Emilie,

What you refer to as the peculiar speech of the manitos sounds very
similar to Ladino, the dialect spoken by the Sephardim.  Have you
compared some of the words/expressions that you remember in both?

Victor
ho.ho.ho


--- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, "Emilie Garcia" <auntyemfaustus@h...>
wrote:
>
> The 'manitos had been in New Mexico since Onate's time there, 1598,
but it could be that Cuba and Puerto Rico were settled by the same
group of Spaniards that settled New Mexico in the 16th Century.  I
agree that some of the speech is similar between the two groups.
> 
> Emilie Garcia
> Port Orchard, WA ---