“I was raised with my parents and grandparents, on both sides of the family, telling me that I was a mestiza, a mixed blood, half of this and half of that. One half of my lineage was “Spanish” and the other half ‘indigenous’. 

“We were practicing Catholics from time immemorial, some more Catholic than others. Then again, we had strange customs. For example, we made our tamales with beef, never pork. Vestigial traces of long ago? Perhaps. 

“As it turns out, according to my DNA and the maternal story in my bloodline, I have traces of Sephardic Jews, but then again, I also have northern African and “Bantu” people and Egyptian and French and Balkan/Baltic and even Viking traces. That’s just part of the story. 

“This conglomeration of ancestors are clamoring to tell their side of the migration stories that I carry in my blood, in my genealogical family tree, in my ancestral memory. 

“‘Are you Jewish?’ someone asked me not too long ago. After you participate in this two-hour long journey with me, you will be able to answer the question better than I can.”

María Eugenia Trillo Ph.d

María’s presentation will be followed by an opportunity for others to share the stories of their lineages.