Perspectivas

Journal for the Hispanic Theological Initiative

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Issue 19 • 2022

  • Editorial | Issue 19

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    For some time now, I have heard people talk about returning to “normalcy”, to the times before the Coronavirus. Indeed, among some Latina/os/xs and other ethnoracial and cultural communities, COVID changed some of the most basic aspects of human interactions like a handshake, greeting someone with a hug or a kiss, or how physical space is occupied by people. But that is changing as people gain new confidence and get back to some modicum of human interaction.

    However, the aspirational return to the times before COVID as if those times were better than now is a matter of perspective. In the words of Ada María Isasi-Díaz, La lucha continua. Racialized social and cultural discrimination continue; racialized people continue to be criminalized and deemed foreigners; thousands of seasonal farm workers keep crossing borders to give themselves and their families a fighting chance; and countless migrants continue to make the dangerous journey across political borders. These concerns impact many people from many countries and ethnoracial backgrounds. From a Latina/o/x perspective, these realities were in place since before the pandemic and will continue well beyond the pandemic is under control. Latinas/os/xs continue to work hard at overcoming the social factors and structures that prevent them from contributing to society more fully.

    In different ways, the three articles in this issue of Perspectivas illustrate how social struggles are part of the reality of Latinas/os/xs at the grassroots. They also show how questions of social justice remain part of the scholarly and theological production of Latinas/os/xs. In the first article, Breno Martins Campos and Fernando Nacimiento critically engage the work of Rubem Alves. They retrace some of the key original insights that made Alves a theologian of hope and liberation. Focusing specifically on the children’s book The Girl and the Enchanted Bird, Campos and Nacimiento retrace the development of Alves liberation theology and uncover other strands and thinkers that influenced his thought, including Paul Ricoeur.

    In the second article, Antonio Frietze exposes some of the dangers of the rhetoric of pluralism for racialized and minoritized communities. He highlights the experiences of the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan and their struggle for recognition of their burial grounds at The Alamo in San Antonio. Frietze exposes how the logic of pluralism flattens distinct sociopolitical identity claims thus not granting any especial recognition to any group even while deploying the rhetoric of inclusion. He proposes the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan might consider adopting the label “Latinx Indigenous” communities as a common bridge identity which can bring mutual benefits to both the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan and Latina/o/x communities.

    Finally, Theresa Yugar’s third article recounts a wide range of environmental resistance groups both in the USA and in Latin America. Taking the Quechua-Aymara notion of buen vivir or sumak kawsay as inspiration metaphor and framework for environmental struggles, she documents a wide variety of environmental activist groups. She shows how some of these groups have long-standing histories. She also shows that there are newly emerging advocacy groups involved in social justice struggles in a wide range of social concerns.

    Whether before, during or after COVID, for Latinas/os/xs struggle does not seem to change much. In other words, struggle is our normal.  The editorial team of Perspectivas is pleased to offer these articles as tokens of the diversity of authors involved in the struggle through their writings.

    Néstor Medina, Senior Editor
    & the editorial team.

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Articles

  • The Church and the Enchanted Theologian

    By Breno Martins Campos & Fernando Nascimento
    Abstract:

    Through the epistemological paths of sociology and philosophy – and based on bibliographic, documentary, and exploratory research – this reflection article contributes to Christian theology studies in Latin America. The research object is the

    thought of the theologian of hope and liberation, Rubem Alves. This article explores some metaphors from Alves’s The Girl and the Enchanted Bird as interpretative keys of religious fundamentalism – in the sense of supporting doctrinal statements that leave no room for doubt in the lives of the faithful. It takes as a theoretical background other works by Alves and the concept of tolerance developed by Paul Ricoeur.

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    La Iglesia y el teólogo encantado

    Por Breno Martins Campos y Fernando Nascimento
    Resumen:

    Siguiendo los caminos epistemológicos de la sociología y la filosofía—y con base en investigación bibliográfica, documentales, y exploratorias—este artículo de reflexión contribuye a la teología cristiana en Latinoamérica. El objeto de esta investigación es 

    el pensamiento del teólogo de esperanza y liberación, Rubem Alves. Este artículo explora algunas de las metáforas en el trabajo de Alves, La niña y el pájaro encantado, como claves interpretativas de fundamentalismo religioso—en el sentido de apoyar enunciados doctrinales que no dejan lugar para la duda en la vida de los fieles. Se toma como trasfondo teórico otros trabajos de Alves y el concepto de Tolerancia de Paul Ricoeur.

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  • Grave Importance: Religio-Political Architecture and the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan

    By Antonio Frietze, MA (Theology)
    Abstract:

    Pluralism is increasingly valued and pervasive in the academy and across institutions. My aim is to place Indigenous groups’ self-identity in tension with governmentally ascribed identities and status in order to demonstrate the 

    insufficiency of pluralism as a discursive logic in accomplishing liberative ends. I focus on the experience of the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan and their struggle for formal recognition of their burial grounds at the Misión San Antonio de Valero in San Antonio, Texas–more popularly known as “The Alamo.”  I analyze discourse and governmental documents treating indigenous identity and surrounding ongoing planning to restore the site, particularly “The Alamo Master Plan.” I propose that the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan reject pluralism as a guiding logic in their interactions with state agencies and that “Latinx-Indigenous” be adopted as a mutually beneficial bridge identity to mobilize diverse communities.

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    Grave Importance: Religio-Political Architecture and the Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan

    Por Antonio Frietze, MA (Theology)
    Resumen:

    El pluralismo es cada vez más valorado y generalizado en la academia y en todas las instituciones. Mi objetivo es de colocar en tensión la identidad de grupos indígenas con las identidades y el estatus atribuido por el gobierno para demostrar la 

    insuficiencia del pluralismo como lógica discursiva para lograr fines liberadores. Me enfoco en la experiencia de los Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan y sus luchas por el reconocimiento formal de sus cementerios en la Misión San Antonio de Valero en San Antonio, Tejas, más popularmente conocida como “El Álamo.” Analizo el discurso y los documentos gubernamentales que tratan con la identidad indígena y los presentes planes en torno a la restauración del sitio, particularmente “El Plan Maestro del Álamo.” Propongo que los Tāp Pīlam Coahuiltecan rechazan el pluralismo como lógica rectora en sus interacciones con las agencias estatales y que la etiqueta “Indígenas Latinx” sea adoptada como una identidad puente de beneficio mutuo para movilizar comunidades diversas.

    Leer MásLeer Menos / Descargar este ejemplar
  • Buen Vivir: Historical Narrative of Environmental Resisters in the United States and Latin America

    By Theresa Yugar
    Abstract:

    Environmental Resisters in the U.S. Latinx community and indigenous peoples in Latin America are advocating for social justice issues that include linguistic availability, education, housing, labor, migration, culture and food security, and the end to violence against women.

    They are safeguarding their natural habitats and advocating for the material and spiritual wellness of individuals in their communities. I argue that their commitment to social justice and environmental justice issues share some of the values of the Andean-based buen vivir social philosophy which grants inalienable rights to Nature and humans. 

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    Buen Vivir: Historical Narrative of Environmental Resisters in the United States and Latin America

    Por Theresa Yugar
    Resumen:

    Resistencia ambiental en las comunidades Latinx en los Estados Unidos y entre los pueblos Indígenas en Latinoamérica defienden cuestiones de justicia social que incluyen la disponibilidad lingüística, la educación,

    la vivienda, el trabajo,  la migración, la cultura, la seguridad alimentaria, y el fin de la violencia contra las mujeres. Yo propongo que el compromiso de estos pueblos a la justicia social y embiental comparten algunos de los valores de la filosofía Andina del Buen Vivir, que otorga derechos inalienables a la naturaleza y a la humanidad.

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HTI Book Reviews

  • Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio by Felipe Hinojosa (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2021). 238 pages. $45.00.

    Stephen R. Di Trolio
    Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation, by Robyn Henderson-Espinoza. Broad Leaf Books, 2022. 236 Pages. $27.99

    Rubén David Bonilla Ramos
    Emmanuel college, University of Toronto
  • La evangelización y la misión de Dios: Una teología bíblica, por Philip Wingeier-Rayo. UMC General Board of Higher Education & Ministry, 2020. 216 Pages. $18.99.

    Rev. Chauncey Diego Francisco Handy
    Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Evangélicos e a Pobreza no Brasil: Encontros e Respostas Éticas 2nd ed., by Raimundo César Barreto Jr. Recriar/Unida, 2019. 314 pages. $55.92

    Vinicius Marinho
    University of Chicago Divinity School
  • Decolonial Christianities: Latinx and Latin American Perspectives, Edited by Raimundo Barreto and Roberto Sirvent. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. 301 pages. $119.00 (Hardcover).

    Ángel J. Gallardo
    Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology
  • Looking Forward with Hope: Reflections on the Present State of Theological Education, Edited by Benjamín Valentín. Cascade Books, 2019. 150 pages. $22.00.

    Elizabeth Conde-Frazier
    Association of Hispanic Theological Education

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