Los Serenos Sefarad | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Seattle, Washington |
| Genres | Jewish hip hop, Sephardic music, Judaeo-Spanish hip-hop |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Members | Rabbi Simon Benzaquen Alejandro "Alex" Hernandez Netzaj Mendoza |
| Website | Los Serenos Sefarad |
Los Serenos Sefarad ("The Sefarad Watchmen") is an American Judaeo-Spanish-language Jewish hip hop group from Seattle, Washington. They were formed in 2014 by Rabbi Simon Benzaquen (vocals, songwriting), Alejandro "Alex" Hernandez (rapping, producer, guitar), and Netzaj Mendoza (producer). [1] They released their debut album, Los Bilbilikos, in September 2017.
Los Serenos Sefarad was formed in January 2014 by Moroccan-born [2] Sephardic Rabbi Simon Benzaquen and Mexican-born rapper/guitarist Alejandro "Alex" Hernandez. Benzaquen, the former rabbi of Bikur Holim Congregation in Seattle's Seward Park neighborhood, was initially uninterested in hip hop but gained a deeper understanding while overseeing the conversion studies of rapper Nissim Black (formerly D. Black), and prominently collaborated with Black on his song "Sores" [3] and several concerts. [1] [4] Hernandez had moved to Seattle from Chihuahua, Mexico. [1] One of their first collaborations in 2013 was a rap version of the Ladino Hanukkah song "Ocho Kandelikas". [5] Their first performances in Seattle were at Seward Park's SPARK Jewish Music Festival. [1]
On November 9, 2015, the group released their first music video, "La Vida Do Por El Raki". [6] In 2016, they released the songs "La Serena" (The Sentinel) [7] and "Adyjo Keryda Espanya" (Goodbye My Beloved Spain), [8] the latter written about the expulsion of Jews during the Spanish Inquisition on 1492.