Blase Bonpane
Encyclopedia
Blase Bonpane is Director of the Office of the Americas
(based in Los Angeles, California
) which he co-founded with his wife Theresa in 1983. His attention has been primarily on human rights and identification of illegal and immoral aspects of domestic and foreign policies of the United States.
Bonpane served as a Maryknoll priest in Guatemala and was assigned by the Cardinal of Central America as National Advisor to Centro Capacitacion Social, a center for university and high school students working in the field with indigenous people on matters of health, literacy and labor organization. He was expelled from that country in 1967 in the midst of a revolution. (Washington Post, February 4, 1968, "A Priest in Guatemala.")
He played a significant role in the historic dialogue in Latin America between Christianity
and Marxism
. (Guatemala: Occupied Country, Eduardo Galeano, Monthly Review Press, 1969) Blase Bonpane led investigative delegations to Nicaragua
, Cuba
, Mexico
, Panama
, Honduras
, Costa Rica
and Peru
. He traveled through the conflictive zones of Chiapas, Mexico together with Bishop Samuel Ruiz on a series of peace missions and served on the board of SICSAL, a hemispheric ecumenical secretariat based in Mexico City. He also participated in peace missions to El Salvador
, Colombia
, Ecuador
and Iraq
. (See the Blase Bonpane Collection, Department of Special Collections, UCLA Research Libray; Collection 1590).
A complete list of Bonpane's awards together with those granted to him and his wife together and to the Office of the Americas can be seen here.
The third edition of Bonpane's book, "Guerrillas of Peace; Liberation Theology and the Central American Revolution", originally published by South End Press, was published by toExcel in 2000. A peace trilogy of his books has been published by Red Hen Press
,Guerrillas of Peace on the Air, Second Printing 2002, "Common Sense for the 21st Century', Second Printing, 2010, and "Civilization is Possible", 2008. Under the auspices of the Oral History Program at UCLA Blase Bonpane completed the book "The Central American Solidarity Movement",Copyright 2005, by The Regents of the University of California.
Blase Bonpane's autobiography, "Imagine No Religion", published by Red Hen Press, is currently available for pre-sale on Amazon.
Bonpane received his PhD in Social Science from University of California Irvine in 1984. He has served on the faculties of the University of California Los Angeles, California State University Northridge, and California State University Los Angeles.
He hosts the radio program "World Focus" on Pacifica Radio
station KPFK
in Los Angeles at 10:00 am each Sunday (90.7 FM) as well as internationally from the KPFK site.
Blase Bonpane was a leader of the International March for Peace in Central America, December 10, 1985-January 27, 1986. This venture from Panama to Mexico included some 30 nations and 400 participants.
Office of the Americas
The Office of the Americas is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California and founded in April, 1983 by Theresa Bonpane, who along with her husband Blase Bonpane, continue as the Director and Founding Director, respectively, of the organization....
(based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) which he co-founded with his wife Theresa in 1983. His attention has been primarily on human rights and identification of illegal and immoral aspects of domestic and foreign policies of the United States.
Bonpane served as a Maryknoll priest in Guatemala and was assigned by the Cardinal of Central America as National Advisor to Centro Capacitacion Social, a center for university and high school students working in the field with indigenous people on matters of health, literacy and labor organization. He was expelled from that country in 1967 in the midst of a revolution. (Washington Post, February 4, 1968, "A Priest in Guatemala.")
He played a significant role in the historic dialogue in Latin America between Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. (Guatemala: Occupied Country, Eduardo Galeano, Monthly Review Press, 1969) Blase Bonpane led investigative delegations to Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. He traveled through the conflictive zones of Chiapas, Mexico together with Bishop Samuel Ruiz on a series of peace missions and served on the board of SICSAL, a hemispheric ecumenical secretariat based in Mexico City. He also participated in peace missions to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. (See the Blase Bonpane Collection, Department of Special Collections, UCLA Research Libray; Collection 1590).
A complete list of Bonpane's awards together with those granted to him and his wife together and to the Office of the Americas can be seen here.
The third edition of Bonpane's book, "Guerrillas of Peace; Liberation Theology and the Central American Revolution", originally published by South End Press, was published by toExcel in 2000. A peace trilogy of his books has been published by Red Hen Press
Red Hen Press
Red Hen Press is an American non-profit press specializing in the publication of literary fiction and poetry located in Pasadena, California. Founded by Kate Gale, the mission of Red Hen Press is to discover, publish, and promote works of literary excellence that have been overlooked by mainstream...
,Guerrillas of Peace on the Air, Second Printing 2002, "Common Sense for the 21st Century', Second Printing, 2010, and "Civilization is Possible", 2008. Under the auspices of the Oral History Program at UCLA Blase Bonpane completed the book "The Central American Solidarity Movement",Copyright 2005, by The Regents of the University of California.
Blase Bonpane's autobiography, "Imagine No Religion", published by Red Hen Press, is currently available for pre-sale on Amazon.
Bonpane received his PhD in Social Science from University of California Irvine in 1984. He has served on the faculties of the University of California Los Angeles, California State University Northridge, and California State University Los Angeles.
He hosts the radio program "World Focus" on Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
station KPFK
KPFK
KPFK is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet...
in Los Angeles at 10:00 am each Sunday (90.7 FM) as well as internationally from the KPFK site.
Blase Bonpane was a leader of the International March for Peace in Central America, December 10, 1985-January 27, 1986. This venture from Panama to Mexico included some 30 nations and 400 participants.