LA JOLLA, California — San Diego Jewish Film Festival audiences were bestowed a gift of immeasurable delights as Flory’s Flame was shown on On Friday, February 12, in the JCC’s Garfield Auditorium. Before the airing of the hour-long documentary, we were treated to five live heart-rending pieces sung by Elizabeth Schwartz, accompanied by guitarist and professor, Fred Benedetti. As if that wasn’t enough, Dr. Claudia Tornsaufer, Associate Professor, introduced the film that was sponsored by Seacrest Village. The music set the tone, literally and figuratively for the unique time travel to which we were all invited.
“Alma” is the basis for every song; it must be felt in the soul, according to this diminitive woman, who is filled with vivacity and koach. In 1492, Flory Jagoda’s ancestors had been expelled from Spain. The Jewish expulsion landed them in several small Jewish enclaves and eventually brought them to Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Flory was born into her close knit musical family. Flory collected, composed and passed down Sephardic melodies from her youth and from her life, so that the Ladino culture would be preserved and maintained.
Many of Flory’s songs were passed down from her Nona, the Ladino word for grandmother. The lyrics of these songs echo the life events and Jewish holidays, as sung by matriarchs and girls at home, keeping the Shabbat, chaggim, and culture alive. The themes, we were told, evince the songwriters, the women at home: love songs, dating queries, unrequited love etc. The instruments are sparse. Since these songs were composed in the kitchen, the only instrument may have been simple percussion on pots and pans, or striking a spoon. Flory was an abberation in that she was formally trained to play guitar and accordian.
The history of the world is revealed through these bittersweet and often melancholy melodies. The 1492 Edict of Expulsion forced Spanish Jews to convert, and practice their religion in secret. Five centuries later, their songs are still being sung.
In the documentary, Flory spoke of a performance in Santiago del Compsado where the Jews received an apology for the King of Spain’s brutish behavior. Many in the audience recognized the music from their own childhoods, never suspecting that they, themselves, were Jews. These concertgoers were shocked to learn of their Jewish origin, because they’d been raised as Catholics. However once Flory and her fellow musicians began to play, the listeners heard the tune and lyrics on a visceral level. The music resonated with them.
Flory spoke of recalling her nona, and the importance of lighting Shabbat candles or being sung to sleep with the Shema. She remembered living peacefully in Croatia with Muslims, Greek Orthodox in an environment where each group was respected and embraced.
In 1941, German troops entered Zagreb, and forced Jews to wear identifying badges. At this point, young Flory had been studying music with an accordian teacher. When she arrived for her lesson, sporting a badge, her teacher sent her away. In her retelling, Flory was visibly hurt at being reviled by one whom she respected and loved.
With the looming Nazi threat, her parents arranged for young Flory to get false papers and board a train to Split, a port city where they’d later join her. She had been warned, “Just play your accordian; don’t talk.” So that’s what she did. She entertained the train car, and made her way safely to Split, where her parents were reunited with her a few weeks later.
When things again heated up, her stepfather knew that they were unsafe and the family moved again to the island of Korcula, the birthplace of Marco Polo. The family existed here for a while with other Jews, but when word of the Germans’ imminent arrival came, they fled on a fishing boat to Bari, Italy.
It was in Bari, that Flory met her husband-to-be. Harry Jagoda was a sergeant in the US Army Airforce. He invited her to a dance, and when she insisted that her parents join them, the airman eagerly agreed. Over the course of the night, the couple had one dance together, and all the rest of Harry’s dances were claimed by Rosa, Flory’s mother. Harry was a man with connections. The nervous bride wanted to be married in a white wedding gown, but during a war, where was she going to get material? Harry located a parachute and the wedding gown materialized. After the liberation the couple moved to Falls Church, Virginia, and raised four children, three of whom perform with her.
Flory has spent her life teaching and inspiring new generations of musicians to celebrate and keep the flame burning. She has recorded four albums of Ladino music, and each song speaks directly to every Jew, and indeed, anyone who has a heart and an alma.
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Trieger is a freelance writer who specializes in coverage of the cultural arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com . Comments intended for publication in the space below must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.)