Albuquerque

About the Jewish community in Albuqerque

albuquerque IN GENERAL

Demographics, Geography AND ATTRACTIONS:
Albuquerque Metro area has about 450,000 people, and including the surrounding areas, the population is about 713,000. The median income in the Albuquerque area is $29,675.

The three major ethnic groups in the area are Hispanic, Anglo and Native American, but many other groups are represented here, including African Americans, Vietnamese, Korean, East Indian and Middle Eastern people.

Albuquerque is the home of the University of New Mexico and Kirtland AFB, Intel and other large corporations, and Sandia Labs. The economic base is broad, ranging from farming and ranching to education, military and government service, research and develpment, communications and consulting, manufacturing, education, hospitality and tourism, Casinos and entertainment, medical research, art and music, to name a few.

Our city is situated mainly in the Rio Grande Valley, and the elevation varies from 4,900 to 6,000 feet. To the east are the Sandia (Watermelon) Mountains, and to the west is high desert land. The Albuquerque area generally includes Bernalillo, Valencia and Sandoval Counties. Albuquerque is the county seat of Bernalillo County. The state capital, Santa Fe, is about 50 miles north.
Neighboring towns include Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Tijeras, Los Lunas and Belen. On the north and east side of Albuquerque is Sandia Pueblo, to the south is Isleta Pueblo, and Zuni Pueblo is to the west.

The climate is mild in our area. Summer temperatures are usually in the low 90's during the day, and 60's to 70's at night, with humidity between 20% and 40%. Being desert, the area is doesn't get much rain. The average is about 7 inches a year, although in a large storm there may be flash flooding in some areas. Winter temperatures are usually in the 40's during the day, and teens and twenties at night. There are two or three snowstorms most winters, usually only an inch or two, and it melts off in a couple of days (except in the mountains). The area is subject to drought, and fire danger is high much of the year. Because farms and towns depend on irrigation to a great extent, the level of the river and reservoirs varies greatly. Some rivers are dry on the surface, with the water running underneath, and only showing up in a flood.

Wilderness sports are very popular: climbing, biking, hiking and skiing. In addition, Albuquerque has become a major center for hot air ballooning. Besides the usual popular sports, baseball, football, basketball and golf, we have hockey and rodeo. Multi-cultural events and fiestas, the State Fair, the Balloon Fiesta, the Natural History and Science Museums, the Zoo, the Aquarium, the Botanical gardens, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Opera in Santa Fe, and many art galleries and local musicians are all popular attractions.

ALBUQUERQUE HISTORY:
Albuquerque was first settled by Spanish missionaries and settlers in the late 1600's, who settled on land left empty by Pueblos, who had been recently decimated by plagues brought by the incoming Europeans. The settlers and missionaries were killed or driven south to El Paso by the Pueblos in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, because of harsh treatment by the missionaries and settlers. in 1692 Diego de Vargas returned with an army and re-took Santa Fe, which is the oldest town in the area, being in existance before the arrival of the Spanish, and in 1706, his successor Governor Cuervo y Valdés announced to the King of Spain that he had founded a villa where Old Town Albuquerque is today, and named it after the Duque de Alburquerque. Spanish villas continued to grow through the years, and in the 1800's Anglo settlers began to arrive, after the land that was to become the western states came under American control. With the arrival of the railroads the population began to grow at a faster rate. Historic Route 66 passed through Albuquerque, and many people suffering from Tuberculosis and other lung ailments settled in the area because of the mild climate. Since WWII the population has continued to grow rapidly, and outlying villages have become fairly large towns, while Albuquerque has continued its growth east and west.
More about the founding of Albuquerque

JEWISH HISTORY IN ALBUQUERQUE AND NORTHERN NEW MEXICO:
The first Jews in Northern New Mexico wereJews from Spain who came here to espcape the Iinquisition and to obtain the benefits that were available to them in the new world, especially the availablility of land and ability to make a living, comparatively free of the oppression of the old world. This comparative lack of oppression didn't include the freedom to practice Judaism, however, and the families who came over had become Catholic, whether only on the surface or wholeheartedly. However some Jewish practices remained, not always with the consiousness of their being Jewish practices, and even today some Hispanic families are identified as Jewish families. Much has been written about this, and it's argued how valid the Jewish identification is today. A number of Hispanics have converted to Judaism because of their consiousness that their family was originally Jewish, and their wish to return.

Ashkenazi Jews began to come to New Mexico with the earliest Anglo traders and settlers, dealing freely with the Anglo, Indian and Mexican populations. Several prominent early families were Jewish. There was a strong community in Las Vegas, NM which only faded in time because the young people found it necessary to move to other towns, generally for better career opportunities. In the Albuquerque area, there have been many prominent Jews in New Mexico since the early 1800's.