Why Spanish Worship Matters To Us
Whether I’m cleaning, getting ready or driving to work, 9/10 times, it’s to the sound of Spanish worship. Worship is a powerful key that gives us access to the presence of God and authority to bring Heaven to earth. As personal as a worship experience can be, it is also deeply communal. To worship God in the language of our parents, grandparents or great grandparents, is a reminder of our shared faith that has preservered in the face of loss, lack, injustice and pain.
When I sing Dios ha sido bueno (God has been good), I don’t just think about the ways that has been true in my own life, but also, for my father, who immigrated to the U.S. alone at the age of 15 with $1 in his pocket. I think of my grandmother, who found herself widowed with 3 children in her twenties. I think of all the ways God has met, healed, provided and protected us.
For some of us, Spanish was the first language of our faith. Our formation happened to the soundtrack of coritos, panderos (tambourines) and organs. For others, Spanish has not been our first or fluent language yet, something about Spanish worship hits different. The Gloria a Dios and Gracias Señor tugs at our hearts and stirs our spirits in a distinct way.
A few friends have recently asked me to share my Spanish worship playlists with them and I thought, why not share it with all my amigas?! So, I’ve curated 2 lists, one featuring praise songs and another with worship song, representing diverse worship leaders from across Latin America. Some of these songs might be familiar to you and others, I hope, will be a new addition to your own playlists. Whether you understand all the words or not, I invite you, let’s worship juntas.
Here at LLJ, we often talk about God’s intentionality in using diverse languages as the sign of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. He could have chosen any vehicle as a sign to those outside the upperroom and yet, He chose languages, diverse languages and I think that both important and intentional. Beyond Spanish, we can pursue diverse expressions of worship because in it, we experience God in a new way. In her book, The Next Worship, our friend Sandra Maria Van Opstal details the opportunities of diverse worship writing,
Jesus is Savior of all people; every culture has gifts, and he welcomes their treasure as ways to honor and glorify him. All the nations of the earth will display their cultural gifts in worship to the King of glory.
Let’s bring our gifts, honor and glorify Him and be reminded that God’s expression through us as a people is not only beautiful, but necessary for the whole body of Christ.
Gloria a Dios for that!
This is in no way an exhaustive list, just some of my current favorites. If you have additional recommendations, please share below!
