Mexican Jews? They’ve been there for 500 years

CES HEREDIA: While I've known the general story of my family’s history, I recently started filling in the gaps on the long history of Mexican Jews

“OKAY, YOU’RE FROM MEXICO, but where are you and your family really from? There’s no Jews in Mexico… ?”

It’s a question I’ve heard one too many times throughout my life, from both Mexican and American friends, as a Jew that lives in Tampico. When I tell someone that I’m Mexican and Jewish, their first reaction is usually one of surprise. I don’t totally blame them.

Generally speaking, when people think about Jewish ethnicity and geography, their minds usually go to places in Europe, the Middle East and the United States as this is what has been generally portrayed in the media as the “typical” location of Jews in the world.

But Jews have been settled in Mexico, and Latin America in general, for a long time now. My answer to the “where are you really from” question has generally been to say my Jewish family is originally from Germany, they got here decades ago, and have been settled in Mexico since before World War II.

Upon doing some research I found out that the history of Jews in Latin America and Mexico is as old as the history of Catholics here and the arrival of Conquistadores, like Hernán Cortés, to the New World in the early 1500s; yes, we have been here for 500 years.

FULL STORY: Yes, there are Jews in Mexico; we’ve been here for a very long time (Hey Alma)

Photo: Ama Hernandez, a Mexican-American Jew, protests against President Trump in 2018 (courtesy Hernandez)