University Library Research Showcase
November 12, 2014
Antonio Sotomayor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor University Library
Librarian for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

• What was the role and consequences of the YMCA in
Puerto Rico at the turn of the twentieth century?
• In what ways did the issues of imperialism, religion and sport intersect through the YMCA?
• How can this process help us further understand Latin
American sports, culture, and politics?

Supported by Research and Publication Committee (RPC) funding at the University Library.
• University Library - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Kautz Family YMCA Archives at the University of Minnesota –
Twin Cities.
• Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico Evangélico.
[ Letters, Reports, Magazines, Newspaper Clippings, Secondary Literature, (1898-1930s) ]

• Army and Navy YMCA entered Puerto Rico with invading forces
– Spanish American War (1898)
• To offer recreational and spiritual comfort [convert both soldiers and civilians. To aid the imperial army in occupation and achieve hegemonic rule]
• Negotiation between a loyal catholic population with a strong desire to learn and practice modern sports.

• Army and Navy YMCA also entered with U.S. forces in Cuba and the Philippines.
• Civilian YMCA in South America since 1870s (Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay, Mexico).
• New way to understand the politics of sport and the rich sporting traditions of sport in the region.
• New way to understand the negotiations between Protestantism and Catholicism in Latin America.