Jewish life in the Americas stretches back to the very beginnings of European colonization, though often in hidden form. In the late 15th and 16th centuries, following the expulsions from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1497), some Sephardic Jews and conversos (Jews who had converted to Christianity, often under pressure) arrived in the New World with Spanish and Portuguese expeditions. Because open Jewish practice was forbidden under the Inquisition, these early communities remained largely clandestine, particularly in colonial centers such as Cartagena, Lima, and Mexico City.
A more visible and enduring Jewish presence emerged much later. From the mid-19th through early 20th centuries, large numbers of Jews arrived from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazi Jews from Lithuania, Poland, and Russia) as well as from the Ottoman Empire (Sephardic Jews from the Balkans, Syria, and Turkey). They settled primarily in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay, building synagogues, schools, and communal institutions that still define Jewish life in the region today. And here are five of Latin America´s most significant Jewish places to visit:
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