Curated by Laurel Comiter, Gabriel Mordoch, and Gabriel Duque
Expelled from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497, the Sephardic Jews took with them their unique language called Ladino, also refered to as Judeo-Spanish, Judesmo, or Sephardi. Today, this language is a combination of archaic form of Castilian Spanish that contains elements of Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, French, Portuguese, Bulgarian, and Italian. The population of Ladino speakers is so small that Ladino is a UNESCO endangered language. Although few people today speak Ladino, the importance of the language to the Sephardic culture is apparent in the preservation of the music since the time of the expulsion. Artists like Flory Jagoda, Alberto Hemsi, and Judy Frankel are just a few of the artists who dedicated their lives to preserving the oral traditions of the Sephardic communities by writing down and recording their songs and stories.
The Ladino language, also referred to as Judeo-Spanish, Sephardi, or Judezmo is the Romance language spoken by the Sephardic Jews,..
Sephardic music, of course, has its roots in Jewish tradition and their homeland of the Iberian Peninsula. But as Sephardic..
Flory Jagoda (1923, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2021, Alexandria, VA), a singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist spent the latter..
Alberto Hemsi (1898, Turgutlu, Turkey - 1975, Paris, France), a 20th century composer born in Turkey, dedicated his life’s work..
Judy Frankel An American Jew from Boston, Judy Frankel (1943 Boston, MA - 2008 San Francisco, CA) began her career as..
While the Ladino language is on the verge of extinction, as classified by UNESCO, Ladino music has become more present..
