Dayan DeMota can trace his roots all the way back to 12th century Spain when his ancestor Elazar was an interpreter to the King of Aragon.

His ancestors then moved to Portugal before heading to Amsterdam after the Inquisition and from there to the Caribbean.

“Historical records show that in the 17th century there were so many Jews coming from Spain and Portugal to the Netherlands that it was becoming too difficult to maintain all these exiles,” he said.

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