Upcoming Events on Crypto Jews
We call your attention to three conferences or gatherings on the subject of Crypto Judaism: 1. Discovering the Legacy of a Hidden Past, at Congregation Shaar Hashalom, Houston, May 23. Contact 281–557-5588 or 281–488-5861. 2. Crypto Judaism in the American Southwest, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, April 25, http://www.smu.edu/News/EventListing/20100425-Crypto-Judaism.aspx 3. Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, Annual Conference, […]
Posted in Blog Tagged Crypto Jews, Sephardic Jews, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M Hillel Leave a comment
Writing about crypto Jews: questions to ponder
I am becoming more aware of fictional works, already published or in progress, that are based on stories, past or present, historical or imaginative, that have to do with crypto Jews. These fall into three categories: (1) those based on historical figures who once moved among us; (2) works with totally fictional characters, created by […]
Is Foursquare “Past Twitter”–and Facebook and email and…?
Two weeks ago or so, I clipped an article from the NY Times that I saved for reflection because it records a phenomenon of technological and pop culture history in the making. A good summary of Brad Stone’s article “Old Fogies by Their 20’s” is the story’s subhead: “Generation gaps span just a few years, E‑mailers […]
Posted in Blog Tagged Facebook, Foursquare, Marshall McLuhan, social networking, Twitter Leave a comment
When a talk became a roundtable…
Last Saturday, I shared an event with my good hermanika (sister, in Ladino), Kathleen Alcalá, at Book Woman Bookstore in Austin. Before we began, there was time to browse the shelves and exhibits. The comfortable atmosphere and good vibes led me, as first speaker, to turn the chairs, set up in rows, into a circle […]
A Wonderful Audience in Laguna Woods
I have always found the experience of speaking about the subject of the book, Sephardic Jews and related topics (i.e. Crypto Jews, Jews and the Age of Discovery, Notable Sephardic Women, etc.), always reaffirming. This past Friday, 1/29, was particularly energizing as I shared the evening with over 100 persons, all but a few chronologically […]
Another play, this time in Albuquerque
Back in 1007, I arranged for Robert Benjamin’s PARTED WATERS to have a staged reading by the Arizona Jewish Theater Company at the annual conference of The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies in Phoenix. To my knowledge, that was the first presentation of the play in any form. Last March, the Arizona Jewish Theater Company offered the […]
Posted in Blog Tagged Albuquerque, Crypto Jews, Sephardic Jews, Theater in Albuquerque Leave a comment
“Palestine, New Mexico”: Crypto Judaism and More
Crypto Judaism, one’s own or others’, has inspired works in literature, film, music and literature. I saw and was delighted by a work of theater this week that grew out of Playwright Richard Montoya’s exploration of his family’s potential Sephardic Jewish roots, “Palestine, New Mexico,” at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum. My delight came from the […]
Looking back and leaping forward
This is the traditional time of the year when folks look back before they leap forward. An “old” year is drawing to a close as I write this, the time left measured in a few days. The media is recounting memories of the past—The Year in Pictures: 2009, Ten Unsolved Mysteries in the War on […]
How not to bore readers…