“¿Cristo al servicio de quién?”

“¿Cristo al servicio de quién?” was released in 1975 by the Venezuelan group Los Guaraguao. It offers a critical perspective on the Roman Catholic Church's relationship with the social, political, and cultural crises of Latin Americans at the time. In Freirean terms, it calls the “traditionalist” church to radically change into a “prophetic” church. In three powerful stanzas, the song offers the perspective of Jaime Obrero [worker Jaime], a generic name that encompasses the majority of working people in Latin America, somewhat equivalent in English to “John Doe.” Jaime Obrero invites listeners to ponder the theological possibilities of a prophetic church, one that breaks from its colonial past of serving the interests of the rich and powerful. Using key tenets of liberation theologians from the 1960s and 70s, namely, conscientização , the preferential option for the poor, and praxis, Los Guaraguao attest to the importance of listening to the perspective of the powerless in order to create more accurate theological interpretations that speak to their realities. This song, like many in Los Guaraguao's repertoire, is a clear example of the interplay between protest music and liberation theology in Latin America.