Genaro Ríos Campos (1895—1953)
Country of Origin
-
Chile
Countries/Regions of Ministry
- Chile
Traditions
- Pentecostal
- Methodist
Ministries
- Pastor
- Musician, Artist
Genaro Ríos Campos was born in the city of Angol, located in the Araucanía Region south of Santiago, Chile. He died in Santiago in 1953 at the age of 58. Together with Willis Hoover, Elena Laidlaw, and Manuel Umaña, Ríos is acknowledged as one of the four most influential leaders in the history of Chilean Pentecostalism.
The significance of Pastor Ríos to Chilean Pentecostalism lies primarily in his foundational role in shaping its distinctive identity. The cultural iconography so often found in Chilean folklore—poetry, novels, cinema, and journalism—frequently depicts an image rooted in Pastor Genaro’s innovative practices: a man clad in a dark suit and tie, Bible in hand, preaching on the street, accompanied by a small ensemble playing guitar and accordion. This scene culminates in a sung procession with participants walking, singing, and playing instruments en route to the sanctuary altar where sermons are delivered and souls consecrated to God. This performative procession was inaugurated by Pastor Ríos and parallels the Catholic liturgical tradition, a resemblance noted by sociologist Christian Lalive d’Epinay (1968:95–96).
Ríos’s early life was marked by poverty, leading him to leave home at age thirteen and embark upon a trajectory characteristic of street children, undertaking occupations such as shoeshining, newspaper delivery, and circus performance. At the age of 33, in 1928, he converted to Pentecostalism in Talcahuano, bringing with him his circus and musical talents to preach publicly in the streets. Upon learning of Ríos’s artistic evangelistic approach—utilizing guitar, accordion, and popular hymnody—Pastor Umaña invited him to Santiago. There, Ríos sought to form a musical choir within the church structure. This sparked internal conflicts not primarily with Umaña but rather with the diaconate and elders of the Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile in Santiago, for whom guitar and accordion were deemed secular, inappropriate instruments for worship.
In the early 1930s, Pastor Ríos experienced a visionary dream in which he appeared dressed as a soldier, leading a group uniformly attired within the church. He interpreted this vision as a divine calling to become a “soldier of Jesus.” In 1933, he began street ministry on the banks of the Mapocho River in central Santiago, preaching to children and the homeless, erecting a tent which became the locus of worship services. Subsequently, he founded a new religious denomination, the Evangelical Army Church of Chile, inaugurated August 11, 1933.
On May 21, 1936, the church formally adopted a distinctive uniform and banner. That same year, its institutional periodical El Tiempo es Cumplido ("The Time is Complete") was established, articulating the church’s millenarian and messianic character premised upon the imminent Second Coming, a theological foundation that undergirds much of Chilean Pentecostalism. On January 3, 1937, Pastor Ríos was inspired to compose the denomination’s hymn, "¡Adelante Vamos!", emblematic of a militant and martial spirit resonant with leftist anthems of the era. The hymn’s chorus proclaims:
Forward, army of Christ,
To battle against the hosts of evil,
Trusting that we shall emerge victorious
With the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Notwithstanding these spiritual and ecclesiastical endeavours, in 1938 Ríos embarked on a political venture seldom acknowledged in denominational historiography: he declared himself a presidential pre-candidate. He was the first of three evangelical figures to pursue such candidacy in Chile (later attempts occurred in 1970 and 1996). His campaign rhetoric and slogan exhibited close affinities with socialist ideals, influenced by his association with Protestant leader Marmaduke Grove, a founding figure of Chile’s Socialist Party. For this political project, Ríos established a quasi-political entity named Frente Pobre (Poor Front). His candidacy was documented in both El Tiempo es Cumplido and in the talent supplement "Zig-Zag" of El Mercurio, Chile’s leading newspaper.
Among Ríos’s political promises was a platform strikingly consonant with leftist agendas: “I will provide you with bread, shelter, warmth, and central heating” (Zig-Zag, 1938, p. 38). Ultimately, he was not selected as an official candidate, as the Socialist Party joined a coalition of left-center parties endorsing Pedro Aguirre Cerda, a seasoned political figure who had served twice as deputy and minister under liberal governments (1918–1924). Pastor Ríos’s political foray elicited censure from Pentecostal factions and evangelical groups such as the Salvation Army, who publicly repudiated and disavowed “Brother Genaro.” While Aguirre Cerda’s presidential motto was “to govern is to educate,” Pastor Ríos’s perspective might be summarized as “to govern is to moralize.”
After withdrawing from the political arena, Pastor Ríos devoted himself to expanding his denomination throughout southern Chile and into southern Argentina.
On June 8, 2003, the denomination’s Estado Mayor (equivalent to a board of elders in other Pentecostal churches) nominated Griselda Ovalle Bello as the sole candidate for General Director. She was formally anointed on August 10; however, due to internal conflict and to prevent schism, new elections in 2006 resulted in the appointment of a male leader.
In summary, Genaro Ríos Campos was instrumental not only in shaping Chilean Pentecostal identity but also in fostering a Pentecostalism characterized by pronounced social commitment, a militant working-class ethos, and a robust hymnological tradition that endures to the present day.
For Further Reading
- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWQWAEIefQ).
- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNTREPEC_qY) (Adelante Vamos)
- (https://www.eech.cl/).
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D’Epinay, Christian (1968). El refugio de las masas: estudio sociológico del Protestantismo Chileno*. Editorial Pacífico, Santiago, Chile.
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El Tiempo es Cumplido (1938). “El Hermano Genaro Ríos Campos Candidato a la Presidencia de la República,” Santiago, No. 6, June, pp. 1–4.
- Mansilla, Miguel; Panotto, Nicolás; Quiróz, Esteban (2023). Evangélicos y Socialismos (1930–1970): Antagonismos, agonismos y sinergismos religiosos y políticos. Santiago, Chile: RIL.
- Ortiz, Juan (2012). “Genaro Ríos Campos. De circense a Pastor, creador del canto pentecostal.” Retrieved from https://www.sendas.cl/biografias/genaro-rios/
- Revista Zig-Zag (1938). “Los pentecostales tienen un candidato a la presidencia. El hermano Genaro hará un Chile nuevo...” Santiago, edition No. 1735, 24 June, pp. 38, 83.