Jewish Mexico: 500 Years of Arrival and Survival

Carlos begins the tour in a unique way--sitting in a cafe with a cup of coffee, talking, recounting thousands of years of history in order to explain when the Jews appear in the story. Unfortunately, the cafe he usually takes his group to was closed and we ended up in a loud, bustling restaurant where it was difficult to stay focused and listen to him. The highlights of the tour were the museum with Diego Rivera's murals and the two synagogues and learning about the religious reforms in Mexico.

Carlos was very knowledgeable and shared this in a very easy way. He took his time and answered our questions. We did the Jewish history tour but it was more than that and covered the history of Mexico. We came away from the tour with a very good undersatnding of the politics and cultural history of Mexica and Mexico city

Enjoyed this walking tour learning about historical buildings and architecture along with history of Jewish immigration and integration into México, however fact checking is advisable as number of discrepancies were present in factual history. I also sensed a bias against US and some personal political views expressed by Carlos that were not appropriate in this context of historical tour. He was considerate of his group abilities and allowed for questions. Glad I did this tour, but would not take all information at face value, also note that it can run over 3 hrs, ours was 3.5 hrs., so be prepared.

This was the most comprehensive, educational, and engaging tour we have ever taken. Carlos has been leading this particular tour for 17 years and has been guiding for even longer. He is exceptionally proud of his heritage and is a wealth of knowledge on everything from the ancient development of Mexico City, its Jewish history, its rich art culture, and the political structure. We learned about both the Safadi and Ashkenazi Jewish diasporas to the City and how the Jewish culture evolved over 5 centuries. We also the Diego Rivera murals and even learned of the Jewish symbolism portrayed in a couple of them. That was an added bonus for us. This tour was an excellent introduction for us on our first day in the City, and laid the foundation for everything else we saw in the subsequent days of our visit. Get to know Carlos as well. His story is fascinating.

Tour company canceled trip due to protest in the Zocalo. Wouldn’t refund only credit. How is that helpful if we weren’t going to be in Mexico City to use the credit and are not planning to come back. They are hiding behind the small print credit or refund. Don’t use them deceptive policy.

Our walking tour with Carlos was the highlight of our visit to Mexico City. Carlos is a walking historian; we learned so much. This is a MUST DO activity in Mexico City.

We were comfortable with his repeated, anti-American comments. Some of the history that he tells is his interpretation but stated as fact.

He does an excellent job of creating a meaningful and vivid timeline of the arrival of Jews in Mexico

This was an in depth tour of the history of the Jewish people of Mexico City. Our guide Carlos was engaging and articulate in explaining the history of the Jewish people and it was obvious that this tour had deep meaning to him. I highly recommend this tour.

We were most impressed with Carlos’ knowledge of the history of his country and the history of the Jews in his country. It was quite a history lesson from a proud Mexican. So many fascinating facts that we had never learned before. We came to a new appreciation of the Mexican people and their history.