About Doña Gracia Award
The Doña Gracia Award is the international award granted by the HispanoJudía Foundation (FHJ) to people or entities that, through their actions, represent, defend and promote the universal values of Judaism.
These values, which include Tzedakah (justice and solidarity), Effort, and Tikun Olam (reparation of the world), are the founding values of the FHJ and the basis of all its educational and cultural programs.
The 1st edition of the Doña Gracia Award took place in 2023 in New York and was awarded to Stuart Weitzman.
About the family Botton Carasso
Mauricio Botton is the grandson of Isaac Carasso, who in 1919 gave rise to Danone in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, launching a yogurt for medicinal purposes.
Mauricio Botton Carasso was Director of Research and Development and Quality Control at Danone Spain for 30 years.
At the same time, he was Secretary of the Board of Directors until 2015.
Since then, all his interests and efforts have been focused on the Foundation he created, the "Mauricio and Carlota Botton Foundation."
Mauricio and Carlota Botton have been honorary members of the board of trustees of the HispanoJudía Foundation since 2018.
¿Who was Doña Gracia Nasi?
Doña Gracia was one of the most influential, philanthropic and brave Jewish women of all time. She was born into a secret Jewish family in Portugal in 1510 and given the royal-sounding name of Beatrice de Luna as her legal name – and Gracia Nasi as her secret Jewish name. After the Portuguese Inquisition was established in 1536, she was forced to flee Lisbon. After navigating dangerous political waters, the family eventually settled in Venice, where they continued to practice crypto-Judaism while maintaining a Catholic façade. After the Venetian court involved itself in a familial inheritance dispute, Gracia Nasi moved her family and property to Ferrara, where they lived openly as Jews for the first time. She was an active supporter of literary activities among Ferrara Jews – she was also instrumental in financing and organizing transportation and resettlement for conversos fleeing Portugal. In 1552, the family moved to Constantinople. Gracia Nasi assumed a role of leadership in the Sephardic world of the Ottoman Empire, providing relief to needy Jews, supporting rabbinic scholars, and establishing synagogues.