The old bell at the San Miguel Mission church in Santa Fe traveled from Spain to Mexico with Nicolás Ortiz Niño Ladrón de Guevara, a wealthy Spanish hidalgo. He brought it to Santa Fe, where it was placed in a capilla (small chapel) he built for his family. After the Pueblo Revolt in 1692 it was placed at San Miguel Chapel. In 1872 the bell was damaged by a storm and removed to the interior of the church for protection and preservation. Upon close inspection the Star of David can be found ethed on the ancient bell.
A Hidden Faith
Just as the Native Americans were forced to convert to Christianity while secretly honoring their own spirituality, many of New Mexico’s early Spanish settlers also practiced a hidden faith. They were the Sephardic Jews who had eluded the Inquisition under the guise of being conversos, Jews who had converted to Catholicism. They became known as crypto-Jews because they practiced their Jewish faith secretly while presenting a different persona to the public. Of the 19 founding families of Santa Fe, 11 our believed to have been Jewish. Throughout New Mexico clues continue to be discovered that confirm the hidden spirituality of the crypto-Jews.
The most outstanding characteristics of Judeo-Spanish culture in exile were written in the form of Medieval Spanish verses, or coplas Hispanic New Mexican coplas were orally passed down to each generation from the elders.. Coplas are often religious in theme, yet do not have the function of liturgical poems or prayers. The coplas were beneficial to many cultures . They were meant for those who did not know Hebrew and had no access to rabbinic literature. The Coplas were learned easily and memorized reflecting the customs, folkways and characteristics of the Sephardic Community.