24/08/2024
On August 24, 1924 my grandfather Feliciano (Fischl) Artenstein arrived in Mexico after spending 3 years in a POW camp in the aftermath of WW1. By then, his sweetheart, my grandmother Rebeca had left their village in Poland for New York. Feliciano followed, but was unable to enter Ellis Island because odimmigration quotas. He continued sailing to Veracruz, got his visa, and soon married Rebeca, settling in Sonora, Mexico where my father his syblings were born. Zeide Feliciano always said “Mexico nos recibió con los brazos abiertos” (Mexico welcomed us with open arms). On this centennial, I celebrate and reflect on one of the things I cherish most: my family's Mexican-Jewish history, culture and identity.
