Brotherhood of the Light follows the lives of three men from the same family who lived in different centuries but were inexorably bound by the legacy of a cross that was brought from the Old World to the New. A relic that had come to prominence at the battle for Granada, when Spain united to expell the Moors.
Descendants of Sephardic Jews who fled the Inquisition in Spain, the family joined Los Hermanos Penitentes. This secretive society of lay Catholic men in Northern New Mexico, who believe in emulating Christ's Passion, His trial, His walk, and His suffering upon the cross at the end of each Lenton saeson, was used for a dozen generations as a shield by the family to disquise their Crypto-Jewish idenity while they struggled with teh legacy bestowed them.
Moving seamlessly between the past and the present, weaving together the intricacies of religious fundamentalism, unwavering faith, and a true passion for knoeing one's past, Ray Michael Baca takes us on a journey into the stark, beautiful desert, and the romantic valley of thr Rio Grande, where Spanish dreams and Native souls have clashed and then lived as neighbors for 400 years.
The Penitente painting for the cover of the book was commisioned by local award winning artist Paul Sanchez of Albuquerque. Scrool upwards to see detail of painting for book cover. Look for booksignings by Ray Michael Baca here at the Galleria throughout the year. Check this websites Homepage for dates and times. 360 pages.
