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International Ladino Day: A Celebration of Story and Song

Join us for a festival celebrating a remarkable language, Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish.

Jane Mushabac will perform excerpts from her highly acclaimed 2016 novel, rich with Ladino expressions: His Hundred Years, A Tale. Also hear wonderful singer/accordionist Jane Carver; renowned Sephardic thought leaders, Rabbi Marc Angel and Rabbi Nissim Elnecavé; and the illustrious Trio Sefardi, with Howard Bass, Tina Chancey, and Susan Gaeta, who has toured with the legendary Flory Jagoda.

In 2013, Yitzhak Navon, Israels 5th President and Director of the National Authority for Ladino, endorsed the idea of International Ladino Day. Since then, celebrations have been held in Jerusalem, Seattle, Istanbul, Madrid, Dallas, and Forest Hills. This will be the first festival in Manhattan!

Ladino is a bridge between cultures - it's a Spanish language that includes words in Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, and more. Ladino was the mother tongue of Jews in the Ottoman Empire for 500 years. In the early 20th century, about half a million people spoke Ladino. Now there are 50,000-100,000 speakers.

The international resurgence of interest in Ladino and its culture is seen in distinguished university programs, publications, and events of many kinds.

The January 28th program at the Center for Jewish History is co-presented by the American Sephardi Federation and the American Jewish Historical Society.

Light refreshments will be served.