During the 1500′s many Jews fled Spain into Mexico City, adding to the Mestisaje culture. This and the intersection of Jewish Latinidad in parts of Los Angeles was the focus of a conference held last week at UC Irvine. The conference titled Latinos and Jews: A Conference on Historical and Contemporary Connections discussed the history of Jewish Latino identity as it pertains to those with Mexican background and how anti-Semitism among Catholic Latinos manifests itself. Recently more and more Latinos have been doing some soul and DNA searching in order to identify Jewish roots. But there is still a gap to be bridged. For example:

When Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, asked those in the audience to raise their hands if they identified as Jewish, most of the room responded. When he asked for the Latinos to raise their hands, only a few did.

The event was sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the UC Irvine Center for Research on Latinos in a Global Society.

Via / LA Times