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To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico

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Thesis: Many of the Spanish settlers of New Mexico were either secretely practising Jews or recent converts. Through the ensuing centuries, some kept up tradition and practice of their Hebrew faith, in all or part.

I heard this hypothesis when I first moved to the Land of Enchantment in 1979. Most locals took it as likely. However, "studies" on the subject were mainly collections of anecdotes of familes that did not eat pork or that played with draedels in December but didn't know why.

Stanley Hordes has done scholarship a real service with his meticulous, well-documented, and systematic research, as presented in To The End of the Earth. Rather than rushing into anecdotes, he first gives a broad backdrop of the history of Judaism in Iberia and the political and religious upheavals there in the 13th through 16th centuries.

Having set the stage, Hordes then follows families of "new Christians" to Mexico. Through an examination of correspondence, records of the Holy Office (Inquisition) and other documents, he traces the likely practice of crypto-Judaism in Old Mexico.

Only then does he set forth north of the Rio Bravo to see the fate of some likely Jewish or formerly Jewish families, trace their practices, and scour for physical evidence among a group that was reticent to leave records of what was long an illegal practice.

Hordes wraps up nicely with not only the family stories but with DNA and blood protein studies. He falls short in actually finding evidence such as hidden synagogues or secret Torahs, but he certainly paints a compelling picture that many of the Hispano settlers of New Mexico were, at the very least, reluctant conversos.

This is an engrossing and well-referenced work for any serious scholar. While not light reading, it is also not too challenging for a non-anthropologist.

By all means, if the thesis is of interest to you, you should order this book.

A couple of years ago I went to a lecture that Dr. Stanley Hordes presented to the New Mexico Genealogy Society. He discussed his then upcoming book about crypto-Jews in New Mexico titled "To the End of the Earth." What intrigued me about Dr. Hordes lecture was that he found proof that the colony of Nuevo Leon, Nuevo Espana ( present day Mexico) probably was populated with crypto-Jews. This same colony en masse tried to illegally colonize New Mexico in 1591, and a few of these people were also part of the official New Mexico colony in 1598. Dr. Hordes' makes a very good argument that there were crypto-Jews in New Mexico during the first years of colonization and that their descendants continued practicing Judaism up until the present day.

A crypto-Jew is a person who converted or whose ancestors converted to Christianity yet still secretly practices Judaism. As with many other Christian countries, Jews were persecuted in Spain during the Middle Ages. In 1390 many Jews converted to Christianity after an especially devastating pogrom. In 1492, after King Fernando and Queen Isabel conquered the last vestige of Muslim Spain in Granada, the Christian monarchs officially expelled the Jews from Spain. All who stayed in Spain were required to convert to Catholicism. Many went to Portugal where they too were forced to convert.

The Spanish Inquisition persecuted many of these New Christians as apostates and heretics. Many were accused of going back to their old religion. In order to avoid prosecution many New Christians went to the New World. Dr. Hordes shows how one such colony from Portugal under the leadership of Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva were almost definitely New Christians, and most likely crypto-Jews.

Carvajal was given permission by the King Philip II of Spain to found a colony in Nuevo Leon. The king gave specific instructions to officials not to question the ethnicity of the people in this colony. Dr. Hordes contends that these people were probably New Christians since at the time New Christians prohibited from going to the New World. The king's instructions would have made it easier for them to cross over to Mexico. As further proof Hordes notes that Carvajal's son was later prosecuted by the Inquisition. During the younger Carvajal's arrest Gaspar Castano de Sosa lead the entire colony to New Mexico. Hordes contends that he probably did this in order to escape being prosecuted himself as a judaizer. However Castano de Sosa was arrested anyway for trying to illegally colonize New Mexico.

Hordes uses church and government records to demonstrate the possibility that New Christians practiced Judaism throughout New Mexico history. His argument is strongest with the early years of the colony when Inquisition records documented investigations into possible judaizers. He also uses genealogy to show how certain assumed crypto-Jewish families intermarried within culture. However, his arguments are weaker when it comes to the present day. Although there is some proof that certain present day Hispano New Mexican families continue the practice of crypto-Judaism, there are questions as to whether certain evidence truly demonstrates this practice. Hordes does not completely dispel these questions, although he comes closer than others who have tried to prove this theory.

Dr. Hordes' book is well researched and was a fascinating read. Any person interested in Hispanic New Mexican history and genealogy should read this book. One then can make up his or her mind whether Dr. Hordes proves that crypto-Judaism indeed was practiced throughout New Mexico's history.

This new book by Dr. Hordes is an excellent introduction to an area of study that has been given only opinionated overviews up to this point. Whether one agrees or disagrees with Horde's thesis, that fact is Sephardic Jewish culture is a crucial element of the overall Hispanic experience, as much as the Moorish, Roman, and Visigothic contributions. To deny this is to live in darkness. As Spain's historiography is finally opening and accepting of its Jewish past, so too should Hispanic Americans open up and accept that past. It is reality.

While a well written book, I also enjoyed immensely the copious footnotes Horde's provides, to give an indication of the enormous amount of work and research that went into this book. Archives throughout Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Mexico, and New Mexico were searched for scattered references and indications of ANY possible behavior that could point the way to any latent Crypto-Jewish practices or cultural rememberances. Inquisition documents, incredible sources of social and cultural history, were used in an amazing way to gain insight into the world of these Hispanic peoples living in times more complex than we may care to admit.

Ultimately, one must make up their own mind regarding the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico. But if one is responsible in their intellect, they will make an informed decision, one that will require the reading of this book. Whether one's name is Encinias, Truxillo, Martinez, or Chavez, it cannot be denied: you have a Sephardic Jewish past. It comes through not only our bloodlines in Iberia, co-mingling with the native blood of the Americas, but also through our rich Catholic cultural heritage, which itself sprang out of the Jewish Semitic Middle East.

Anyone interested in the diverse and fascinating experience that is the Hispanic experience in the Americas, and in New Mexico in particular, needs to read this book now!

More than 700 footnotes add up to an extraordinary story well worth the telling: quite a few "manitos" of Northern New Mexico were probably crypto-Jews who preserved parts of their own culture through centuries of isolation. So we discover that Hispanos and Hebrews are both part of Chicano history in the American Southwest.

Since these individuals covered their tracks well and most are long dead, the trail was cold and neglected. However, Dr. Hordes did not take the easy, glamorous and lucrative route to selling their extraordinary history. Instead, he and his colleagues spent years and years pouring over thousands of documents. As one who has looked at a little of this "paleography," let me testify that a person can go blind staring at that terrible, ancient, blotched and blotted handwriting. I appreciate such careful scholarship; it lays out all possible evidence without overreaching.

Thanks to this book, a vast number of dots have been laid out on the map of New Mexican history. While each by itself is not conclusive, when I connect the dots I see the fascinating faces of religious dissidents who courageously preserved their own beliefs in the face of enormous social pressure. They went "To the Ends of the Earth" to preserve their integrity. I find their story inspiring.

This book is a thoroughly reseached and clearly written critical study of the Crypto-Jews of the Southwest, including a comprehensive history of the Expulsion and the events that led to it. It is an excellent source for teachers and serious students of the subject. Historical data of families bring the material to life.
Norma Libman, journalist, lecturer

Dr.Hordes has made an outstanding contribution to the history of New Mexico and its, heretofore, largely unknown hispano crypto-jewish population. This watershed work provides serious scholars a benchmark from which to continue the quest to understand the history and culture of a group that was forced to hide its beliefs and practices in order to survive but who, against overwhelming odds, was still able to transmit its beliefs and practices to its descendents for over 500 years. This is truly an amazing story!

Dr. Hordes, long recognized as the "guru" of Crypto-Judaism in the Southwest, has written a book all academics and SERIOUS students of this fascinating subject will find an invaluable addition to their libraries. For those with closed minds on the topic, it's unlikely even this exceptionally well documented and highly readable book will prove compelling. For those three or four individuals who seem to think they can enhance their professional standing by attempting to refute the absolutely solid scholarship and careful, well-documented research this book represents, oh well---. Two fools do not make one wise man. For the rest of us, I can only say, "Bravo, Bravo, Sr. Hordes! Well done!" And for those of you reading this book, (hopefully, with an open mind!) don't skip the footnotes. They're a treasure-trove of information (albeit, the reader will be well-served by the ability to read Spanish). The fascinating emergence of Crypto-Jews in New Mexico--and elsewhere in the Southwestern United States--is a FACT. Deniers SHOULD be silenced by this exceptional work. Sadly, some never will be. I, for one, will light my Shabbat candles openly (at last!) in honor of my Hispanic ancestors who were denied that sacred privilege for five hundred + years. They traveled "To The End of the Earth" seeking safety, all the while preserving what they could of their Sephardic Judaism against incredible odds. Dr. Hordes honors the sacrifice of these brave, determined settlers with a truly significant book.
Randy Baca
Author

Dr. Hordes does an incredible job in presenting both the scientific and historical research on crypto-Jews in the Southwest. Although Mr. Encinias doesn't pay tribute to Mr. Hordes research, I found the book to be incredibly helpful in researching my own family history as it relates to crypto-Judaism in the Southwest. Mr. Hordes does well in dismissing the claims of previous historians because I found their work to be misleading and offensive as well. I strongly believe that this book makes a case as to how some"Hispanic/Latino" traditions have a secret history of Judaism. Mr. Hordes book is concise and accurate in his research and is a MUST READ for any Latino/Mexicano who has origins in the Hispanic Southwest. GREAT BOOK! LOVED IT!

This is a fascinating, thoroughly researched book. It is particularly interesting because, without directly confronting alternative views about the resurgence of crypto-Jews in the New World (until near the end of the book), it makes an incontrovertibly persuasive case for their movement into what is now New Mexico and for the longevity of their self-identity and -awareness. The case develops not only because of Hordes's identification of specific individuals and families but also because of close studies of Inquisition records, statistical analyses, genetic investigations, and other approaches that provide a broad, multi-faceted background. Next: Texas!

Dr. Stanley Hordes presents the history of the crypto-Jews not only scientifically, but also in a manner that allows readers of any age to enjoy his work. The book is well organized and leaves nothing unexplained. The work allows its readers to delve into Jewish ancestry and allows those of other faiths to gain knowledge of the ordeals those of the Jewish faith have had to overcome in order to remain faithful to their beliefs.