This short documentary, written and directed by Andrés Enrique-Arias, tells the unknown story of the Sephardic Jews of the island of Rhodes, who emigrated to Los Angeles at the beginning of the 20th century.
There they established a community in the area around the intersection of 55th Street and Hoover Street, which is currently the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The Sephardic Jews are the descendants of the Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs. They settled mainly in the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean - in what is now Turkey and the Balkans, including the island of Rhodes - and maintained the Judeo-Spanish dialect and its unique Hispano-Jewish culture.
After the screening of Once Upon A Time At 55th And Hoover there will be a conversation with the director Andrés Enrique-Arias, professor of Spanish language at the University of the Balearic Islands, the composer Tolo Prats, Abraham Barchilón (Arca Llegat Jueu) and Joan Arbona ( ABABS). The act will be presented by Manuel Quadreny.