One September day in 2001, Teresa Castellano, Lisa Mullineaux, Jeffrey Shaw and Lisen Axell were having lunch in Denver. Genetic counselors from nearby hospitals and specialists in inherited cancers, the four would get together periodically to talk shop. That day they surprised one another: they'd each documented a case or two of Hispanic women with aggressive breast cancer linked to a particular genetic mutation. The women had roots in southern Colorado, near the New Mexico border. "I said, 'I have a patient with the mutation, and she's only in her 40s,'" Castellano recalls. "Then Lisa said that she had seen a couple of cases like that. And Jeff and Lisen had one or two also. We realized that this could be something really interesting."
Curiously, the genetic mutation that caused the virulent breast cancer had previously been found primarily in Jewish people whose ancestral home was Central or Eastern Europe. Yet all of these new patients were Hispanic Catholics.
Mullineaux contacted Ruth Oratz, a New York City-based oncologist then working in Denver. "Those people are Jewish," Oratz told her. "I'm sure of it."
Pooling their information, the counselors published a report in a medical journal about finding the gene mutation in six "non-Jewish Americans of Spanish ancestry." The researchers were cautious about some of the implications because the breast cancer patients themselves, as the paper put it, "denied Jewish ancestry."
The finding raised some awkward questions. What did the presence of the genetic mutation say about the Catholics who carried it? How did they happen to inherit it? Would they have to rethink who they were—their very identity—because of a tiny change in the three billion "letters" of their DNA? More important, how would it affect their health, and their children's health, in the future?
Some people in the valley were reluctant to confront such questions, at least initially, and a handful even rejected the overtures of physicians, scientists and historians who were suddenly interested in their family histories. But rumors of secret Spanish Jewry had floated around northern New Mexico and the San Luis Valley for years, and now the cold hard facts of DNA appeared to support them. As a result, families in this remote high-desert community have had to come to grips with a kind of knowledge that more and more of us are likely to face. For the story of this wayward gene is the story of modern genetics, a science that increasingly has the power both to predict the future and to illuminate the past in unsettling ways.
Expanding the DNA analysis, Sharon Graw, a University of Denver geneticist, confirmed that the mutation in the Hispanic patients from San Luis Valley exactly matched one previously found in Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe. The mutation, 185delAG, is a variant of a gene called BRCA1. When normal and healthy, BRCA1 helps to protect breast and ovarian cells from cancer. An extremely long gene, it has thousands of DNA letters, each corresponding to one of four chemical compounds that make up the genetic code and run down either strand of the DNA double helix; a "misspelling"—a mutation—can occur at virtually any letter. Some are of no consequence, but the deletion of the chemicals adenine (A) and guanine (G) at a site 185 rungs into the DNA ladder—hence the name 185delAG—will prevent the gene from functioning. Then the cell becomes vulnerable to a malignancy. To be sure, most breast and ovarian cancers do not run in families. The cases owing to BRCA1 and a similar gene, BRCA2, make up less than 10 percent of cases overall.
By comparing DNA samples from Jews around the world, scientists have pieced together the origins of the 185delAG mutation. It is ancient. More than 2,000 years ago, among the Hebrew tribes of Palestine, someone's DNA dropped the AG letters at the 185 site. The glitch spread and multiplied in succeeding generations, even as Jews migrated from Palestine to Europe. Ethnic groups tend to have their own distinctive genetic disorders, such as harmful variations of the BRCA1 gene, but because Jews throughout history have often married within their religion, the 185delAG mutation gained a strong foothold in that population. Today, roughly one in 100 Jews carries the harmful form of the gene variant.
Meanwhile, some of the Colorado patients began to look into their own heritage. With the zeal of an investigative reporter, Beatrice Wright searched for both cancer and Jewish ancestry in her family tree. Her maiden name is Martinez. She lives in a town north of Denver and has dozens of Martinez relatives in the San Luis Valley and northern New Mexico. In fact, her mother's maiden name was Martinez also. Wright had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, when she was 45. Her right breast was removed and she was treated with chemotherapy. Later, her left breast, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed as a precaution. She had vaguely known that the women on her father's side were susceptible to the disease. "With so much cancer on Dad's side of the family," she said, "my cancer doctor thought it might be hereditary." Advised by Lisa Mullineaux about BRCA testing, she provided a blood sample that came back positive for 185delAG.
When Wright was told that the mutation was characteristic of Jewish people, she recalled a magazine article about the secret Jews of New Mexico. It was well known that during the late Middle Ages the Jews of Spain were forced to convert to Catholicism. According to a considerable body of scholarship, some of the conversos maintained their faith in secret. After Judaism was outlawed in Spain in 1492 and Jews were expelled, some of those who stayed took their beliefs further underground. The exiles went as far as the New World.
Additional Sources
"Identification of Germline 185delAG BRCA1 Mutations in Non-Jewish Americans of Spanish Ancestry From the San Luis Valley, Colorado," Lisa G. Mullineaux et al., Cancer, August 1, 2003
This article is riveting! I have always been interested in the tales of Crypto-Jews. Now this story of genetics makes it even moreso.
Posted by RoseShirley Goodman on September 27,2008 | 05:46PM
Five months ago I atended an Elderhostel progrm in New Mexico on the subject "The Crypto Jews of New Mexico". This study is an incredible addition of information. I will pass it along to the head of the program. Many, many thanks. The article was found by my son, who searched it out because of a possible connection to my family. Our family background is exclusively ashkenazic, of Polish ancestry....Please send any additional relevant information. Norma S. Arbit REmatchmaker@juno.com
Posted by Norma S. Arbit on September 28,2008 | 08:42AM
Loved the article! It is no surprise if how many of us R Jewish... Sephardic or Crypto or... Didn't we all descend from 1 Man & 1 Women? The fact is: We need to take the initiative & care for ourselves & mankind... That is 1 purpose of geneology! As we progress up the ancestory ladder Family ties cross all lines somewhere! Know Ur family history! My people came from Spain in 1598 & perhaps sooner; some with Colon(Christopher Columbus). I've read the Queen Isabela's treasurer was Jewish. He played a great part in financing that gr8t voyage for Colon?! And Colon? Do U Know? We will find Jews in most parts of the world... Secretly practicing or Openly practicing! Thanks for the gr8t work being done! In my immediate family I know of no occuring cancer. Praise my Jesus & help all others!!! "GiGi"
Posted by "GiGi" Encinias on September 28,2008 | 11:32AM
Amazing article, so well researched and well written, this article is personal for me and my family as this is our story of descent. If I may there are several books available online at www.lulu.com available to people of hispanic origin with cryto-jewish genealogies which take the guess work out of their genealogical descent and history. This may help them see if they should be tested for the 185delAG gene.
Posted by P. Pena on September 29,2008 | 08:22AM
how interesting.!!!! my grandfather a catholic was called Judeo.,just because he had a big nose.( I thought) didn't know what a big nose has to do with being Jewish. my mom, his daughter died of ovarian cancer. her sister died of breast cancer. He died of TB.His son also died of TB. I always test positive for TB. so Dr. advised me not to take TB test.I wonder if the TB gene is also attributed to being Jewish.
Posted by juana baca on September 29,2008 | 03:03PM
What about the people of Northeastern Mexico who can also trace their heritage to Portuguese and Spanish Jews? What about people that have Italian heritage such as myself. They may not know that these Italian relatives may have been Jewish. They may not even know that they have Portuguese or Italian heritage, etc. as it has always been told to us that Mexicans are a mixure of Spanish and Indian. Some Jews from Spain and Portugal and maybe from other places moved to Northern Italy where for a time were not bothered by the other people there. Some of these Italian relatives also came to Mexico about the time of the Inquisition as they were explorers, merchants, founders of many towns, etc. and perhaps were looking for a place where being Jewish was tolerated. Some of the Jewish people from Mexico went to the furthest part of what was then the outskirts of Mexico - parts of Calif., Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and also Colorado. There was also an Inquisition in Mexico. My mother always told me that she heard that her maiden name of Rodriguez was changed from Montemayor. Well, I checked and we are descendants of not only Diego de Montemayor who founded Monterrey, Mexico but many other Jewish people. My grandmother lit candles on Friday nights and they covered up mirrors if people in their family died. I really don't think they knew why they had these customs. It is scary to think that we may also have these cancer genes. Thank you.
Posted by Rosalinda Egge on September 29,2008 | 10:45PM
I want to thank you for your fascinating piece on the rich history of San Luis Valley Hispanos. Yes, not everyone with a Spanish last name is Mexican or Latino. Many Hispano families (Hispanos being the direct descendents of Spanish settlers in the American Southwest)have been in America longer than families who trace their lineage to the Mayflower Pilgrims and American Revolution era. I am a direct descendent of San Luis Hispanos. Our family originally settled the northern New Mexico towns of El Rito and Abiquiu (of Georgia O'Keeffe fame) in the early 1700s. Like so many Hispano families, they lost their Spanish land grant after New Mexico became an American territory and resettled in Colorado's San Luis Valley. I am not sure if my family carries this gene, but your article should serve to make Hispanos more aware of possible cancer risks, especially for women and future women of our families. As a health care practicioner, I strongly urge Hispanos, especially women, to at least be aware of this increased risk of cancer and have early checkups and make providers aware of our ancestral risk. And of course, be proud of our rich, ancestral history.
Posted by M. Montoya on September 30,2008 | 08:56AM
My sister just found out she has breast cancer.We are from the San Luis valley. I read the article the secret jews of New Mexico and Colorado I will inform my sisters about BRCA1 gene. We will look into Ashkenazi jews in our family history.
Posted by Alonzo Espinoza on October 2,2008 | 12:15AM
From the example of yet another mutation that is distructive to showing how intimately the origin of mankind is linked genetically, on a larger scale atleast, this article favors creationism and the story of Genesis to the religion of Evolutionism. We all, ultimately, link back to 3 people and we are all related. We did not "evolve" from humanoid entities and then mutate to where we are today. We grew,traveled, interbreded, and keep moving around the earth.
Posted by John on October 4,2008 | 11:50AM
It comes as no surprise that many catholics are of Jewish decent as it was the Catholic church that gave the ultimatum of convert or die. Many Jews converted under the threat of death and now we are seeing their decedents finely come to know their roots and family history and where they came from and many are returning to their original faith. Ashkenazi Jews, are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany. Sephardi is a Jew with family origins in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). This includes both the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain under the Alhambra decree of 1492, or from Portugal by order of King Manuel I in 1497 and the descendants of crypto-Jews who left the Peninsula in later centuries.
Posted by Estella Guzman on October 4,2008 | 01:57PM
I have found this article truly fascinting. Historically The terrible Inquisition of Spain around 1492 was one in which many , many Jews were murdered, many Jews left for to save their Families and Lives and Many went into hiding, adopting Catholicism in order to live, but secretly carrying on their Jewish traditions. Those Jews, and descendents of Jews carrying out the ancient traditions(Menorahs, Lighting Sabbath Candles, circumcision )were found amongst Spanish Colonies throughout North and South America. While I enjoyed the article,I must bring to Your attention, that the Jewish People, and Hebrew Tribes came from Erstz Israel( The Land of Israel ) not "Palestine". The word Palestine was created by the Romans when they conquered the Land of Israel and the Jewish People. It was used to try to deligitimize the Land of Israel belonging to the Jeweish People, and to addd "Palestine to their conquests" as a Colony.Their never was any legitimite Palestine nor a Palestinian State at any time in History. There was Turkish Rule.There was British Mandate Occupation using the term Palestine, to give the Land Back to the Jews as a Promise and to take it away giving two thirds to Trans Jordan and creating then Jordan. one third remaining whereas the British witheld Jewish immigration before World War 2 and during World War 2 and after to prevent Jewish immigration from the survivors of the Shoah in Europe. In the meantime they opened the gates of British Occupied Israel which they called Palestine to large Arab migrations from other lands to Israel and putting Jewish Refugees trying to come to Israel into British Concentration Camps on Cyprus.Now the World Powers in their infinite cruelty are trying to deligitimize the one third of Israel that remains. May it NEVER come to fruition.
Posted by Michael Gorinsky on October 4,2008 | 06:50PM
Since the gene dates back to the time the Jews were in Palestine, it adds another nail in the coffin of the argument that the ashkenazi were descended from the khazars.
Posted by Antonio Aguado on October 5,2008 | 12:21PM
In my county in New York,there is a town with a large "Hispanic" poulation. The Language chmn. at Rocland Comm. College has heard stories of women in the town, over the yrs, who put clean white tablecloths on table Friday nites. They also lit candles with the curtains closed. Messuzas were passed down.Burial practices were different. They didn't know why.
Posted by Rebecca Kraushaar on October 7,2008 | 10:56AM
Fascinating article! Thank you. This past summer my mother’s father’s family held its first family reunion of all the descendents of the surname family of Roybal who are from the San Luis Valley. Reading the article made the information extremely personal. I called my mother who resides still in Colorado and share some of the myths and religish Jewish customs and practices, stated in the article where she responded to yes, I remember my parents and grandparent covering mirrors while mourning a death. Growing up Hispanic/ American Indian from the northern Pueblos your article helped to provide another piece of my genealogical heritage. I have also shared this article to my new found Aunts and female cousins. I’m sure there is a reason why this information came to us. Many thanks – PJ Bell, Eagle River, Alaska.
Posted by Pj Bell on October 7,2008 | 04:16PM
This is an amazing article because my family, both sides are actually from that part of Colorado and New Mexico. Both families did homestead and both were given Spanish Land Grants. I always knew that they married within the community of Spanish families and they spoke Spanish differently than those from Mexico. My mother's maiden name was Valdez (originally Valdes) and she married my father who was also a Valdez. They couldn't marry until the Church made sure that they were not 1st, 2nd or 3rd cousins. I left that area when I was a child and really didn't learn the language or the customs. I do however understand Spanish, but can not speak it. I have to hear it or see it written before I can pick out the words which I know but cannot say correctly or put in the proper sequence. I have been to Spain and knew about the Jews & Muslims told to either convert, leave or die. When Queen Isabella and King Fernand came into power and united Spain. I just didn't put it all together until I heard from family members recently, while visiting New Mexico, that they had read about the Jewish link between the early Spanish Settlers. I was totally amazed when I received the Smithsonian Magazine in the mail a week after returning from New Mexico. Amazing! My family has had several deaths because of Ovarian and other cancers mentioned in the Article. Vangie Edson
Posted by Vangie Edson on October 13,2008 | 03:56PM
Mrs.Estella Guzman comment Jew's were to convert or die by the Catholic church is incorrect the Jews of Spain were given the option to convert or expelled from Espana, It's important for the readers to learn that during the time of Christopher Columbus, Espana had the largest Jewish population in Europe. The Moor's had occupied Iberia over seven hundred years and after the reqonquista Espana did not want to be threatened by outside forces. The Sephardi Catholic Jews of Norther New Mexico and Southern Colorado are a very blessed people.
Posted by Rodrigo Vivar on October 13,2008 | 08:48PM
I am a 4th generation Spaniard from New Mexico. A Co-Worker recently gave me this article. My mother died from Ovarian Cancer in June 2001. My sister was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer at the same time as well as another sister who had the cancerous cells frozen. I find this article very interesting and maybe that explains the Cancers in the Southwest. Thank you Smithsonian for writing this article.
Posted by Jeanette on October 16,2008 | 11:17AM
I often tell people(even Arabs)that we are all possibly Jews if we are true sons of Abraham.My maternal family name is Matias which is one letter short of Mathias as in St.Mathias.One branch of my mothers family (Matias)was P.R. Pentecostal and so orthodox strict that lip stick,movies,TV,liquor and so much more was forbidden that they appeared to be more like Orthodox Jews rather than Christians.My aunt,the super religious matriarch of this branch of my family died of ovarian cancer at about the age of 45.I wonder if she carried the 185 gene?Although we are Puerto Ricans,she appeared to look more like an Eastern European but my intimate associations with Israelis draws a different picture to me of what a true Jew looks like and that could be anyone,Ashkenazim or Sharon;the latter is how Israelis refer to light and dark Jews as opposed to our "Black and white" description,they use family names to denote color.I always suspected that Israelis find the discussion of color as distasteful and crude and that is why they prefer,if left without a choice,to use a family name.
Posted by T.Maysonet on October 16,2008 | 10:02PM
The article is facinating. I am a Cuban Jew of Ashkenazi background (my parents immigrated to Cuba between the World Wars) and I had an uncle who researched the geneology and artifacts of some of the oldest Cuban-Spanish families (which arrived in the 1500's) and discovered that most of the original Spanish families in Cuba were "Conversos" gaging by customs such as lighting candles on Friday and the making of braided egg bread for the Friday night meal. Also he showed me the photograph of a type of traditional chair where circumcisions are performed. He also told me that some of the families where not big on Church going, but that they particularly paid attention to the "Old Testament" and not the New. Why they had these customs? The answer invariably was that "they did not know why, but it is a family tradition." One additional point I would like to clarify regarding the reader's comment that Spanish Jews were given a choice to convert or be deported. In point of fact there was no choice. If the Jew was deemed necessary to the crown, he was told that he could leave but without his children. The fact that many Jews who remained continued Jewish practices and in many instances sought safe refuge far from the mainstream of Spanish influence evidences that the conversions were not voluntary. Finally, I am gratified to learn that a possible answer to the question where my forebears (Ashkenazi or European Jews) came from is from Spain.
Posted by L. S. Konski on October 18,2008 | 05:41PM
I have been researching myself on our heritage and believe that the Dispora of Spain in 1492 was the crew who came with (Colon)Columbas to find a new world and be free to practice their religion. Colon needed the funds from the Catholic Kingdom so conversos were an absolute must if they wanted to rebuild their lives in the Americas.But the Basques(Vascos) Viscayas play a huge role as well. Which they are believed to also be Jewish because of the covering of the head as they always were(berets).. The blood genes O factor, Rh Neg like I carry. We are all rich in heritage and all connect in some way. Plus I am proud of the native as well that most Hispanics carry. Beatriz
Posted by Beatriz Veloz De Rodriguez on October 19,2008 | 08:20AM
Note from the editors:
We have received several letters and comments saying that we were mistaken to report that a genetic mutation found in Ashkenazi Jews from Central and Eastern Europe could also be found in the descendants of Sephardic Jews from Spain. But we weren't in error. In fact, scientists say the mutation arose among Jewish people before they split into Ashkenazi and Sephardic groups. At least one study, from the British Journal of Cancer (http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v79/n7/abs/6690208a.html) has found the mutation in a Spanish woman of Sephardic descent. As our story said: “More than 2,000 years ago, among the Hebrew tribes of Palestine, someone's DNA dropped the AG letters at the 185 site. The glitch spread and multiplied in succeeding generations, even as Jews migrated from Palestine to Europe.”
Posted by Sarah Zielinski on October 20,2008 | 06:23AM
the jews who remained in spain after 1492 were forced to convert to catholicism, and were the prime targets of the spanish inquisistion, who accused and tortured to death, thousands of innocent victims. whether the converts sincerely converted, or practiced judaism in secret, the inquisition was a powerful incentive to get as far away from spain as possible. even 500 years, the terms "new christians" and "old christians" are still used in some parts of spain! but this article fails connect the dots. specifically, if this brca mutation is found among ashkenazic jews, what is the connection to spain? is this same mutation found among the millions of sephardic jews around the mediterranean basin? (i.e. among the descendants of the spanish jews who fled spain instead of converting.) and it also neglects the "founder effect", where, given enough generations, almost everyone shares common ancestors. the converse of which is that any individual, after sufficient generations, will either have no descendants (as in the case of infertility), or be everyone's ancestor. in this case, the brca mutation may "indicate" what we already know: that many hispanic catholics are descended from one or more converted jews. it's probably equally as likely that they are descended from charlemagne!
Posted by tom on October 22,2008 | 06:44AM
I am from Monte Vista, Colorado. This is a small town in the San Luis Valley. My family has lived here all our lives. My father died from Acute Myloid Leukemia in 1995 and 5 years later 1999 I was diagnosed with the same kind of Leukemia. I under went a bone marrow transplant and I am now cured. While I was getting my treatment in Denver there were 5 of us from the San Luis Valley with different kinds of cancers and 2 of us had the same kind (AML). My mother's side of the family has colon cancer. I know alot of people from the San Luis Valley with different kinds of cancer. My mother's Grandfather was a Spanish Sheep Settler that settled here in the San Luis Valley. I have an article about him and his family. This is a very interesting article, I am very interested in finding out how we developed this type of cancer. Thank you for sharing this interesting article.
Posted by Yvonne Miranda on October 22,2008 | 10:53AM
I have to pass this on from my mother who passed away in 1991 at age 88: "Va, mas antes naiden querian ser indios y ahora todos Oy vey!
Posted by auline Chavez Bent Bent on October 24,2008 | 01:00PM
"More than 2,000 years ago, among the Hebrew tribes of Palestine..." This is so politically sensitive that I have to comment. Calling the ancient region Palestine before it even had that name is a common mistake in articles, but still a mistake. Palestine was the name the Romans gave the region after their fights with the Israelites in the first century AD (or CE if you prefer), kind of as a snub since the name comes from the Philistines, ancient invaders from Greece who were enemies of the Israelites.
Posted by Adam on October 24,2008 | 03:16PM
The article is very unclear on whether the mutant gene is found in Palestine today, or in human remains containing this mutation in Palestine, or whether it is just the author's speculation that "2,000 years ago among the Hebrew Population of Palestine" the mutation occurred. I say, unless there is some proof of the variant originating in Palestine, this mutation occurred in Europe, among the converted Jews of Khazaria. That's REALLY what the evidence indicates, isn't it?? DNA testing has PROVEN the aboriginal "Jews" of present day Palestine (Sephardic Jews) are DNA matches for present day Palestinians. Same people. Unrelated to the converted Jews of ancient Khazaria (Turkey and Russia) presently making up the majority population of present day occupied Palestine. Does the present day Palestinian population also have this mutation? If not, then it originated in Europe. DNA PROVES it.
Posted by farang on October 24,2008 | 04:01PM
Very interesting--- my mother died of ovarian cancer in 1984 and she was a Russian Jew? I found the article informative. I have not had any cancer problems, but I have a daughter that has dealt with the problem. Does it skip a generation? Thanks, Shirl
Posted by Shirl on October 24,2008 | 04:09PM
What amazes me is that people are amazed. It has been a rather well-known fact in south Texas that many of the people of northern Mexico, esp. around Monterrey and Saltillo, with the last names of birds (Falcon, Garza, etc) have Jewish blood in them. Why do you think they say people of Monterrey are "de codo" (meaning tight with their money), why there is a bread is called "semita" (Semite), that flour tortillas are unleavened bread, that there was an Inquisition in Saltillo to root out the "marranos" ("pigs"...the name Spanish Catholics called Jews who were supposed to have converted but they believed really hadn't)?
Posted by Doug Hall on October 24,2008 | 04:26PM
This is truly timely for my research and supports the DNA results that I received from the National Geographic Genetic DNA test that my cousin received. It shows many markers of both Ashkenazi and Shepardic Jewish tracers. From my historical understanding, the Inquisition spread from Spain to Mexico and then to Santa Fe. Former Jewish families or conversos continued to flee the inquisition by volunteering to move to the furthest frontiers albiet New Mexico or south to Central and South America. More research is needed, and yes it is okay to be Christian with former Jewish ancestory. Ya are what ya are!..
Posted by Paul Douglas Gonzales on October 24,2008 | 04:51PM
It has always been an inside joke in my family, Mexican-American. My uncle one time received a rod iron menorah for Christmas, from my cousin. The fact of of the matter is that In the 1490's some Jews had no choice but to go East from Spain, or to board a ship and what else is going on in the world.
Posted by Paul Magdaleno on October 24,2008 | 05:31PM
I've read Dr. Hordes' book, which is very interesting. The question is not whether or not there were Crypto-Jews in New Mexico. Converted Sephardic Jews came to the New World to escape persecution by the Spanish Inquisition. And the Spanish Inquisition followed them here. Spanish records show that many were accused of being "heretic" Jews. Most likely, many of them were. Stanley Hordes shows how a certain group of Jews did come to New Mexico to escape persecution that they were receiving in Nuevo Espana (Mexico). But the Inquisition followed there here, too. The true question is whether the descendants of Crypto Jews continued to practice Jewish customs throughout more than a dozen generations. That is less certain. Although many arcane Catholic customs continued in New Mexico up into the twentieth century(such as Penitente rites in Northern New Mexico), I think it is less likely that Jewish customs would have survived. The Jewish customs would have had to have been hidden throughout these generations. I just don't think they could have survived over the years. There would have been too much intermarriage among other groups, such as Native Americans and Spanish, for these customs to have survived. I think that many people have "found" their Jewish heritage after finding out that they were descended from Jews. I'm probably descended from Jewish ancestors, and, although the thought of being so is very intriguing, I know that my family did not practice their Jewish heritage throughout the centuries.
Posted by Robert J. C. Baca on October 24,2008 | 08:59PM
It is a known fact that some of Spain's most famous and important historical figures had one or more Jewish ancestors. St. Teresa of Avila, was the grandaughter of a Jew from Toledo, who had moved to Avila and changed his surname to Sánchez. Yet, she was an ardent Christian. King Ferdinand "The Catholic" himself had a Jewish ancestor on his mother's side (the Enríquez lineage). The Gran Duque de Alba, Pedro Alvarez de Toledo, had Jewish ancestors. I sincerely doubt that those "Secret Jews" of San Luis Valley were crypto-Jews, they were probably Conversos or even Christians by the time those territories were settled. They were soldiers, carpenters, sailors, cooks, on the payroll of the Crown of Castille, mostly in the days of King Philip II. They mostly arrived to these territories with military scouts, two generations after Columbus - Colón - himself of probable Jewish origin from the Barcelona region. Do read up on Coronado, Ponce de León, Menéndez de Avilés, Cabeza de Vaca, etc.
Posted by Teresa on October 29,2008 | 02:56PM
Thank you Jeff for all your hard work and also for finding out that our family is part of God's chosen people. I find this to be an AWESOME discovery even more so than the cancer mutation gene. Not being catholic since I was a teenager and being a born again Christian and now knowing that God's chosen people are the Jewish people is so exciting for me!!! We are now also part of that family! This gene has taken many of my family members, as you know, and I miss them very much. Again thank you for all your hard work and meeting with us in San Luis to answer our questions.
Posted by Debbie Crane on November 7,2008 | 09:41PM
Mr. Wheelwright's compelling article, along with the numerous heart-felt responses from readers, so wonderfully demonstrates a surging public desire for research, exhibitions and publications that would further unvail and demystify the significant contribution that persons of Jewish ancestry made to European exploration, settlement and trade within what has been Federally recognized as the "Old Spanish National Historic Trail" corridor. The Old Spanish Trail Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization, would welcome hearing from anyone interested in contributing both scholarly and personal research, as well as, family legacies related to this important part of our nation's rich cultural heritage. Please contact me at manager@oldspanishtrail.org or visit www.oldspanishtrail.org. Donald Davidson Association Manager Old Spanish Trail Association
Posted by donald davidson on November 11,2008 | 09:53AM
To correct the article - 2000 years ago there was no Palestine. It was called Judea or Israel. Palestine was a name given by the Romans after the Jewish revolt was defeated by the Romans circa 130 AD as to wipe away the Jewish link to the land. The erroneous term 'Palestine' is used to this day.
Posted by Amitai on November 11,2008 | 10:00AM
This is a very interesting and useful article. However covering mirrors upon the death of a family member is not exclusively Jewish. In Albion's Seed; Four British Folkways in America, by David Hackett Fischer, the custom along with several others often found on the Internet as being Jewish, is fully explained as English. For info about Jewish customs be sure your source is reliable.
Posted by Janet Crain on November 15,2008 | 08:09AM
I am very thankful of this info. my grandmother died of stomach cancer so they say but maybe it was ovarion my cousin pased away of ovarian cancer at a tender age of 33 my mother passed away of brest cancer, now my cousin has ovarian cancer at a tender age of 50. My father passed away in 1999 of pacratic cancer and most of his bothers have died of cancer, when a person goes for a check up what test should a person ask to be given, I am 54 and have been very healthy so far but want to make sure that I can get ahead of the game. Thank you so much for all the updated information should you have any questions please contact me, madian name was maes, mothers madian was martinez and my grandmother was lovato. I have also lost two 3rd cousin who were sisters last name martinez to ovarian cancer.
Posted by Beatrice on December 21,2008 | 01:31PM
My family has been from the San Luis Valley for many generations, of Ute and Apache ancestry mixed with a variety of genetic banks. The Spanish came, then the Mexicans and then the Gringos. It is a mixed and rich heritage and there have always been hints of Jewish ancestry. I became more aware of this when I spent four years as a social worker in the charming town of San Luis, Colorado. My family was from Mogote, a few miles from Antonito whose land was taken by land speculators who didn't respect the law as prescribed by the TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO and my family, all eleven, ended up in Monte Vista. In November, the seventh of my eight older sisters, Rebecca Sandoval, died of ovarian cancer and prior, to her demise, she had lost a breast to cancer. I found this to be a most fascinating and educational article and I hope that the research continues. juanoaxaca@gmail.com
Posted by Juan Antonio Sandoval Jr. on January 7,2009 | 04:39PM
Remember the old Make Room For Daddy show when Danny Thomas would spit coffee when he was shocked. I spit out Manshevitz. This is awesome and makes total sense. My god...what if we are prejudice against our own people? It causes pause. We are so ignorant. Ignorant in prejudice in history to do things to people and ignorant of history. Thank you Smithsonian. In these times, we should embarce and come together to figure out things rather than point fingers. Whaddya say? Lachiam. Shalom. In HIS NAME. YHVH
Posted by Michael Chernik on January 9,2009 | 05:08PM