In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Peraza.
Juanita García Peraza also known as "Mita" (June 24, 1897 – February 21, 1970) was the founder of the Mita Congregation, a spin-off of the Pentecostal church with Puerto Rican origins which is described in Melton's Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Erik Camayd-Freixas, a sociologist considers this group to be a cult. The group had and still has a large following. When Peraza died, the Senate of Puerto Rico closed their offices for three days in her honor.[1]
Juanita García Peraza
Peraza was the founder of the only non-Catholic denomination religion of Puerto Rican origin.
García Peraza was born in Hatillo, Puerto Rico, and raised by her parents, both belonging to wealthy Catholic families that had immigrated to Puerto Rico from the Canary Islands in the 1830s. Her father had previously married one of his cousins, of the prominent García family of the Arecibo, Puerto Rico, region; well-known Puerto Rican writer René Marqués García is one of her nephews. After divorcing his cousin, her father married García Peraza's mother, from another Canarian family. When her family moved to their townhouse in Arecibo, García Peraza became extremely ill. She made a promise to Mita God that if she was cured, she would always serve him.[2]
García Peraza considered it a miracle that she was cured of her illness and she decided to keep her promise.[3] She was one of the first Puerto Rican women to preach religion in Puerto Rico. Soon, she claimed to have the gift of prophecy and said that she received a new revelation from God that the new name of the Holy Spirit was "Mita". The church leaders did not accept such a prophecy and she was asked to leave. She and 11 members left and formed the congregation we see today.
"Mita"edit
Peraza's house in Arecibo
García Peraza left the Roman Catholicism and converted to the Protestant Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I., and then left the church with 11 other members who followed her to start their own religion. In 1940, she and her followers founded their own church in Arecibo, and in 1947 she relocated to the current location of Hato Rey, a suburb of San Juan. They claimed that "The Holy Spirit Spirit of Life" revealed to García Peraza the new name of "Mita". They started calling themselves "Mitas" and their religion "the Mita congregation". According to the Mita faith, Mita is the new name of the Holy Ghost on earth and Mita God has chosen a successor before (Peraza) dies.[4][5][6]
Juanita "Mita" García Peraza died on February 21, 1970, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Teófilo Vargas Sein ("Aarón"), was appointed Prophet of God. Puerto Rico honored Juanita García Peraza's memory by naming an elementary school after her in San Juan.[7]
The house where Mita lived in Arecibo, known as Casa de la Diosa Mita, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
^David Ramos Torres, Historia de la Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal, M.I., Una Iglesia Ungida Para Hacer Mision (1994), p. 127
^Jesus Santos Medina, PhD, Veredas Que Confunden, Un Análisis Histórico y Teológico de Sectas Religiosas (2010), pp. 14–16.
^San Juan, Puerto Rico Schools, Colleges, Private Schools, K-12
External linksedit
Congregación MITA official site
Video of Mita preaching in 1961
April 10, 2024
juanita, garcía, peraza, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, garcía, second, maternal, family, name, peraza, also, known, mita, june, 1897, february, 1970, founder, mita, congregation, spin, pentecostal, church, with, puerto, rican, origins, which, . In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Garcia and the second or maternal family name is Peraza Juanita Garcia Peraza also known as Mita June 24 1897 February 21 1970 was the founder of the Mita Congregation a spin off of the Pentecostal church with Puerto Rican origins which is described in Melton s Encyclopedia of Protestantism Erik Camayd Freixas a sociologist considers this group to be a cult The group had and still has a large following When Peraza died the Senate of Puerto Rico closed their offices for three days in her honor 1 Juanita Garcia PerazaPeraza was the founder of the only non Catholic denomination religion of Puerto Rican origin Born 1897 06 24 June 24 1897Hatillo Puerto RicoDiedFebruary 21 1970 1970 02 21 aged 72 San Juan Puerto RicoNationalityPuerto RicanOccupationreligious leaderNotesPeraza was known as Mita the name by which the congregation and their religion are known by Contents 1 Early years 2 Mita 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly years editGarcia Peraza was born in Hatillo Puerto Rico and raised by her parents both belonging to wealthy Catholic families that had immigrated to Puerto Rico from the Canary Islands in the 1830s Her father had previously married one of his cousins of the prominent Garcia family of the Arecibo Puerto Rico region well known Puerto Rican writer Rene Marques Garcia is one of her nephews After divorcing his cousin her father married Garcia Peraza s mother from another Canarian family When her family moved to their townhouse in Arecibo Garcia Peraza became extremely ill She made a promise to Mita God that if she was cured she would always serve him 2 Garcia Peraza considered it a miracle that she was cured of her illness and she decided to keep her promise 3 She was one of the first Puerto Rican women to preach religion in Puerto Rico Soon she claimed to have the gift of prophecy and said that she received a new revelation from God that the new name of the Holy Spirit was Mita The church leaders did not accept such a prophecy and she was asked to leave She and 11 members left and formed the congregation we see today Mita edit nbsp Peraza s house in AreciboGarcia Peraza left the Roman Catholicism and converted to the Protestant Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M I and then left the church with 11 other members who followed her to start their own religion In 1940 she and her followers founded their own church in Arecibo and in 1947 she relocated to the current location of Hato Rey a suburb of San Juan They claimed that The Holy Spirit Spirit of Life revealed to Garcia Peraza the new name of Mita They started calling themselves Mitas and their religion the Mita congregation According to the Mita faith Mita is the new name of the Holy Ghost on earth and Mita God has chosen a successor before Peraza dies 4 5 6 Under Garcia Peraza s leadership the church founded many small businesses which provided work orientation and help for its members The first branch of the church outside of Puerto Rico was established in New York City The church has expanded to Mexico Colombia Venezuela Dominican Republic Costa Rica Panama El Salvador Canada Curacao Ecuador and Spain 4 1 Legacy editJuanita Mita Garcia Peraza died on February 21 1970 in San Juan Puerto Rico Teofilo Vargas Sein Aaron was appointed Prophet of God Puerto Rico honored Juanita Garcia Peraza s memory by naming an elementary school after her in San Juan 7 The house where Mita lived in Arecibo known as Casa de la Diosa Mita is on the National Register of Historic Places See also edit nbsp Puerto Rico portalList of Puerto Ricans History of women in Puerto RicoReferences edit a b The Caribbean s redefined The Cult of the Goddess Mita on the Eve of a New Millennium A Socio Anthropological Look at a Caribbean Urban Religion 13 ed Allegheny College 1997 Archived from the original on July 17 2011 Retrieved 1 July 2019 Latin American issues Vol 3 Archived 2011 07 17 at the Wayback Machine J Gordon Melton 2005 Encyclopedia of Protestantism Infobase Publishing pp 56 ISBN 978 0 8160 6983 5 a b Congregacion Mita Archived 2013 09 30 at the Wayback Machine David Ramos Torres Historia de la Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M I Una Iglesia Ungida Para Hacer Mision 1994 p 127 Jesus Santos Medina PhD Veredas Que Confunden Un Analisis Historico y Teologico de Sectas Religiosas 2010 pp 14 16 San Juan Puerto Rico Schools Colleges Private Schools K 12External links editCongregacion MITA official site Juanita Garcia Mita article in El Nuevo Dia newspaper Video of Mita preaching in 1961 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Juanita Garcia Peraza amp oldid 1215041141, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
