Roque Centurion Miranda
Roque Centurion Miranda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 15, 1900 Carapeguá, Paraguay |
| Died | January 31, 1960 Asunción, Paraguay |
| NSA member | A.B.C.P.U. 1957 - 1960 |
Roque Centurion Miranda (August 15, 1900 - January 31, 1960) was the first Paraguayan Bahá’í and served in the administration of the Bahá’í community after his declaration. In his career he was a notable figure in Paraguay's entertainment industry being involved with stage and film acting and radio.
Biography[edit]
Miranda was born in Carapeguá, his father was Don David Gaspar Centurion and was a Lieutenant Colonel in the military and his mother was Dona Francisca Leona. He moved from Carapeguá to Asunción to complete his schooling and worked as a teacher after graduating. He discovered a passion for acting, performing for the first time in 1919, and in 1926 he received a government grant to study theatre in Europe settling in Paris and traveling the continent extensively. He received many professional opportunities but declined them so that he could return to Paraguay in 1927 where he became a notable author, playwright, actor and producer.[1]
In April 1941 Miranda was introduced to the Faith by Elisabeth Cheney who began taking him through a study course on Bahá’í membership,[2] and on June 26, 1941, he declared himself a Bahá’í despite not having completed the course.[3] In 1944 he was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Asunción, the first to be formed in Paraguay,[4] and later in the year attended the Bahá’í Centenary celebrations in Wilmette, Illinois, in the United States as a representative of Paraguay.[5] In November 1946 he was a representative of Paraguay to the first South American Bahá’í Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[4]
In January 1948 Miranda helped Artemus Lamb proclaim the Faith in Paraguay through radio and newspaper interviews due to his prominence in the countries media.[4] He also achieved a longstanding professional goal in 1948 when he founded a performing arts school in Asunción serving as its director.[1] In 1957 Miranda was elected to a newly formed Regional Spiritual Assembly responsible for administrating the Faith in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay[6] and served on the body up until he passed suddenly due to a heart attack in 1960.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ROQUE CENTURIÓN MIRANDA". Portal Guarani. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ↑ World Order, Vol. 7, No. 11, p 396
- ↑ World Order, Vol. 17, No. 12, p 29
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lamb, Artemus (1995). The Beginnings of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America:Some Remembrances, English Revised and Amplified Edition. 1405 Killarney Drive, West Linn OR, 97068, United States of America: M L VanOrman Enterprises.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: location (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 958. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1957). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 316, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
