Latino Pentecostals in America, by Gastón Espinosa

Histories of Pentecostalism in the United States have long focused on binary narratives of the development of African-American and white Pentecost­alism out of the great revival at Azusa Street in Los Angeles. In recent years, scholars of Pentecostalism have expanded this narrative to include Latino and Native American Pentecostals—who were a part of the movement from the beginning. Gastón Espinosa’s Latino Pentecostals in America joins this trend, tracing the history of Latino involvement in the Assemblies of God and challenging long-standing narratives.

The book is actually more like three books in one. The first third of the book is devoted to the growth of Pente­costalism among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Texas and California. After that, Espinosa focuses on Puerto Ricans and the growth of Pentecostalism both on the island and in New York City. Then he addresses more recent issues among Latino Pentecostals, including the role of women in the church, faith and social activism, and political trends. The book hangs together as a self-conscious re­write of Assemblies of God history that privileges the Latino voices that have so often been left out of denominational narratives.

Espinosa, an associate professor of religious studies at Claremont Mc­Kenna College, has written about early Latino Pentecostals in California and Texas in previous articles and essays, and his depth of knowledge shows here. He stresses the importance of Azusa Street minister William Sey­mour’s radical theology of racial equality, showing that it was important not only for African-American church growth, but also for the development of early Latino Pente­costal leadership. When discussing the early development of Latino churches, he moves the spotlight from white missionaries to Latino leaders who in previous histories have usually been mentioned only in passing. He presents Francisco Olazábal, the famous Mexican preacher who tangled with white As­semblies of God leaders for control of Latino churches in southern Texas, as a central character in the development of Latino Pentecostalism in the Southwest, and indeed among Latinos nationwide.