I’m from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
My family’s origin is in the microregion of Serid, but many members of the family are spread all over the state. I asked my grandmother about the customs of the family and found many Jewish customs, including almost “pure” Jewish burial practices. But many of them were lost in my branch of the family, as my grandparents came to live in the capital, Natal. Few customs arrived in my generation, such as throwing out eggs with blood spots, washing meat before preparing it, dressing better on Saturdays, changing bed and bath cloths on Fridays. My grandmother, however, had no consciousness of Jewish background or of Jewish secret identity. Her father had some secrets, he used to pray in low voice, she said she could never hear what were his prayers. Catholics, usually, pray in loud voice. She said that the family hated Catholic Church and its saints. On her mother’s side, the family was Catholic, very Catholic she said. But they also had Jewish customs, like lightening candles on Friday nights, dressing white and exchanging food presents in Pscoa, and many more. But there is no info of them participating in Crypto-Jewish societies, nor having a consciousness of Jewishness. I want to ask you if you visited any of Brazil’s cities and if you have found any people there aware of being Jewish or participating in marranos rituals