Hazak Ubaruch!

Ladino is the language of the Sephardic Jews who originated from the Iberian Peninsula (what is today Spain and Portugal). Ladino is form of Castilian Spanish mixed with a variety of Hebrew elements, along with Aramaic, Arabic, Bulgarian, French, Greek, Italian, and Turkish.

The evolution of the Ladino languge is tied to the migration patterns of the Sephardic Jews. Following their expulsion from Spain in 1492, Sephardic Jews relocated mainly within the Ottoman Empire, including the Mediterranean and Middle East, where the Ladino language developed further and in response to the areas where Jews sought refuge.

For more about the Ladino language, see the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies’ “Learning Ladino: Education, Preservation, and Community Building,”

Announcing the Hazzan Isaac Azose Fund for Community Engagement in Sephardic Studies at the University of Washington

“At The Summit for Tu B’Shevat Seder” Seattle Hadassah.

University of Washington students and alumni reflect on Hazzan Isaac Azose

Ladino Day at the University of Washington

Bringing Sephardic Art and Community Together at the UW

Conversations with Seattle “Ladineros” Ladino Speakers

Seattle’s Sephardi Jews Brought Us Starbucks: Now They’re Trying To Bring Back Ladino

Hazzan Azose visits Carleton College

Washington Jewish Museum Tribute

Congregation Ezra Bessaroth 90th Birthday Tribute Journal to Ike Azose

Ike Azose Washington Jewish Museum Exhibit Video

Video Tribute to Hazzan Isaac Azose

Hazzan Isaac Azose – Congregation Ezra Bessaroth

Hazzan Ike Azose – Jewish in Seattle Magazine

Tape-recordings of radio programs on KRAB on Seattle Sephardic community including interviews and music recording collected by a musicologist.” Includes Ike Azose and Azose family members.

Michael Novick photograph collection. PH Coll 1140.

Ike Azose and others looking at the exhibit "Scenes of Sephardic Life" at the Seattle Center Pavilion, May 1992

Documentary. 78 min. English.

This is a feature-length documentary film about the Sephardim, the descendants of the Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. It pictorially recounts the amazing story of the Spanish Jews-from the time of the Golden Age in Moorish Spain, through the fateful years of the Inquisition and the Expulsion in 1492, and the subsequent dispersion of the Sephardim to centers such as Istanbul, Salonica, and Amsterdam. The film illustrates the manner in which Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) is used for religious purposes, such as in the Sabbath and Passover services. Above all, this unique motion picture is an imaginative attempt to cinematically portray and interpret the lyrics of the traditional Ladino folk songs that have been the lifeblood and musical soul of the Sephardi. The film was made with the participation of the Sephardic communities of Seattle, Washington and of Jerusalem, Israel. Starring in the film is Israeli singing star Rivka Raz, three-time winner of the Harp of David Award.

Oral history interview with Isaac Azose, 2014. Washington State Jewish Archives. University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.

Jack Azose interview, audio 1978

Jack Azose papers, 1978

Uncle Solomon Maimon papers, 1978-1986, 2006

Uncle Bension Maimon papers

Uncle Isaac Maimon papers, 1916-1990

This captivating romansa performed by Jack Azose from Tekirdag (also known as Rodosto, in Turkey), and his wife Kadun “Louise” (Maimon) Azose from Bursa (it was also known as Brusa, in Turkey). “Landarico” tells the 6th-century story of an adulterous queen, illegitimate children and murder.

Ike Azose – zemirot.org

Hazzan Isaac Azose sings a popular Ladino song

Isaac Azose performs Pasharo D’ermozura.

Una Kantika, Una Estoryika (S1E1), Sephardic Adventure Camp.

Hazan Isaac Azose recita Muestro Sinyor

Hazzan Isaac Azose performs Yo Me Akodoro de Akeya Noche

Adío Querida, a Ladino Romansa performed by Hazzan Isaac Azose (with Paco Diaz and Guo Ke)

Cuando el Rey Nimrod, a Ladino folk song performed by Hazzan Isaac Azose (with Paco Diaz and Guo Ke)

Devin Naar, “Song of the Sephardi: New Verses for the 21st Century?” Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, University of Washington. November 21, 2016.

Molly FitzMorris, “Defining the Ladino Speech Community in Seattle.” Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, University of Washington. June 19, 2015.

Rediscovering “El bukieto de romansas”: A century of Sephardic folk songs