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Secret Crypto-Jewish Diaries Rediscovered in New York, Displayed in Mexico City

JL;DR SUMMARY Luis de Carvajal's secret Crypto-Jewish diaries, important historical documents from the 16th century, have been rediscovered in New York and returned to Mexico. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

InquisitionJewish HistoryJudaicaMexico16th CenturyLuis De CarvajalCrypto JewryLeonard MilbergSwann GalleriesColonial Era

Places mentioned

Mexico City, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
"His body was consumed in a massive fire organized in a public plaza in 1596 at a Mexico City auto-da-f, in which his sister and mother also died."
New York, United States
"In 2016, though, Leonard Milberg, a wealthy collector of Judaica, recognized them at an auction of Swann Galleries, in New York and contacted the Mexican government, which in turn confirmed the documents authenticity and negotiated its return."
Benavente, Zamora, Spain
"Born in 1567 in Benavente, a small Spanish town close to the Portuguese border, Luis de Carvajal made the perilous trans-Atlantic journey to Mexico as a child."
Nuevo León, Mexico
"His family sailed with his uncle, Luis de Carvajal El Viejo (the Elder), who was a decorated Conquistador and, at the time, charged by Felipe II to become governor of Nuevo Len, a frontier land in the north of Mexico."
Brazil
"Nachbin was a celebrity in the Yiddish press of Argentina and Brazil and the father of Leopoldo Nachbin, who would become Brazils most important mathematician."
Illinois, United States
"Before setting out to Mexico he had been a teacher at Northwestern University in Illinois and what is now New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces."
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
"Before setting out to Mexico he had been a teacher at Northwestern University in Illinois and what is now New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces."
Paris, France
"he was last seen in Paris, in 1938, and is thought to have perished in the Holocaust."

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Cairo Item ID 81158
Cairo Source ID 10
Retrieved 2026-04-30 05:32:44 UTC
Curated 2026-04-30 08:32:15 UTC