It may come as a surprise, but the history of Mexico City‘s Jewish communities stretches back almost 500 years. Approximately 40,000 Jews live in the capital today, comprising as much as 90% of the country’s total Jewish population. Both Sephardic and Ashkenazis are represented, each with their own synagogues and cemeteries. If you want to get a sense of Jewish Mexico City, search for some of the capital’s synagogues (there are nearly 30 of them), or just stroll around Centro Histórico, where much of Jewish life has—and remains—centered in the capital. According to Mexican American writer Ilan Stavans, Centro Histórico’s Calle Tacuba was home to the capital’s first Jewish social hall, at #15. The building no longer serves that function, but in his book, Return to Centro Histórico: A Mexican Jew Looks for His Roots, Stavans describes the numerous events that Jews held there over the years. The book is a memoir, but also serves as a rather useful guide of sorts for those readers and visitors interested in Jewish life in the Mexican capital.
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Jewish Mexico City
It may come as a surprise, but the history of Mexico City‘s Jewish communities stretches back almost 500 years. Approximately 40,000 Jews live in the capital today, comprising as much as 90% of the country’s total Jewish population. Both Sephardic and Ashkenazis are represented, each with their own synagogues and cemeteries. If you want to get a sense of Jewish Mexico City, search for some of the capital’s synagogues (there are nearly 30 of them), or just stroll around Centro Histórico, where much of Jewish life has—and remains—centered in the capital. According to Mexican American writer Ilan Stavans, Centro Histórico’s Calle Tacuba was home to the capital’s first Jewish social hall, at #15. The building no longer serves that function, but in his book, Return to Centro Histórico: A Mexican Jew Looks for His Roots, Stavans describes the numerous events that Jews held there over the years. The book is a memoir, but also serves as a rather useful guide of sorts for those readers and visitors interested in Jewish life in the Mexican capital.
