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Reverend Rhina Ramos was born on December 14th, 1968 in Usulután, El Salvador. A self-described “wild child”, she grew up in San Salvador, an environment conducive to community, fun, and imaginative play with her brother.
In 1983, when Rhina was only 14 years old, she embarked on a journey North to join her mother in the United States. Her aunt accompanied Rhina and her brother through a treacherous journey defined by the dangers of coyote smuggling and the uncertainty of police bribery. In this stretch between Mexico and the U.S., Rhina held on to her religion and identity as a Salvadorean, promising to go back to church if she safely made it to the United States.
Rhina arrived in Long Island, New York, to severe culture shock: communities were segregated along harsh lines of ethnicity and race, neighbors weren’t as friendly, and her family’s windowless and humid basement apartment was a stark contrast to home. Still, Rhina never felt like she had to assimilate, not caring to fit in, “me vale lo que piensan de mí.”
Rhina found a welcoming community in her local Baptist Church, where she found many other Salvadorean immigrants and more answers to her many questions about religion and all its denominations. She attributes her experiences here as her introduction to community organizing.
When she found herself in couples counseling with her former husband, guided by a pastor who happened to be a clinical psychologist, Rhina was able to confront and come to terms with her sexuality in the face of her spirituality. Although the Church turned their back on her for leaving her marriage, she vowed to never return to that old version of herself.
Motivated by her mother and aunt, Rhina embarked on a journey to become a lawyer–a dream she held since she was little. In law school, she volunteered for an openly queer woman whose work in public interest was often dedicated to helping immigrants, further forcing Rhina to challenge her own perspectives on religion, sexuality, and community.
Burnt out after 5 years working in law, Rhina made the decision go back to school, and decided to enroll in seminary classes, where she found an affirming environment that would allow for a deep exploration of Christianity and Queerness. Recognizing the need for a space that would adequately represent herself and others, in December of 2011 she co-founded the Ministerio Latino, a Spanish-speaking church that was open to LGBTQIA+ identities and multiple forms of spirituality. In 2012 she became ordained as a minister by the United Church of Christ and moved her meetings to a larger space in Oakland.
With strong support from her (notably atheist) wife Shinobu, she became a minister full-time. Known as the ‘Pastor of the Queers’, Reverend Ramos finds great fulfillment in her role, which often goes beyond pastoral guidance to include connecting community members to resources to fulfill basic needs and supporting LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers.
Reverend Ramos, having grown up awe-inspired by San Romero de las Americas, understands the importance of an affirmative religious community, particularly for Queer Latine youth, many of whom struggle to maintain the sense of religious identity and tradition. Reverend Ramos continues to create a community that is welcoming to all, one in which she would’ve felt “happier, more liberated and had a better sense of self”. In November 2024, the Museum of Image and Word published Rev. Ramos memoirs in a book entitled “A Volcano In My Heart.” The book was first published in Spanish and the English version will be available in Fall 2025.

