Ladino reveries: Tales of the Sephardic experience in America

LADINO REVERIES relates with warmth and poignancy the assimilation of the Sephardic immigrants into American culture, from Ellis Island to the Lower East Side, through Harlem, the Bronx, and beyond. Proud to be Americans after 500 years of exile from Spain and modest prosperity in Ottoman Turkey, their cultural and linguistic challenges are conveyed with light-hearted candor and a strong sensitivity to their plight.

Particular attention is given to their American-born children, who struggled optimistically and tenaciously to bridge the cultural gaps between the old world and the new. Highlighted as well are the differences, and surprising similarities, between the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities, and the graceful beauty of the beloved 15th century Spanish of the Sephardim – Ladino – which after five centuries is now in danger of vanishing completely. This revised anthology of the original columns will inspire tears and laughter, as the resilience and character of the Sephardic immigrants and their children unfold.