PHOTOS COURTESY ISAAC ARTENSTEIN
FEATURE STORY
CRYPTO JEWS OF NEW MEXICO FINDING AND EMBRACING THEIR ROOTS BY MIMI POLLACK
M
y late fiancé, an 8th generation New Mexican, used to tell me about the secret of crypto Jews of New Mexico. He was convinced that although he was raised Catholic, some of his ancestors were “Conversos” or secret Jews who came to New Mexico when it was being colonized by Spain. During the time of the inquisition, the Conversos were Jews who pretended to convert to Catholicism to avoid being killed. Some of them really did convert, but many continued practicing their Jewish traditions in secret for generations, perhaps without even knowing why. Michael would tell me of his Catholic grandmother lighting candles on Friday evenings because it was a family tradition. I find the subject fascinating, so I was happy to preview local filmmaker Isaac Artenstein’s new documentary, A Long Journey, The Hidden Jews of the Southwest. 22
L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2020
This documentary chronicles the journey of the Sephardic Jews of New Mexico and Southwest Arizona as well as the Northern Mexican border town, Ciudad Juarez, and how they found their ancient roots and returned to the Jewish faith. I have always had an interest in cowboys, and I am probably not the first Jewish woman to say this, so I closely followed the story of Tim Herrera, a cowboy, New Mexican cattle rancher, and proud Jew. Although not everyone in his mostly Catholic family approved, he rediscovered his Sephardic Jewish roots and converted to Judaism as did his wife and children. He embraced his faith and roots so strongly that he is currently in the process of moving to Israel as he wants to bring his experience as a rancher to the Holy Land and raise cattle there. Herrera is one of many Sephardic New Mexicans who have embraced Judaism, a theme the documentary
explores. This documentary came about after Artenstein finished a previous film, Challah Rising in the Desert — the Jews of New Mexico. Artenstein said that after showing the film at various screenings, so many people in the audience stayed after and talked about discovering their Sephardic roots and converting with such deeply felt emotion, that he and his long-time producer, Paula Amar Schwartz decided to make a follow up documentary and find out more about the history and lives of these hidden Jews. Artenstein and his crew traveled throughout New Mexico and Southwest Texas to explore the world of the descendants of the “crypto Jews” and how many of them are exploring their family trees and coming back to Judaism, not always an easy feat. First, they have to research their ancestors and find the documentation that shows that
