Judaism Unbound Episode 420: Jewtina y Co. – Analucía Lopezrevoredo
Analucía Lopezrevoredo is the founder of Latin Jewish cultural and educational organization Jewtina y Co, as well as an award-winning activist and sociologist known for her work on human migration, immigrant identity development and global Jewish communities. She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about Latin Jewish diaspora, diversity, and emerging creative movements.
[1] Be sure to check out Lopezrevoredo’s incredible organization, Jewtina y Co.
[2] Lopezrevoredo mentions Baron de Hirsch as an important figure in the establishment of Jewish communities in Latin America following the Spanish Inquisition.
[3] Lopezrevoredo mentions this 2014 study from the Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA), a part of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), as the first large-scale study to give us a glimpse into Latin-American Jewish peoplehood in the United States.
[4] Lopezrevoredo shouts out our past episodes with Juan Mejia: Episode 57: Becoming Jewish on the Web and Episode 387: Conversion to Judaism – Beyond Blood Quantum.
[5] Lex asks Lopezrevoredo about the Puentes Fellowship. She describes the four-month leadership and resiliency development program as a way to empower Latin Jews, root them in culturally-responsive Torah, and build multicultural Jewish community.
[6] While speaking about Jewtina y CO’s goal of lifting up a wide range of Latin Jewish voices, Lopezrevoredo mentions the Voces Project, a community archive of stories from individuals who identify as Latin and Jewish.
[7] Lopezrevoredo explains that Jewtina y Co has started incorporating Mussar, a Jewish method of personal and spiritual development, into the Puentes Fellowship. Check out our past episodes that also focus on this theme at Episode 167: The Meaning of Mussar – David Jaffe and Episode 168: American Mussar – Greg Marcus.
[8] Lopezrevoredo shares about a film screening in LA of director Dani Rotstein’s documentary, "Xueta Island", which tells the story of Jewish families on the island of Majorca descended from Jews forced to convert to Christianity and change their name.
[9] Lopezrevoredo mentions some of Jewtina y Co’s past events, such as a Mexican Jewish Film Festival in New York and Latin Jewish Family Festival in Berkeley, and a trip in conjunction with Mitsui Collective (psst… Episode 360: Your Body is a Sukkah – Yoshi Silverstein).
[10] Check out Jewtina y Co’s bi- (and sometimes tri-!) lingual holiday resources that Lopezrevoredo shares about. Make sure to check out the Dia de Los Muertos guide to grieving in particular.
[11] Lopezrevoredo shouts out some other organizations doing important work to engage Latin Jewish community, such as Jews of the America (JOTA) and the Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA), as well as broader organizations that lift up Jews of Color, like Lunar Collective for Asian American Jews and the Black Jewish Liberation Collective.
[12] Lopezrevoredo cites Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa, a Chicana queer feminist, as a major influence in Jewtina’s thinking around borders.
