Tina learned this version of “Una Matika” in New York City in the late 1990s from Nell Snaidas for a concert by the early music ensemble Ex Umbris. Nell learned this version from Nico Castel (1931 – 2015), whose Sephardic family traced its roots to Castile, Spain. Castel was a principal singer with the Metropolitan Opera for many years. He was also a cantor, and his strong interest in Sephardic song led to a recording, Sepharad: The Sephardic Tradition in Ladino Song, and a companion publication, The Nico Castel Ladino Songbook (Tara Publications, 1981).
Regarding rue, Nell writes, “In my own studies about the sprig of rue—which not only include general home ‘remedies’ but also Sephardic women’s herbal healing—I’ve seen that rue is not to be consumed by pregnant women, because it has properties that cause miscarriage. So there is yet another angle: Rue can symbolize virginity, but also can get rid of obvious proof of having lost one’s virginity.”
Tina, rebec
