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“An Incredible Family History Unearthed: How a Search for the Past Can Redefine the Present and Future” Third Thursday Food for Thought Presentation
April 17 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On Thursday, April 17, 2025, join Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” program featuring “An Incredible Family History Unearthed: How a Search for the Past Can Redefine the Present and Future” by historian Blanca Carrasco. This free Zoom presentation will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time, same as Pacific Daylight Time).
Blanca Monica Marina Garza Enriquez Espinoza Perez Crispin Tijerina Cortez Salinas, who was born in Torreón, Mexico and has lived in El Paso, Texas for over 30 years, once was told that many of her last names might have Sephardic and/or crypto-Jewish origin. Looking into why, she learned that her biological father is a descendant of Marcos Alonso de La Garza y del Arcon, co-founder of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, a center for crypto-Jews since Spanish Colonial times. In his lineage, she found Constanza de la Garza, possibly her 13th grandmother, a crypto-Jew who was tried by the Spanish Inquisition and died in house-arrest. Finding this ancestry strengthened Blanca’s spiritual and community commitment and sense of connection, and turned out to be a life-changing experience that took her from the Catholic Church to Judaism, a religion that originally seemed distant and foreign. She learned that finding one’s roots can shape a person’s sense of self and their life choices. This presentation dares ask: “How does one truly identify ethnicity? How do we claim our heritage?” In short, the question “How did I get here?” is as important as “Who am I?”
To register for the Zoom webinar go to https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_R1DWgzhuStiUP_8VdMzttA. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.
Flyer: 20250417(v1)ThirdThursday_BlancaCarrasco_AnIncredibleFamilyHistoryUnearthed
Caption: Poster for “A Long Journey,” a documentary about crypto-Judaism in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico, courtesy of Blanca Carrasco