On Thursday, April 17, 2025, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” presentation will feature “An Incredible Family History Unearthed: How a Search for the Past Can Redefine the Present and Future” by historian Blanca Carrasco. This free online Zoom presentation will be held from 7:00-8:30 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?”
For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201. If you would like for Old Pueblo to email you a flyer with color photos about the above-listed activity send an email to info@oldpueblo.org with “Send APRIL THIRDTHURSDAY flyer” in your email subject line.