ROMA, February 6, 2005 — Stone offerings in cemeteries and candles on Friday nights have been a tradition for some local families for generations. Some of those traditions bear a lingering memory of the Sefardim — Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th and 16th centuries. Many settled in northern Mexico, practicing their religion in secret and changing their names to hide their heritage. Some even converted to Catholicism. “Eventually, the Inquisition got all the way up here,” said Noel Benavides, a local historian. “Some of them didn’t relinquish their religion; some were executed if they didn’t accept...