Noticias
It will be digitized in the coming months
The National Library of Anthropology and History receives the manuscript of Luis de Carvajal ·
March 23, 2017After 84 years missing, the manuscript of Luis de Carvajal returned to Mexico to be housed in the National Library of Anthropology and History, located in the facilities of the National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec.
The manuscript of Luis de Carvajal, El Mozo (Portugal, 1539 - Mexico City, 1591) was presented on Thursday, March 23rd to the media by Luis Cacho, General Director of Legal Affairs of the Department of Culture; Diego Prieto, general director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History; Antonio Saborit, general director of the National Museum of Anthropology, and Baltazar Brito, general director of the National Library of Anthropology and History.
The document is of great historical and cultural value not only for Mexico but also for the construction of the testimony of the Jews in America. The author narrates his autobiography and the persecution he was victim of together with his family by the Holy Inquisition, accused of "Judaizing" practices.
The manuscript of Carvajal is considered the only one written by a Jew at the time of the Spanish colony in Mexico and was hidden in the archives of the Inquisition of Mexico for over 300 years.
Diego Prieto, director of INAH, said that these are three manuscripts drawn up during the viceroyalty of New Spain "which contain information related to the inquisitorial process carried out in the late sixteenth century against the family of Luis de Carvajal for being accused of judaizing".
The manuscript of Luis de Carvajal is composed of three sections: Memories of Luis de Carvajal, made up of 46 sheets measuring 9x10 centimeters; the articles of our sacred faith or Lex Adonai, which contains 11 x 9.8 cm sheets and is made up of two sheets as a cover and three sheets of texts containing the 13 principles of the Jewish faith.
The third document is The Way to worship God and very devoted prayerful exercise that measures 9x11.5 centimeters, which contains a total of 46 sheets and as its name indicates, it is a preamble to begin to pray, in addition to include various Old Testament prayers.
"They are documents of undoubted value for the history of our country”, Diego Prieto said, "especially the first one that allows us to speak about the beginnings of Jewish literature in New Spain. They also allow us to see that Luis de Carvajal not only had an excellent memory to write the biblical texts without support but an indisputable gift for writing”.
"In view of the fact that these are the first manifestations of the Jewish presence in New Spain, but also of the persecution of the kingdom of Spain against Jews or Judaizers, these pieces will be exhibited in the Museum of Memory and Tolerance".
The General Archive of the Nation protected the manuscript of Luis de Carvajal, El Mozo which was illegally taken in 1932 by the investigator Jacob Nachbin. The manuscript appeared on July 2016 in New York (in an auction house)
Thanks to the generosity of the collector and philanthropist Leonard L. Milberg, who advised of the existence of these documents and decided to acquire and donate them to the Mexican government.
The manuscripts return to the country after the efforts made by the Secretary of Culture of the Government of the Republic, when notified by the General Consulate of Mexico in New York, and after being confirmed its authenticity by specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
According to Luis Cacho, Leonard L. Milberg offered to be the one who will buy those manuscripts at auction and donate them to the Mexican government.
"The Secretary of Culture negotiated with Milberg his offer and accepted his two conditions: the first was that they were previously exhibited in New York at the Museum of Historical Society and once in Mexico he was recognized as the person who made the generous donation motivated for a tribute to his personal friend Rafael Kalach, a member of the Jewish community in Mexico City”, Luis Cacho, said.
Baltazar Brito, director of the National Library of Anthropology and History said that the manuscript will be digitized, in high resolution, so that the public can get to know it and will be exhibited in The return to Mexico. The manuscript of Carvajal that will be opened on April 4th in the Museum Memory and Tolerance of the Historic Center of Mexico City, in Plaza Juárez, opposite the Hemicycle to Benito Juárez.
The delivery took place within the framework of the Coordination Bases for the Recovery of Archaeological Monuments, Historical Monuments, Artistic Monuments and Vestiges or Fossil Remains Illegally taken from the National Territory, signed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office, the National Institute of Anthropology and History and the National Institute of Fine Arts.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
