Listen to the Hidden Jews of New Mexico Radio Series

The Hidden Jews of New Mexico Radio Programs

Audio Cassettes and Transcripts

Were the earliest 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 Jewish rituals in secret after 400 years? In 1492, the Spanish Inquisition forced more that 200,000 Jews to chose between expulsion or forced conversion to Catholicism. Many became crypto-Jews, insincere converts, appearing to be devout Catholics but secretly maintaining Jewish rituals in their homes and passing down their true faith to their children. Today's hidden Jews of New Mexico have carried this legacy for centuries.

These documentaries share the moving personal experiences of present-day descendants of the original settlers of New Mexico as they discover their true past, as they find a renewed sense of history, as they search for their ancestors, and as they develop a special pride in their unique religious and cultural identity.

The Hidden Jews of New Mexico radio programs are produced by award-winning independent producer Benjamin Shapiro. Project Director is Nan Rubin and Dr. Stanley Hordes was Consulting Historian. Each program is a half-hour in length.

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Major funding for this series has come from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support was provided by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, The New Mexico Council for the Humanities, The Shefa Fund, National Public Radio, American Home Furnishings, and Electrovoice, a Mark IV Company.