I invited journalist Celia Bensadon to share with us a remarkable chapter of Jewish culture in Northern Brazil. Through her words, we are guided into a narrative that feels like a balm—revealing how centuries-old traditions took root and became part of Brazilian identity.

As the daughter and granddaughter of Moroccan Jews who emigrated from Tangier at the end of the 19th century, Celia offers not only history but living testimony. Her account is a bridge between memory and legacy, showing how courage, adaptation, and hope continue to shape the cultural fabric of the Amazon and beyond.

When Jewish immigration to Brazil is mentioned, many immediately think of the large urban centers in the South and Southeast. Few know, however, that one of the most fascinating chapters of the Jewish diaspora in the country began thousands of kilometers away, along the banks of the Amazon rivers.

It was in the early 19th century that the first Moroccan Jews arrived in the Brazilian Amazon. Coming mainly from cities such as Tangier, Tetouan, and Casablanca, they brought with them far more than merchandise: they carried centuries of history, a rich religious and cultural tradition, and above all, the hope of starting anew.

Descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula—especially from Spain during the Inquisition in the late 15th century and later settled in North Africa—these families fled persecution and political instability in Morocco. Their destination was a distant, lush, and virtually unknown land: the Amazon.

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