Sabino Ortega

Sabino Ortega
Ortega speaking at the International Quechua Bahá’í Conference, 1976.
NSA member	Bolivia 1961 - 1967
ABM	Americas ???? - ????

Sabino Ortega is an indigenous Bolivian Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia and as an Auxiliary Board member.

Biography

Ortega suffered racial and cultural prejudice in his youth and became suspicious and negative towards white people as a result. He was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith in the 1950's by Mas’ud Khamsi and while initially suspicious of his motivations he became convinced of his sincerity and became a Bahá’í, and later credited Khamsi and Athos Costas with helping him overcome his prejudices.

In 1959 Ortega was selected by some indigenous pioneers in Bolivia to visit Santiago, Chile, to receive teacher training so he could facilitate children's classes in Bolivian villages and he went on to pioneer within Bolivia. In 1961 he was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia when it was established, and he married Wana Velasquez and their wedding was the first to be held at the Bahá’í Center in La Paz. In 1962 he made a teaching trip to Argentina which resulted in nine indigenous Argentineans declaring.

As of 1973 Ortega was pioneering in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia, and as of 1976 he was serving as an Auxiliary Board member. In 1982 he spoke at the Bahá’í International Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Quito, Ecuador, speaking on the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies. In 1983 he served as a member of the Trail of Light teaching team which was a group of Native American Bahá’ís which traveled across North America to teach the Faith.

As of 1988 Ortega was serving as the coordinator of Radio Bahá’í-Caracollo, a Bahá’í radio station based in Bolivia, and that year he participated in a second Trail of Light teaching team trip this time across South America.