Abstract
The career of Evaristo Collazo demonstrates the nuanced aspects of Cuban-American relations within the Protestant community at a critical moment in the history of Cuba at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. US influence on the Cuban political system and economy is well documented. The significance of Protestant activity in Cuba is less studied but often conforms to the notion of US hegemony. Collazo and other Cuban Protestant pastors operated in an environment strongly influenced by US teachings and values. Nevertheless, they responded in ways that suggest Cubans found some space for leadership and authority within a transnational bond of religion. This study of Collazo and the Presbyterian Church in Cuba provides a deeper understanding of the importance of transnational approaches to issues that transcend national boundaries and offers a clearer picture of the ways Cubans reacted to and resisted US hegemony.
Highlights
The career of Evaristo Collazo demonstrates the nuanced aspects of Cuban-American relations within the Protestant community at a critical moment in the history of Cuba at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century
This study provides the history of Protestants in Cuba that focuses on the Presbyterian Church
Sara Berndt (2011: 33–34) writes in her dissertation on Baptists in Cuba that the importance of personal and individual salvation spoke to a sense of liberty Cubans aspired to and provided a church organisation that allowed local initiative and independence. This sense of liberty reflected an acceptance among many Cuban exiles of American culture and values expressed through Protestant churches. These associations between Cuban and American Protestants influenced the manner in which Cuban Protestants addressed social and economic problems in Cuba, adapted their religious organisation and beliefs and perceived Cuba’s relationship to the US
Summary
Evaristo Collazo was born in the city of Santa Clara on 10 October 1855. His family was most likely of lower-middle-class origin. While all three of these men served in Cuba under the authority of an American denomination, their Protestant churches were organised and led by Cubans. All of these Cubans had developed close working relationships with their respective denominations which were reluctant to send resident missionaries into Cuba due to its unstable political nature and violent outbreaks of rebellion. They served as intermediaries between Cuba and the US in a transnational capacity that occasionally led to tensions Protestant denominations, especially those from Southern churches in the US, felt Cuban pastors allowed, what was for them, disturbing Cuban practices including a mixture of races in the congregation (Berndt 2011: 56). The circumstances were different in each case, among the sources of friction between Cuban Protestants and their American denominations was the question of authority between the American missionaries and Cuban pastors
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