THE LEARNING CENTRE OF THE JEWISH ALJAMA IN THE CITY OF SEGOVIA

Open request for tenders.

The building of a learning centre in the Jewish quarter of the city of Segovia is set within the program of interventions to be undertaken within the framework of the Plan of Excellence of this city. The City Council of Segovia recently presented the open request for tenders for the contracting of the design and set up of the facilities to create the centre. The Learning Centre of the Jewish Quarter of Segovia will be housed in the Andrés Laguna or Abraham Senneor´s House, on the ground floor (currently the exhibition halls) in the street called Juderia Vieja, No. 12, in Segovia. The drafter of the museological project and coordinator in charge of the project is Mr. Bonifacio Bartolomé.
The objective of undertaking the project of the Learning Centre is to show the influence that the presence of the Jewish quarter had on the city of Segovia. The purpose of the exhibition is to help locate the visitor in the historical context of the era of splendour of Segovian Jewish life by documenting its history and way of life. The goal is also to open up the heritage and the culture of the city to new segments of tourism offers and to promote Segovian Jewish life as a tourist product from a specialized centre.
The interpretation area will be comprised of two rooms; one will deal with the general history of the Jews and the other with the Jews in Segovia. Visitors will be attended to in the welcome area and informational pamphlets and maps of the Jewish quarter will be available. There will also be a shop.
The Interpretation Centre is going to include a projection about Jewish Segovia. The route, in 3D, was prepared by Red de Juderías (the network of Spanish Jewish sites). This virtual route can be seen on the Web page of Red de Juderías. Go to: VIRTUAL TOURS and choose SEGOVIA.
It is planned that the inauguration of the Learning Centre will take place in August or September of this year, as will the opening of a Reception Centre for Visitors, located at the foot of the Aqueduct. The objective is to inform, channel and promote all of the tourist attractions of the city and, therefore, impel the visitors to find out more about and visit the Jewish quarter in Segovia.

More Information: excelenciasegovia@aytosegovia.com

PRESENTATION OF A JEWISH COOKERY BOOK

Sephardic flavours

This past 15 April, 50 people jammed the Open Forum of the Cervantes Bookstore in Oviedo to attend the presentation of the book by Uriel Macías : La cocina judía (Jewish Cooking). The presentation was the responsibility of the Delegated Councilperson of Tourism, Mrs Carmen Manjón González, and included participation by Aida Oceransky, President of the Israelite Community of the Principality of Asturias; D. Luis Alberto Martinez, proprietor and cook of the restaurant Casa Fermín; and of the municipal technician for `Red de Juderías´, Eugenio Corpas. Talks were given on several aspects of the Hebrew dietary laws, the annual cycle of festivities related to gastronomy or the influence of Spanish culture on Sephardic gastronomy. A clear reference to the influence of the Cantabrian diet on Sephardic gastronomy was formulated. Afterwards, a discussion took place, in which varied and interesting questions with reference to the different contents of the book like the one of the network of Spanish Jewish sites were presented. The act also served to announce the celebration of a course on Sephardic cooking, aimed at professionals, in the month of October. The announcement was welcomed with satisfaction by the public in attendance, who asked about the possibility of another course being given that would be aimed at the general public.

SPEECH GIVEN BY THE PRESIDENT OF RED DE JUDERÍAS IN MADRID

Participation in the sessions Meeting (and re-encounter) in Sepharad

The new president of Red de Juderías de España and the Mayoress of Córdoba, Mrs. Rosa Aguilar, took part last 28 January in the afternoon discussions of the sessions Meeting (and re-encounter) in Sepharad with the reading entitled, Cultural Tourism and recovery of Juderías. The session was dedicated to, Tourism, a source of encounter and took place in the Assembly hall of the National Library of Madrid.

ACTIVITIES IN THE CITY OF GIRONA AND IN THE VILLAGE OF BESALÚ

Meetings of investigators and professionals

The Municipal Board Call de Girona hosted, from 20 to 24 January, the international meeting of investigators entitled, The co-existence of opposing cultural communities in Europe: Jews and converts in the cities of the medieval trans-Pyrenean area. It was organised by the universities of Lleida and Toulouse-Le Miral and held at the Nahmanides Institute of Studies.
In addition, the II Day of Heritage and Local Tours was held in the village of Besalú. It was organised by the City council and held on 21 February 2004.

More Information: callgirona@ajgirona.org

ACTIVITIES IN THE CITY OF LEÓN

Tribute to the Sephardic writer Margalit Matitiahu, and the Municipal Day of Jewish Culture

This past 5 December, the city of León paid tribute to the writer, of Sephardic origin, Margalit Matitiahu. In the course of the act, organized by the City council of León in collaboration with the Neighbour´s Association Aljama, a plaque with the name of the poetess was unveiled in a square of the district of Puente Castro near the Park of the Aljama. The poetess read a poem dedicated to León and to the Puente Castro district. She later held a meeting with a small representation of young writers from León. This dedication is in recognition of a person who represents the city´s past and the encounter between cultures. Born in Tel Aviv, but with her roots in León, her maiden name was Margalit León Gaitán. She studied Hebrew literature and philosophy at the Bar-Ilan University. She took part for 25 years in radio programmes on the folklore of the Jewish-Spanish communities in Salonika. She is currently investigating the Jewish-Spanish press in the Balkans in the period between 1860 and 1940. She is a member (Doctor Honoris Cause) of the World Academy of Arts and Culture, of the Israeli Pen Club and the Hebrew Association of Writers. She has published several books of poems in Hebrew and Ladino.
The Municipal Day of Jewish Culture took place prior to this within the 1st Father Sarmiento Week of Traditional Culture (13 to 19 October 2003). It was organised by the Tenada Group and dedicated to Sephardic Culture. The Council of Patrimony of the City Council of León organised the Municipal Day of Jewish Culture on 18 October. The acts began with a guided tour of the archaeological remains of extra-urban quarter of Puente Castro. After returning to León, the participants followed a Jewish route of the city. The large group of people who made both visits was given a free wine tasting, by the Association of wine producers of León, in the Palace of the Guzmanes. The Conference-Concert, on Sephardic music, was held in the late afternoon at the Angel Barja Auditorium. The Arboleras Group and the soloists Jose Manuel Freile and Eliseo Parra participated. The act was completed with the lecture of the Argentinean musicologist, of Sephardic origin, Susana Weich. She presented important and thought-provoking musical documents that she had gathered from the north of Africa, in the Balkans and in Turkey.

More Information: http://www.aytoleon.com; e-mail: victrix@telefonica.net

GIRONA JOINS THE JOURNEY THROUGH JEWISH CELEBRATIONS

A walk through Jewish holidays and traditions.

From 27th February to 6th May a new exhibition by Anny Berman can be seen in Girona. The Chilean artist, now living in Barcelona, has designed and created a journey through the main celebrations of the Jewish calendar, from the Sabbath to Succoth using images and objects. It is foreseen that this exhibition will travel to other cities of the network, beginning with Cordoba in autumn.
On a similar note, the lectures of the cycle Judaism, between worship and tradition continue being held on Thursdays this spring. Ariel Edery will take part on 22nd April with the title Exodus and the Promised Land: the meaning of Pesach in the contemporary Judaism and on 13th May, Paloma Diaz-Mas will speak on the Sabbath in the conference entitled: Buena semana mos dé el Dio: Sabbath and holidays in Sephardic romances and songs.
A walk through Jewish holidays and traditions ends in May coinciding with the 49th exhibition of courtyards entitled Girona, temps de flors (from 8th to 16th May 2004).

More Information: www.ajuntament.gi/call

INTERNATIONAL MEETING IN PRAGUE

From 24 to 27 April 2004

The future of Jewish Heritage in Europe is a working day that will take place in Prague at the end of April. It is sponsored by the Hanadiv Charitable Foundation, World Monuments Fund; Cahnman Foundation; Rich Foundation; Charles and Andrea Bronfman Philanthropies and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in association with the European Association for Jewish Culture and the Jewish Museum in Prague.

NEXT MEETING IN LUXEMBOURG

18, 19 and 20 June 2004

B´nai B´rith Europe, the European Council of Jewish Communities and Red de Juderías de España in collaboration and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg, the Neumünster Abbey and the European Institute of Cultural Itineraries of the Council of Europe, present the conference on, The launching of the European Route of Jewish Heritage from 18 to 20 June 2004 at the Cultural Centre of Neumünster (Luxembourg). This meeting of coordinators will serve to present the objectives of the European Route of Jewish Heritage.