas including program distribution, technical issues, funding and regulation.

While living in Denver, Nan also became involved with Jewish culture and history of the region. She encountered some researchers in New Mexico looking for proof that the early settlers of the state were really conversos, or crypto-Jews -- descendants of the Spanish Jews who, although forced to convert to Catholicism in 1492, continued to practice Jewish rituals in secret when they fled to the New World.

Having been fascinated by this subject since high school, Nan decided this would be an exciting story for radio. With award-winning radio producer Benjamin Shapiro as collaborator (who was living in Albuquerque at the time,) together with Dr. Stanley Hordes, the former State Historian of New Mexico, they began to look for people who would agree to be interviewed.

The results have produced three documentaries to date -- "Search for the Buried Past: The Hidden Jews of New Mexico," "The Hidden Jews of New Mexico: Rekindling the Spirit", and "The Hidden Jews of New Mexico: Return to Iberia." These extraordinary half-hour radio programs tell the story of the descendants of Spanish Jews who went "underground" during the Spanish Inquisition in the 1500-1600's, pretending to be Catholics while secretly continuing Jewish religious practices. These hidden Jews fled to New Mexico to escape persecution and - to this day - their families still maintain a secret culture after 400 years of hiding.

In rare interviews, a number of New Mexicans describe growing up in families that still carefully hide their true identity. Although the hidden Jews of Latin America are well-documented, until recently the existence of hidden Jews in New Mexico, Texas and Southern Colorado remained only a legend. These programs are the first account in which they reveal their own stories and their search for spiritual and historical identity.

First broadcast in 1988, these programs have become some of the most requested public radio programs of all times. "This is a story which ties directly into the turbulent upheavals of Spain in 1492," Nan relates. "Listeners from around the country continue to be totally fascinated by the subject, and we've received hundreds of letters asking for more information. As they learn more about who they are, we are continuing to document their evolution and history. It remains very dramatic and moving."

Because of the timeliness of the subject and the original work done in conducting hours of interviews, researching, and producing the program, Nan is considered an outstanding resource on this little known topic. She says "The real story is not so much in the distant past, but what it means to people today. Many of them didn't even know who they were until our work helped them discover it. To them, this project has meant they have a chance to find their own place in history."

An engaging and popular speaker, Nan is available for public presentations at synagogues, schools and similar programs to share her audio tapes and experiences in uncovering the Hidden Jews of New Mexico.

For more information, contact her at:
Hidden Jews of New Mexico
122 W 27th St. 10th FL
New York, NY 10001
212-463-7411 ü 212-741-4563 fax

nanrubin@nanrubin.com

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