Ladino—More than a Language: On the Culture of Sephardic Jews with Nesim Bencoya, Director of the Izmir Jewish Heritage Project

Prague

26. 03. 2026 18:00

Instituto Cervantes, Auditorium, Na Rybníčku 6, Prague 2

Ladino—a form of fifteenth-century Castilian Spanish enriched with elements from Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Turkish, as well as from Balkan and Romance languages—is the ancient language of Sephardic Jews. Despite a dramatic decline in the number of native speakers, its legacy remains alive. This is because Ladino is not just a language, but a powerful cultural code expressed through music, literature, clothing, culinary arts, life-cycle traditions, domestic culture, the organization of social life, and more.
 
With the aid of musical and visual examples, Nesim Bencoya will be sharing his personal and professional experiences and explaining the role that the language and its associated culture play in contemporary efforts to preserve Jewish cultural heritage in Izmir, Turkey.
 
Event hosted by Michaela Sidenberg, Chief Curator of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
In association with Instituto Cervantes, with simultaneous interpretation from English into Czech.

Reserve a seat

Nesim Bencoya

Born and raised in Izmir, Bencoya has dedicated himself to the preservation of local Jewish cultural heritage since 2010. As the general coordinator of the "Izmir Jewish Cultural Heritage Project," he initiated and managed restoration and conservation efforts for tangible and intangible heritage within his responsibilities. In 2017, he founded the "Izmir Sephardic Culture Festival" with the aim of further protecting and promoting the city's Jewish cultural heritage and strengthening intercultural dialogue.

Entry: free

Organizer: ŽMP


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