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Latinos Search for their Jewish Forefathers

Contributed by: Ezra Rios on 5/21/2008

by Dell F. Sanchez, Ph.D

I've often wondered why, since my childhood, I felt like a stranger in my own land. It wasn't until I began to discover what happened to our forefathers during the slow holocausts of the Inquisitions in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and throughout Latin America.

The fact is that the majority of our forefathers actually came from Spain as they fled the tortures, massacres, confiscations, kidnappings and burnings at the stake because they weren't Catholic Christians but Jewish in faith and lifestyle. Our forefathers were called 'La Gente Prohibida' meaning that upon their expulsion from Spain in 1492, they weren't to cross the Atlantic into the New World but were free to go anywhere they desired east of the Atlantic.

Christopher Columbus was actually bussing many of our Spanish surname, Sephardic Jewish ancestors across the Atlantic as far away from the infamous Inquisition in Spain and later Portugal. Spain's Queen Isabella wasn't the one that financed Columbus' journeys to the New World but three or four wealthy Sephardic leaders, Abravanel, Señor Santangel and Sanchez.

Just three decades after Columbus discovered America, the Spanish Crown sent a dozen Franciscan friars to install the 'Holy Mexican Inquisition' in 1524. Why? Because reports got back to the Spanish Crown that these prohibited people were multiplying and prospering in the New World. It seems the Franciscans weren't doing too good a job with their Inquisition headquartered in Mexico City. Hence, in 1527, the Crown sent a dozen Dominican Friars to fuel the fires of 'Las Hogueras', or the burnings, at the stake of Sephardic victims.

During a month long research journey to Mexico my wife, Helen, and I found the place where Inquisition victims were actually burned at the stake right in front of 'El Convento San Diego', or the San Diego Convent, in Mexico City. In fact, we also found the 'Palace of the Inquisition'. What surprised us most is that we bumped into an unadvertised display of dozens of torture tools and weapons, many of which were used on our ancestors and so few of our people have any hint about it. ( By a miracle from heaven I succeeded in taking photos of all of this evidence which some day I'd love to share with our local audience.)

About eight years after the Mexican Inquisition established a 'High Tribunal' in Mexico City. Fate would have it that Don Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva succeeded in bringing with him around 200 members of his and his wife's family from Iberia (Spain & Portugal). Since Carvajal had already spent around a decade in Mexico scouting the land from top to bottom, he knew he wasn't to land his ship, La Santa Catalina, in the Port of Vera Cruz where all other boats and fleets landed.

Thus in 1580, Carvajal managed to pull away from his fleet in order to land further north at the Port of Tampico. He knew his Sephardic cargo didn't have much of a chance if they landed in Vera Cruz because there awaited an incredible prison called 'San Juan de Ulua'. Helen and I also witnessed this horrible site which reminded me of one of Hitler's death camps. This prison housed criminals and those accused of witchcraft which made it even worst for innocent Sephardic Jews to suffer.

King Philip II had given a huge land grant to Don Luis de Carvajal which was measured in leagues. My estimation is that it was somewhere around 320,000 square miles later known as 'the Tragic Square' because of the manner in which Carvajal's Spanish speaking Jews were hunted down and persecuted by 'La Santa Inquisicion Mexicana'.

This Mexican Inquisition got so bad that in 1591, despite his high position as Viceroy to the king, Carvajal died in an Inquisition prison in Mexico City. Just five years later, in 1596, his own sister together with three of her daughters and her son, Don Luis el Mozo (the young) were burned alive at the stake in Mexico City simply because they were Sephardic Jews.

This story is far from over. I will discuss this and more at the presentation this Saturday. I hope to tell you a bit about some of the torture methods that were used on our Crypto-Jewish forefathers and how and why they fled across the Rio Grande into Texas and New Mexico. And I also wish to let you know that San Antonio was in the northeastern corner of Carvajal's huge land grant. Who knows, you might finally discover that you, here in Colorado, have Sephardic Jewish roots and didn't know it.

Kehilat T'nuvah
Messianic Charismatic Congregation
Presents
The History and Biblical Prophecy Concerning
The Sephardic Jews of the Southwest
A Special Presentation By
Dell F. Sanchez, Ph.D.
on
Saturday, May 24, 2008
1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
at
8891 Poze Blvd.
Thornton CO, 80233
For information
call: 303-761-9948
visit: www.graftedin.com
email: info@graftedin.com

Dr. Sanchez' mission is to restore Sephardic Anusim to its true history, to collaborate in fulfilling ancient prophecies regarding their Negev homeland; and to facilitate the attainment of their destiny in preparing the way for the Lord. One of his main goals is to build a community in the Negev for American Anusim that is compatible to their culture and lifestyle.



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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Ezra Rios has posted 11 stories and 0 comments since joining on 5/13/2008. Ezra Rios 's average story rating is 5.
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