The community was founded in 1966 by a local man of Trujillo named Segundo Villanueva, who began studying Judaism at the age of twelve in 1939, while living in the city of Cajamarca. Villanueva founded a religious group called Israel de Dios ("Israel of God") that followed Jewish practices as described in the Hebrew Bible.
In 1966, Segundo Villanueva, a local man from Trujillo, founded a community that began studying Judaism at age twelve in 1939 when he lived in Cajamarca. Villanueva established a religious group named Israel de Dios ("Israel of God"), which practiced Jewish customs as described in the Hebrew Bible.