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Revisión de pura vida

“El Profe” Yonar Brenes Masís entrevista a Hernán Ramírez, al P. Federico Carrasquilla y a Benedito de Queiroz en Medellín, Colombia

“El Profe” Yonar Brenes Masís entrevista a Hernán Ramírez, al P. Federico Carrasquilla y a Benedito de Queiroz en Medellín, Colombia

Desfile de Silleteros, evento central de La Feria de las Flores en el mes de agosto, que desde el 1957 ha afirmado la vida, identidad y el trabajo generacional de los campesinos del corregimiento de Santa Elena. Medellín, Colombia, 2007. Foto: Guía de Viajes Oficial de Medellín

 

NOTA EDITORIAL

Yonar Brenes Masís es profesor docente en el Ministerio de Educación Pública de Costa Rica y presentador del podcast El show de Yonar BM. En 2023, asistió–junto con su esposa Francini y su padre Héctor–al Encuentro Continental Fraternidad Secular San Carlos de Foucauld América en Medellín, Colombia como delegado de Las Fraternidades de jóvenes en Costa Rica.

Durante el encuentro, Yonar entrevistó a tres participantes cuyas vidas lo inspiran: Benedito de Queiroz (Profesor de Historia de la Red Pública Estatal en Brasil), Hernán Ramírez (Coordinador Fraternidad Secular Carlos de Foucauld de Colombia) y el Padre Federico Carrasquilla (“Apóstol de los Pobres”). Yonar y su equipo grabaron estas pláticas en el Centro de Formación Los Pomos (adscrito a la Arquidiócesis de Medellín) en diciembre de 2023.

 

NOTA DEL PROFE

Mi trabajo como profesor es en el área social, histórica y geográfica como docente de Estudios Sociales, pero lo importante es que este trabajo se desenvuelve con población joven y adulta. De ahí es que, por más de ocho años, he trabajado con ellos y aprendido a escuchar, sus historias, sus necesidades y sus experiencias. Este proceso me ha generado la inquietud de poder entrevistar a personas como Hernán, Federico y Benedito para transmitir un pequeño extracto de sus vidas, vidas entregadas en la lucha social–pero ante todo, llevando esperanza y la palabra de Dios hecha ejemplo para entregarla a la gente.

–Yonar BM, enero 2024 

 

NOTA DE ENTREVISTADO

Mi ruta de vida aparece como una cadena de decisiones que son ilógicas, o contraproducentes, o aún que se pudieran calificar como “fracasadas.” De lo contrario, mi ruta de vida se entiende si se mira desde una perspectiva de fe, de persona que me transformó en creyente, que creo en Jesús de Nazaret, que—desde lo pequeño, desde lo local, desde lo privado y en un movimiento de apertura hacia lo público, hacia otras esferas más amplias de la sociedad—va construyendo.

—Hernán Ramírez, enero 2024

 
 

Una vida con el desplazado en Colombia
Hernán Ramírez

En esta conversación, he tenido el placer de conversar con Hernán Ramírez (Medellín, Colombia), un hombre que vivió la época más difícil de la historia reciente de Colombia., Además, sigue trabajando por los más desfavorecidos de la actualidad, una labor para aplaudir.

Temas tratados: inicios de Hernán; viviendo en Medellín; problemas sociales en Colombia; grupos disidentes en Colombia

 
 
 

Historia de vida
Padre Federico Carrasquilla

En esta oportunidad, tuve la dicha de conocer y conversar con el Padre Federico Carrasquilla (Medellín, Colombia), un hombre que me ha impactado grandemente por su sencillez y don de amor. Debo agradecer a mi amigo Hernán Ramírez– también de la ciudad de Medellín–por la oportunidad de conocer a "Fede," como lo conocen de cariño. Decir todos los logros de Padre Fede se queda corto—para míi lo más importante es su amor por la gente.

 
 
 

Una vida en el Amazonas
Benedito de Queiroz

En esta conversación, tuve el placer de platicar con con Benedito de Queiroz (Macapá, Brasil), un hombre entregado a su tierra. Su amor por la naturaleza es completo. Les invito a hacer conciencia de la importancia de cada día proteger y defender nuestro medio ambiente. Todos podemos dar un aporte a mejorar el presente y el futuro.

 
 
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Yonar Brenes Masís

Yonar Brenes Masís es profesor docente en el Ministerio de Educación Pública de Costa Rica y presentador del podcast El show de Yonar BM. Fue delegado de Las Fraternidades de jóvenes en Costa Rica al Encuentro Continental Fraternidad Secular San Carlos de Foucauld América 2023 en Medellín, Colombia.

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Federico Carrasquilla

El Padre Federico Carrasquilla Muñoz es sacerdote antioqueño nacido en Itagüí, Colombia y adscrito a la Arquidiócesis de Medellín. Fue a Roma a estudiar teología en 1958 en la Universidad Gregoriana y fue ordenado en 1959 en la capilla de San Juan de Letrán, Italia. Al P. Carrasquilla le tocó vivir de cerca el nombramiento de Juan XXIII como Papa y todas las incidencias del Concilio Vaticano II. Mientras cursaba la licenciatura en teología en Roma, conoció la espiritualidad del Hno. Carlos de Foucauld, quien lo marcó para toda su vida. De Carlos Marx, profundizó en sus obras filosóficas, de quien valoró mucho su método de análisis de la realidad. Su libro Escuchemos a los pobres: Aportes para una antropología del pobre (Indo American Press Service, 1997) toma pistas de Marx, además de su lectura de Jesús en los evangelios. Sus otras publicaciones incluyen textos en Volver a Jesús de Nazaret (Boletín Horeb, 2011); Los escandalos de pedofilia en iglesia: Una lectura desde la fe (San Pablo, 2014) y Escuchemos al corazón: Elementos de antropología de la afectividad con Verónica Reyes Mercado (2022). A su regreso a Medellín en 1962, comenzó a trabajar como rector de Filosofía en el Seminario Conciliar. En 1967 se fue a vivir y trabajar en la Parroquia La Divina Providencia, en el barrio Popular de Medellín, donde se daba un proceso de “invasión” llevado a cabo por habitantes que venían de los distintos pueblos y regiones de Antioquia, traídos por el ciclo de violencia que vivía en ese momento el país. Vivió con la comunidad la tensión permanente con la policía, las precarias viviendas, y los ciclos posteriores de violencia por la llegada de grupos guerrilleros como el ELN y el M-19, y con la irrupción del narcotráfico en las décadas del 70 y el 80. En 1984, fue trasladado por el arzobispo de Medellín a una parroquia en el municipio de Bello. Hizo parte del grupo sacerdotal Golconda (“curas rojos”) y de Sacerdotes para América Latina (SAL). Ya octogenario, sigue produciendo intelectualmente, dictando retiros y haciendo reflexiones para agrupaciones de laicos, maestros, intelectuales y en universidades. –Hernán Ramírez

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Benedito de Queiroz

Benedito de Queiroz Alcântara es profesor de Historia de la Rede Pública Estadual [Red Pública Estatal] en Brasil. Como miembro de la Rede Eclesial Pan-Amazônica [Red Eclesial Panamazónica] de Repam Brasil, es el representante de Repam en la Diócesis de Macapá y trabaja en la coordinación del Eixo Justiça Socioambiental [Eje de Justicia Socioambiental] de Repam Brasil. También coordina el Projeto Guardiões Ambientais Ribeirinhos [Proyecto Guardianes Ambientales de Ribeirinhos] en la formación de jóvenes de comunidades ribereñas de la desembocadura del Amazonas entre Pará y Amapá. En la Diócesis participa en la Comissão Justiça e Paz [Comisión de Justicia y Paz] y en el Equipe de Formação Fé e Cidadania [Equipo de Capacitación en Fe y Ciudadanía]. Formó parte de la delegación brasileña al Encuentro Continental Fraternidad Secular San Carlos de Foucauld América 2023 en Medellín, Colombia. 

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Hernán Ramírez

Hernán Darío Ramírez es el Coordinador de la Fraternidad Secular Carlos de Foucauld de Colombia y uno de los principales organizadores del Encuentro Continental Fraternidad Secular San Carlos de Foucauld América 2023 en Medellín, Colombia. Ha publicado varios escritos relacionados con este movimiento, entre ellos el artículo “Testimonio de primavera eclesial: Federico Carrasquilla Muñoz” (Kairós Educativo) y la presentación del texto Volver a Jesús de Nazaret (Boletín Horeb, 2011). Después de graduarse como ingeniero mecánico y laborar en la industria privada por algunos años, la reflexión teológica latinoamericana lo sedujo, y dio el salto a su ocupación en tareas en pro de lo social desde una perspectiva de fe. Labora para el respaldo de organizaciones populares, urbanas y rurales, de campesinos, de indígenas. En los últimos nueve años, ha trabajado desde la Fundación Pepe Breu, organización defensora de las víctimas del conflicto armado interno colombiano.  La espiritualidad foucauldiana le ha servido de fuente de inspiración y luz como criterio para la toma de decisiones en su vida.

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Faith and Power

Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V talks to Dr. Maggie Elmore, Dr. Sergio M. González, and Dr. Felipe Hinojosa about their edited volume on how religion has shaped Latino politics and community building since 1945

Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V talks to Dr. Maggie Elmore, Dr. Sergio M. González, and Dr. Felipe Hinojosa about their edited volume on how religion has shaped Latino politics and community building since 1945

Católicos Por La Raza: A nun speaks to protesters in front of the California State Building in downtown Los Angeles at an immigration march against the Dixon-Arnett Act, which sought to fine employers who hired undocumented workers, 22 January 1972. © Pedro Arias. From the La Raza Photograph Collection (#1000). Courtesy of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.

 

Too often religious politics are considered peripheral to social movements, not central to them. Faith and Power: Latino Religious Politics Since 1945 (NYU Press, 2022) seeks to correct this misinterpretation, focusing on the post–World War II era. The edited volume shows that the religious politics of this period were central to secular community-building and resistance efforts. In this episode of OP Talks, Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V talks to Dr. Maggie Elmore, Dr. Sergio M. González, and Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, editors of the volume. Faith and Power traces the interplay between Latino religions and a variety of pivotal movements, from the farm worker movement to the sanctuary movement, offering breadth and nuance to this history.

 
 
 

"Historians of Latinx politics have typically downplayed the importance of religion, and studies of Latinx religion have tended to focus on spirituality, belief, and cultural expression, while ignoring politics. Featuring an extraordinary lineup of scholars—including some of the top influential Latinx historians—Faith and Power is an impressive resource for understanding Latinx religious politics."

Geraldo Cadava
Author, The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump

BUY BOOK
 
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Maggie Elmore

Dr. Maggie Elmore is an assistant professor of history in the Department of History at Sam Houston State University. A historian of the 20th century United States, she specializes in immigration, religion and politics, and human rights. Dr. Elmore holds BA and MA degrees from Texas Tech University, and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Elmore is currently the 2021-2022 Clements Fellow for the Study of Southwestern America at Southern Methodist University. Her current project, Torn Soul: The American Catholic Church and Mexican Immigrants, tells the story of the Catholic Church's fraught relationship with Mexican immigrants and its attempts to reshape U.S. immigration policy.

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Sergio González

Dr. Sergio M. González is an assistant professor of Latinx Studies in the Departments of History and Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Marquette University. As a historian of twentieth-century U.S. immigration, labor, and religion, his scholarship focuses on the development of Latino communities in the U.S. Midwest. His first book Mexicans in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2017) offers a concise introductory history of Mexican settlement and community formation across the state. His current project Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in 20th Century Wisconsin explores the relationship between Latino communities, religion, and social justice movements in twentieth-century Wisconsin. Dr. González has bridged his academic scholarship to broader audiences by serving as a founder of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition, as well as serving on the board of Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsin’s largest and most active membership-based immigrant justice organization.

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Felipe Hinojosa

Born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, Dr. Felipe Hinojosa is the John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair in Latin America & Professor of History at Baylor University. Dr. Hinojosa was formerly on faculty at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, where he also served as Director for the university's Carlos H. Cantu Hispanic Education & Opportunity Endowment. His research areas include Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, American Religion, Race and Ethnicity, and Social Movements. He co-edited Faith & Power: Latino Religious Politics Since 1945 (New York University Press, 2022) with Sergio M. González and Maggie Elmore. His recent book, Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio (University of Texas Press, 2021) is set in four major cities (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston), where, in 1969 and 1970, Latino radical activists clashed with religious leaders as they occupied churches to protest urban renewal, poverty, police brutality, and racism. Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014) received the 2015 Américo Paredes Book Award for the best book in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies by the Center for Mexican American Studies at South Texas College. His work has appeared in Zócalo Public Square, Western Historical Quarterly, American Catholic Studies, Mennonite Quarterly Review, and Latina/o Studies collections. Dr. Hinojosa holds a PhD in History from the University of Houston, an MA in History from the University of Texas Pan American, and BA in English from Fresno Pacific University. He serves on the Advisory Board for the interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and online moderated forum Latinx Talk.

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Jorge Juan Rodríguez V

Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V, the son of two Puerto Rican migrants, grew up with his parents, grandmother, and uncle in a small affordable housing community in urban Connecticut. His story of diaspora, translanguaging, race, and religion propelled his academic journey, leading him to degrees in biblical studies, social theory, liberation theologies, and a PhD in History from Union Theological Seminary. His scholarship examines the intersections of race, religion, and social movements with a particular focus on Black and Brown religious activism in the 20th century, including groups like the New York Young Lords. Dr. Rodríguez is an administrator and educator. In addition to his role as Visiting Assistant Professor of Historical Studies at Union Theological Seminary, he serves full-time as the Associate Director for Strategic Programming at the Hispanic Summer Program, a nonprofit that creates year-round educational spaces for Latinx graduate students of religion. Additionally, Dr. Rodríguez frequently consults with universities and organizations across the country to help them imagine and build more just economic, curricular, and labor systems in their institutions. Learn more about his work at www.jjrodriguezv.com and follow him on Twitter at @jjrodv.

 
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Race, Religion, and The Republic

Felipe Agredano talks to Rev. Evang Freda Morrison, Dr. Andrea Johnson, and Dina Cervantes about the intersections

Felipe Agredano talks to Rev. Evang Freda Morrison, Dr. Andrea Johnson, and Dina Cervantes about the intersections

The Allegory of the Republic, after Daumier (coal on board, acrylic) by Balázs Kicsiny, 1990. Source: Museum Ludwig-Museum of Modern Art, Budapest CollectionKicsiny’s coal painting is based on La République (1848) by Honoré Daumier, an oil sketch s…

The Allegory of the Republic, after Daumier (coal on board, acrylic) by Balázs Kicsiny, 1990.
Source: Museum Ludwig-Museum of Modern Art, Budapest Collection

Kicsiny’s coal painting is based on La République (1848) by Honoré Daumier, an oil sketch submitted for a competition to define the "painted face of the republic" the year the French Republic was proclaimed. Commentary on Daumier’s sketch highlighted its ideals of a "'big woman'...a strong republic, nourishing and educating her children...[a] 'fertile, serene and glorious' republic claiming its descent from the first great republic which had abolished slavery; the republic whose flag had circled the world" (Musée d'Orsay).

 

In honor of National Women’s History Month, producer and Chicana/o Studies professor Felipe Agredano moderates a lively OP Talk among Rev. Evang Freda Morrison, history professor Dr. Andrea Johnson, and political strategist Dina Cervantes about the intersections of politics, religion, and race. The panel decries how politicians have weaponized single issues like abortion and stoked racial division in the name of God. Speaking from their unique political, religious, and racial perspectives, the panelists address what role the church should play in the United States today and how congregations should emulate Jesus’ teachings.  The panel agrees that building community and compassion can propel this country forward, towards healing.

 

Join the LIVE VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSION & POST-TALK

5pm (PST) / 8pm (EST) - Wednesday, March 31, 2021
ZOOM FB LIVE @ https://www.facebook.com/FelipeAgredano1/

 
 
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Felipe Agredano

Felipe Emmanuel Agredano serves on the Academic Senate at East Los Angeles College, where he is faculty in Chicana/o Studies, Noncredit and Social Sciences Departments, and has lectured in the history of religion, political science, Chicana/o studies, LGBTQA+ courses and United States Citizenship. He holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, dual Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley in political science and ethnic studies, and is most proud of his Associates of Arts degree from East Los Angeles College. He often contributes to global stories on religion and politics for The Harvard Crimson, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, KCAL, including national networks like La Opinión, NBC/Telemundo, PBS, and Univision. A third-generation Apostolic Pentecostal, Agredano grew up and was formed in the Apostolic Church, where his family congregated at Templo Emmanuel, pastored by Bishop Rev. Benjamin Cantú in Highland Park, CA. When he was age 11, the Agredano family moved to Huntington Park and congregated at the Apostolic Church pastored by Rev. Hilario Gámez. There, Agredano directed the local children and youth choirs up until and during his attendance at East Los Angeles College. Later, as a transfer student at UC Berkeley, he was a member of the Union City Apostolic Church, pastored by Rev. Adam López, Jr. Agredano, and participated in the initial three productions of NorCal Mass Choir live-recordings, as well as the award-winning production team of “Nuestro Canto,” a history of the Apostolic Church in song. Agredano also attended the Apostolic Church of Oakland under Rev. Art Oceguera, directing the youth, church, and the ladies’ “Dorcas" choirs. Agredano attended Harvard Divinity School, where his advisor and greatest mentor was Rev. Dr. Cornel West. Agredano also joined the Harvard University Kuumba Singers and frequented various Apostolic congregations in the Boston area, such as the United Pentecostal Church (UPCI), Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), and eventually congregated at Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After coming out, and coming back to California, Agredano founded an online community congregation of LGBTQ+ Apostolics/Pentecostals and attended Founders Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles (MCC-LA), where he served on the Pentecostal praise team. In Los Angeles, he served on the Azusa Street Centennial Committee. In 2020, he founded Apostolics Pentecostals for President Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, creating a global platform for discussion of church, race, and politics. Agredano has presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies and at the National Association for Chicana/Chicano Studies.

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Dina Cervantes

Dina Cervantes is Chief of Staff for Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, California State Legislature. Cervantes is the daughter of once Mexican-immigrant parents who worked the fields of Fresno, CA and came to the U.S. in pursuit of the American Dream. She was born in and attended El Buen Pastor, aka Culver City Apostolic Church, under Pastors Rev. Manuel Rangel and Felipe Rivas; there, she served the Youth Ministries as Sunday-school teacher and was a member of the City of Angels (COA) LA District Choir for many years. Having once been labeled an “at-risk” youth, Cervantes turned anger into activism, finding more value as an active participant in the political process and being part of the solution. She learned organizing in the church, and later found her way and voice by organizing students in California’s community colleges to fight for access, quality, and affordability in the state’s higher-education systems. An active Democrat, Cervantes chaired the 2014 CA Young Democrats Convention, the 2015 Young Democrats of America Convention, and most recently ran as a Democratic candidate for California State Assembly. In 2020, she served as an administrator of Apostolics Pentecostals for President Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, a national platform for discussion. Cervantes lives in Sacramento, CA. She is a proud of graduate of Santa Monica College and of California State University, Northridge.

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Andrea Johnson

Dr. Andrea Johnson is an Associate Professor of History at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She received her doctorate in History from the University of Missouri. Dr. Johnson is currently completing a book that compares the strategies and imagery used by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with those of César Chávez and the farm labor movement. Her other research interests include the history of Pentecostalism, and she is currently co-editing a collection of essays on the multi-ethnic history of oneness Pentecostals in North America.

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Freda Morrison

Rev. Evang Freda Morrison has occupied various roles at her local church, Pentecostal Faith Assembly Church (Philadelphia, PA), and at the Pentecostal Assemblies of World, Inc. (PAW), where she recently broke the “glass ceiling” as the first female President of the International Pentecostal Young People’s Union in its 85+ year history. Described as Anointed, Innovative, Gifted and Talented, she has a fresh approach to ministry that crosses denominational, cultural, and socioeconomic lines. Rev. Evang Morrison has made a lasting impact in youth ministry on the local, state, and international levels for close to 20 years. As a licensed Evangelist with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc., she has travelled across the world, evangelizing and preaching the gospel in various countries, including Canada and Mexico, and throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. She is an administrator for Apostolics Pentecostals for President Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, a national platform for discussion. Also a gifted song writer and entrepreneur, Rev. Evang Morriso resides in Philadelphia with her husband, Derrick Morrison. Together, they enjoy serving the people of God through ministry and music.

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