Mexico City:
Colorful, Crowded
LEWIS ERIC LACHTER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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South of the border, down Mexi-
co way is the capital city with its
18 million people ... about 50,000
of whom are Jewish.
The Jewish people came to
Mexico City as early as 1521.
Some came as soldiers with the
explorer Cortez. Most of the ear-
ly settlers were involved in trade
and commerce. They came from
Spain and Portugal and were
called Crypto-Jews or Conversos
because they practiced their reli-
gion secretly and illegally after
1492.
Modern Jewish settlement be-
gan in the 1820s, when a small
group of German Jews arrived in
Mexico City. Emperor Maxmillian
ruled from 1864-1867 and he
brought with him from Europe
Jews from Belgium, France and
Austria. Also in his entourage was
his personal physician Samuel
Basch.
Jews from Russia and Galicia
entered the city in the late 19th
century. Syrian Jews began ar-
riving in the 1890s.
Jewish merchants in the ear-
ly 20th century introduced to Mex-
ico the system of buying on credit,
a system that raised the living
standard of the lower classes. Ban-
co Mercantil, founded by Jews in
1929, financed many Jewish busi-
nesses and paved the way to Mex-
ican-Jewish prosperity.
Diego Rivera, master artist,
said, "My Jewishness is the dom-
inant element in my life. From
this element has come my sym-
pathy with the downtrodden
masses which motivates all of my
work." Be sure to see Rivera's
huge, dramatic murals in the Na-
tional Palace.
Today's Jewish population in
Mexico City is quite wealthy. Over
75 percent of the community's chil-
dren attend one of the city's eight
Jewish day schools.
Separate synagogues serve the
people who came from Poland,
Germany, Hungary, Syria and the
United States. The only temple at
which services are in English is
the Beth Israel Community Cen-
ter. The synagogue is located in
Virreyas in the Lomas section of
the city. Most members of the con-
gregation are American or British.
The temple has a religious school,
for children and with a full-time
rabbi.
Bringing the various national
groups together is the Centro Se-
portivo Israelita or Jewish Sports
and Cultural Center. A combina-
tion country club and community
center, it is one organization to
which virtually every Jew in Mex-
ico City belongs. On any given
MEXICO CITY page 108
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