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What happens when you grow up Catholic in Mexico — and discover you’re secretly Jewish?

In this riveting episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt: 30 Minute Mensches, Jonah sits down with Blanca Carrasco, a descendant of Crypto-Jews who only discovered her family’s secret heritage at age 50. Now the president of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, Blanca unpacks the unknown history of Crypto-Jews — descendants of Jews who secretly maintained their faith after being forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. Blanca shares her extraordinary journey to discover who her true family is. She’s a leader in the global movement helping descendants of forcibly converted Jews reclaim their heritage.

 Blanca opens up about:

• 🕯️ How the Spanish Inquisition forced her ancestors to flee Spain and hide their Judaism for generations
• ✝️ Being raised devoutly Catholic — and the moment she began questioning what she was taught
• 🔯 Her path from Messianic Judaism to a full Jewish conversion
• 📜 The Facebook post that led to the discovery of her secret family tree
• 🎓 Her work with the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, and why their academic research has personal meaning for thousands of “Anusim” around the world
• 🎬 A sneak peek into the Society's upcoming Los Angeles conference, including an opera, film screenings, and a genealogy workshop with Jeannie Milgrom

From Monterrey to El Paso, from the Church to the shul, Blanca’s story is a global tale of discovery, identity, and reconnection. Her life proves that history isn’t just in books — it’s in your blood. Hit play to discover how centuries of hidden history came full circle, and what Blanca’s story means for all of us.

Host & Production Team

Host: Jonah Platt; Produced by Rainbow Creative (Executive Producer: Matthew "MoJo" Jones; Story Producer: Sasha Nelson; Content Director: Alexandra Fugère; Associate Producer: Sean Leviashvili); Editor: Post Relativity & Mike O’ Brien; Executive Assistant: Josie Rothschild; Graphic Designer: Noah Bell

MENTIONED IN EPISODE

• Who Were the Crypto Jews? 
• The Converso History
• The Alhambra Decree
• Ottoman Lands provided Safe Haven for Sephardic Jews Expelled from Spain
• “Anuism” Meaning
• Captain Marcos Alonso de la Garza del Arcón (1551-1634)
• Inquisition on the Canary Islands
• Messianic Jew Jonathan Settel
• Who are Messianic Jews?
• Rabbi Stephen Leon
• Anusim Center of El Paso
• Common Converso Names
• Jewish Mourning Traditions (like Covering Mirrors)
• What is Ladino?
• Somos Primos Facebook Group
• Ashkenazi vs Sephardic Jews
• Tikkun Olam: Repairing the World
• Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies
• HaLapid Magazine
• Crypto-Jews of Brazil
• The Dönmes: Crypto-Jews under Turkish Rule
• Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies Annual Conference in Los Angeles, August 10-12, 2025
• Cuban-Jewish Author/Geneologist Genie Milgrom
• What is a Mikvah?
• A Long Journey: The Hidden Jews of the Southwest
• Dona Gracia Mendes-Nasi
• “La Señora” opera about Dona Gracia by Dr. Michelle Green Willner