Book contents
- Evangelicalism in Latin America
- Evangelicalism in Latin America
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Conversion
- 1 In Luther’s Path
- 2 Two Evangelical Converts Build Their Own Church in Buenos Aires
- 3 A Rural Leader Who Became an Evangelical Christian in the Evangelical Missionary Union Church of Colombia
- 4 The Origins of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico
- Part II New Religious Sensibilities
- Part III Negotiating Social, Political, and Everyday Life
- Index
4 - The Origins of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico
A Historiographical Look at the Memories of Juan León Lugo
from Part I - Conversion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 February 2026
Book contents
- Evangelicalism in Latin America
- Evangelicalism in Latin America
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Conversion
- 1 In Luther’s Path
- 2 Two Evangelical Converts Build Their Own Church in Buenos Aires
- 3 A Rural Leader Who Became an Evangelical Christian in the Evangelical Missionary Union Church of Colombia
- 4 The Origins of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico
- Part II New Religious Sensibilities
- Part III Negotiating Social, Political, and Everyday Life
- Index
Summary
The chapter analyzes the history of the first Pentecostals in Puerto Rico through the memoir of Juan L. Lugo. This document, published by Lugo circa 1950, recounts his memories as an immigrant in Hawaii, his initial experience with Pentecostal faith, and details his eventual development as a minister ordained by the council of The Assemblies of God Church in the United States. Based on his account, this chapter will address several historiographical considerations about the relationship between forced migration and the exponential growth of Pentecostal movements, particularly in the transition from the nineteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth. It is no coincidence that this religious current found fertile ground among the most vulnerable and marginalized populations. As such, the socioeconomic and political panorama in which the birth of Pentecostalism in Puerto Rico took place will also be explained. Finally, the discursive and doctrinal trends emblematic of the founding period of Pentecostalism on the island will be highlighted.
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- Evangelicalism in Latin AmericaHistorical Documents in Context, pp. 122 - 146Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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