Crypto Jew Or Crypto Moslem? What Are The Odds?

Las Vegas, New Mexico - Click the image to make it larger

I wonder what the odds are of being Crypto Jew or Crypto Moslem amongst "Spanish" New Mexicans, Hispano New Mexicans? I wonder why we do not hear about Crypto Moslems? I wonder why no grave markers with the crescent moon? I wonder why no "hidden" memories of Allah? There are many things to wonder about.

In Spain of old about one half of the population were "New Christians", convert Moslems and/or convert Jews. We have to keep in mind that both of these groups are Semites, they belong to the same racial group. Check out the Wikipedia articles listed below and come up with your own idea as to the who and as to the why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morisco

Or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto-Judaism

Hispanic New Mexicans have always had an unusual morbid desire to be labeled as "white". White as compared to mestizo, white as compared to Indian, white as compared to anything. This is, in my opinion, a result of the racism Americans bought with them from the east coast when they over ran and annexed the province in 1846. In all reality the process probably started with the opening of the Santa Fe Trail bringing the first Americans. Josiah Gregg in his book (Commerce on the Prairies) on the Santa Fe Trail and the commerce associated with it has many racist images/passages associate with New Mexicans.

The Americans that came detested everything Mexican, the people, the food, their culture, their religion, everything Mexican was detested. To some extent the things that Americans disliked or hated were labeled as Mexican and things that were not bad were labeled as Spanish.

A couple of funny and accurate articles on these matters can be found in the January 1959 and then again in the July 1959 editions of the New Mexico Historical Review. The January article is titled "New Mexican Women in Early American Writings" written by James H. Lacy. The second article (July) is titled "New Mexicans Viewed by Americans 1846 - 1849" and written by John P. Bloom.

Here it states that New Mexican women who were darker complexioned we labeled as "Mexican sluts, whores or prostitutes". The lighter women were "Spanish Ladies'. Most men were labeled, at best as, Mexican and only the very wealthy men were labeled as Spanish.