The 32 stories that form the present collection and are being presented to the readers today, are a product of the memories of Mr. Albert Contente and are extremely important for the preservation of the richness of our cultural heritage. The most important characteristic of the stories is the specific language they have been told in. Judeo-Spanish or Ladino, as this language is known throughout the world today, was the language of the Spanish Jews, who had been exiled from their homeland, the Iberian peninsula, by the Spanish Inquisition at the end of the 15th century and who were welcomed by the Ottoman Empire. The Spanish Jews, who settled on Ottoman lands spoke whatever dialect of Spanish was spoken in the lands they were originally from. All the different dialects of Spanish and Portuguese spoken in the Iberian peninsula blended together when they settled in the Ottoman Empire and thus Ladino or Judeo-Spanish (the specific Spanish of the Sephardic Jews) was born. We can therefore say that Ladino is an Ottoman language and today any person who can speak or understand even a very little of the language has ancestry that lived in the Ottoman Empire.

Ladino, however, is an "endangered" language today after surviving for 530 years and thus makes these stories doubly valuable because the language stands at the edge of a precipice in danger of falling into oblivion and any material that can be inherited by future generations makes its preservation easier.

These stories also have historical value from an oral history point-of-view. Mr. Contente's life, nearly a century long, provides us with memories of what life was like so many years ago. We learn about how people used to live in those days, when technology was not developed, when there were no gadgets to make life easier, and yet when there was a strong sense of community and of the art of living together a life that was hard and yet not lonely because it was full of comradeship.

The stories are also full of humor as is the tradion among the Sephardic Jews. Sephardic humor is sharp, entertaining and very enjoyable and you can come across this type of storytelling among most of the Sephardic Jews. That is why, the stories are so much fun. Mr. Contente is not only a story-teller apparently but is also a great caricaturist. The stories are embellished with humoristic and very entertaining caricatures that add great value to the written word, which becomes much more potent accompanied by a visual. Visuals that help preserve the sephardic culture and also have historical value in that they show vendors and usages typical of those times.

When you get to the end of the book, you are left with the feeling, "Oh, I wish there was more" and with a desire to learn more about life in that time period. So, I will conclude with a very sephardic saying, "Ke estas estorias tengan munchas ermanas" (may these stories have many sisters, meaning, may we  have many more of these delights).

Karen Gerson Şarhon, coordinator
Sephardic Center of Istanbul

 
* * *

Las 32 estorias ke forman la prezente koleksion i ke se estan prezentando a los meldadores oy, son el produkto de las memorias i rekuerdos del Sr. Albert Contente i son muy valutozas por la prezervasion de las rikezas de muestra erensya kultural. La mas importante karakteristika de estas estorias son la lingua en la kual se kontaron. El Judeo-Espanyol o Ladino, komo esta lingua se konose en el mundo oy, era la lingua de los judios espanyoles ke fueron egzilados de sus tierras en la peninsula Iberika, por la Inkuizisyon espanyola a la fin del siglo 15 i ke fueron dados la bienvenida por el Imperio Otomano. Los judios espanyoles ke se establesieon en las tierras otomanas avlavan el dialekto del Espanyol de los lugares de ande eyos vinian. Todos los diferentes dialektos del Espanyol i del Portugez ke se avlavan en la peninsula Iberika se mesklaron endjuntos kuando se establesieron en el Imperio Otomano i ansina el Ladino o Judeo-Espanyol (el Espanyol spesifiko de los Sephardim) nasyo. Alora, puedemos dizir ke el Ladino es una lingua otomana i oy kualkera persona ke puede avlar o entender mizmo muy poko de esta lingua tiene raises o ansestros ke bivieron en el Imperio Otomano.

Ladino, malorozamente, es una lingua ke esta en un estado "danjorozo" oy despues de sovrebivir 530 anyos. Es por esto ke estas estorias son doblemente valutozas porke la lingua esta en un estado de kayer en los anales del olvido i todo material ke se puede pasar a las futuras jenerasyones fasilita su prezervasion.

Estas estorias tambien tienen valor istorika de la punta de vista de istoria oral. Las estorias de la vida del Sr. Contante, kaji de un siglo, mos kontan rekuerdos de la vida tantos anyos antes. Mos ambezamos komo la djente biviya en akeos dias, kuando la teknolojiya no era avansada, kuando no aviya makinas ke azen la vida mas fasil ama aviya un sintimiento de komunidad de grande fuersa i tambien del arte de bivir endjuntos una vida ke era difisil ma sin soledad porke era yena de amistad.

Las estorias son tambien yenas de umor komo es la tradision entre los judios sefardis. El umor sefardi es agudo, eglendjeli i muy divertido. Puedes enkontrar este modo de umor entre lo mas de los judios sefardis. Es por esto ke las estorias son tan divertidas. El Sr. Contente no es solo un kontador ma sovresale komo un karikaturisto de muncho talento. Las estorias estan dekoradas kon karikaturas de muncho umor ke dan alta valor a lo ke esta eskrito porke la palavra eskrita akompanyada por un vizual es muncho mas potente. Los vizuales ayudan a prezervar la kultura sefaradi i tienen valor istoriko porke mostran vendedores i uzajes de akeyos tiempos.

Kuando vienes al final del libro, kedas kon el sentimiento de, "Ah, si avia mas" i kon el dezeo de ambezar mas sovre la vida en akeyos tiempos. Por esto va konkluir kon una dicha sefardi ke dize, "Ke estas estorias tengan munchas ermanas".

Karen Gerson Şarhon, coordinator
Sephardic Center of Istanbul

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