ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  What has the Portuguese government officially declared the Crypto-Judaism of the town of Belmonte to be?

Dr. Judith Cohen is an ethnomusicologist based in Toronto, where she teaches at York University.   She has done extensive work in the area of Judeo-Spanish Sephardic music and its relationship with other traditions such as Balkan, Yiddish and Medieval Iberian music, and pan-European balladry.  In her seminars and performances, she sings songs from all of these sources and also accompanies herself on traditional string, wind and percussion instruments.  When she is not teaching, Judith travels throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, doing field work in Jewish communities and participating in international conferences.

In this program she is speaking with us about her varied experiences this summer with some of these communities.