After being expelled from Spain at the end of the 15th century, the Sephardic Jews preserved the medieval culture that they had taken with them, holding on to it through exile and diaspora like a precious jewel, the symbol of their Spanish identity. For over 500 years, new songs have been added to this originally medieval repertoire. In this way, a single body of material evolved in different ways, giving rise to two independent traditions: the Eastern tradition of the communities established in the former Ottoman Empire; and the Western tradition, which remained in direct contact with Spain, represented by the communities that settled in North Africa and Europe.