Question of Faith

At the kosher market in Bello, near Medellín, Colombia, the newly converted Sephardic community stocks up.
Matthew Fishbane

Two views of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley.
Amber Terranova

Left: The Sephardic community of Bello rents the top two floors of a nondescript building for use as a synagogue. Right: Ezrah Rodriguez’s family home is a 20-minute walk away.
Matthew Fishbane

At the synagogue for havdalah (left) and, later, singing (right).
Matthew Fishbane

After Shabbat, the community heads across the street to the kosher market for kosher burgers, arepas, and Aguila beer.
Amber Terranova

Boaz Fariñas (left) at Shabbat.
Amber Terranova

At his home, Moshe Gomez shows pictures of his Jewish wedding, officiated by Rabbi Moshe Ohana, who came to Bello from Miami to perform a conversion ceremony.
Matthew Fishbane

The gated cemetery of Medellín’s well-established Ashkenazi community. The gravestone reads: “Born in Poland, 1898, Died in Medellín, 1997.”
Matthew Fishbane

Ezrah Rodriguez, a recent convert to Judaism, recites the Sh’ma.
Amber Terranova

Elad Villegas, the leader of the Sephardic converts in Bello, in the community’s synagogue.
Amber Terranova