Last Saturday night, I attended a Hanukkah (Januca) party in Merida, Mexico, where my father lives. About 30 people attended, only 20 of whom were Jewish. The organized community, as a whole, totals about 40-50 people, many of whom aren't Halachically Jewish. It's almost entirely transplants - about 2/3 retirees, and 1/3 businessmen. It functions largely as a social organization, not a religious one. Its weekly "minyan" (Ottoman Sephardi-style) gets 3 to 6 people. But parties can get 30-40. Here's where it gets interesting, and where there's a small Western Sephardic connection. The Mexican census records say there are 800 Jews in Merida. So who are the 750 people that no one's heard of? According to my father, it's a mix of different kinds of people. Some of them (including my step-mother) are the descendants of Anusim. Although under Spanish rule, the Yucatan was a relatively popular destination for Portuguese conversos. Most went to nearby Campeche, but some went to Merida. Very few today have any connection to Judaism. Heck, if they did, the local community welcome them -- unlike most communities in Latin America. But some still identify as Jewish, even though they apparently make no effort to reach out to local practicing Jews. The vast majority of the "census-Jews," however, are probably not the descendants of Anusim. They are local Yucatecans (including a lot of pure Maya) with no connection to Judaism whatsoever. So why do they call themselves Jews? Because they fell under the influence of Judiazing Protestant sects, and now self-identify as "Messianic Jews." And the Mexican census takers can't tell the difference. A lot of them can't even distinguish between Jews and Lebanese Christians, or Jews and Seventh Day Adventists.