Mission and Hymn Translator
Elida García de Falcón was orphaned at the age of ten in Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She made her home with her only sister, Rosaura, who had married one of the first Mexican Methodist ministers, Pedro Grado. With them she itinerated and attended mission schools, including Holding Institute at Laredo, Texas. She attended what is now Southwest Texas State College, taught in Texas public schools, was a writer and poet, and contributed to many of the Spanish newspapers published in Texas.
From 1943 to 1964 Falcón translated the Program Book into Spanish for the Woman’s Division of Christian Service. Until illness intervened, she wrote out the translation, which was then typed by her daughter, Clotilde Falcón Náñez. Her daughter continued the work, and mother and daughter together spent twenty-six consecutive years translating. Falcón also translated many of the hymns in the Himnario Metodista, the official hymnal of Hispanic Methodism in the United States.
Her pastor wrote of her upon her death, “She is truly a saint. Many of the people of our city have gone to her home seeking a word of counsel, inspiration, and guidance. Her home has been the shelter for the sick and the needy.”
Taken from They Went Out Not Knowing… An Encyclopedia of One Hundred Women in Mission (New York: Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, 1986). Used with permission of United Methodist Women.
