Dr. Felipe Hinojosa talks to Felipe E. Agredano and Daniel Ballon-Garst about the queer Apostolic history that dates back to the early 1900s

*“Rainbow and Bird.” Photo:* *Charles Tilford*

HTI Open Plaza enters Pride Month 2024 with a discussion among historian Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, Felipe E. Agredano, a professor of ethnic studies and Chicano studies, and Emory University doctoral candidate Daniel Ballon-Garst about the long queer Apostolic history that dates back to the early 1900s. At the time, the movement was taking hold in Los Angeles, where Spanish-speaking Mexicans and Mexican Americans were part of the church's outreach.

Agredano, a third-generation Apostolic Pentecostal, has facilitated the Apostolic Round Table for LGBTQIA+ Pentecostals for nearly two decades. He has been part of the production team of the documentary Nuestro Canto (1995), a history of the Apostolic Church in song, and a member of the Harvard University Kuumba Singers. Agredano was also the executive producer of the musical Arena: A House MUSIC-al (2019), a coming-of-age story written by Abel Alvarado about a gay man growing up in a devout Apostolic family in 1990s Los Angeles.

Ballon-Garst’s research at Emory involves a historical study of black and brown queer Pentecostals and Evangelicals in the United States in the twentieth century, drawing connections from these historical movements and actors to current queer religious movements, including queer transnational religious movements in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

"If we look at the 1920s,” says Agredano, “some of the early [church] musicians [who] were involved and were not out–and perhaps never out–in public, they were participating. They were doing ministry. They were suggesting songs, liturgy. They wrote the message of the Apostolic church." The first church that was purchased, he explains, was in “Calexico, California, right across from Mexicali, the Mexican border…and we can trace back the participation of the ministers of music who were not out, who were living alternative, non-normative lifestyles, never married, yet they were still participating."

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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The grandson of agricultural workers and day laborers, Danny Ballon-Garst was born and raised in San Diego, California, along the San Ysidro/Tijuana border, where his dad pastored an Apostolic church. As a scholar, Ballon-Garst is interested in studying the relationship between religion and social change, and he pursues his research questions primarily through a historical lens. In his doctoral studies, Ballon-Garst is conducting a historical study of black and brown queer Pentecostals and Evangelicals in the United States in the twentieth century, drawing connections from these historical movements and actors to current queer religious movements, including queer transnational religious movements in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, he practiced law at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and at a corporate law firm in Los Angeles. Ballon-Garst holds BA and JD degrees from the University of Southern California, and an MTS from Harvard Divinity School.

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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. He 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. Prof. Hinojosa serves on the Advisory Board for the interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, and online moderated forum Latinx Talk. His work has appeared in Zócalo Public Square, Western Historical Quarterly, American Catholic Studies, Mennonite Quarterly Review, and in edited collections on Latina/o Studies. Dr. Hinojosa’s first book, Latino Mennonites: Civil Rights, Faith, and Evangelical Culture (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014) was awarded 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 most 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 in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Along with Sergio M. González and Maggie Elmore, he co-edited Faith & Power: Latino Religious Politics Since 1945 (New York University Press, 2022). Dr. Hinojosa holds a BA in English from Fresno Pacific University, and MA in History from University of Texas Pan American, and a PhD in History from the University of Houston.

Nuestro Llanto

Dr. Felipe Hinojosa talks to Felipe E. Agredano and Daniel Ballon-Garst about the queer Apostolic history that dates back to the early 1900s

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HTI Open Plaza

Nuestro Llanto

Dr. Felipe Hinojosa talks to Felipe E. Agredano and Daniel Ballon-Garst about the queer Apostolic history that dates back to the early 1900s

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