[5] Several Baháʼís from the United States made trips to Mexico to introduce the religion before 1916, including Mr. and Mrs. Frankland, Mark Tobey and Roy Wilhelm.
The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin American regions and was written on 8 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War and the Spanish flu.
The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on 4 April 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on 12 December 1919.
[2] After mentioning the need for the message of the religion to visit the Latin American countries ʻAbdu'l-Bahá continues: ... becoming severed from rest and composure of the world, [they] may arise and travel throughout Alaska, the republic of Mexico, and south of Mexico in the Central American republics, such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize...[6]Following the Tablets and about the time of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's passing in 1921, a few other Baháʼís began moving to Latin America.
[1] In April 1936 Orcella Rexford traveled to Mexico presenting the religion to various contacts on issues like the Baháʼí view of world peace.
[17] A monthly magazine, Emir, published in Mexico Citv, carried a story "Un Nuevo Mensaje Espiritual Nos Ilega de Oriente", before April 1939 presenting the religion directly and reproducing a picture of the US Baháʼí House of Worship and of the members of the assembly in Mexico City.
Dorothy Baker's daughter toured Mexico several times and helped refound the assembly of Pueblo that failed re–election previously as well as another in Coatepec.
[36] Its members were Josi Antonio Bonilla, Marcia Steward, Natalia Chávez, Gerardo Vega, and Oscar Castro.
[39] A regional National Spiritual Assembly for Central America, Mexico and the Antilles was then elected in 1951[1] attended by Dorothy Baker and Horace Holley serving as special representatives.
[40] The convention hosted 25 delegates from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Jamaica.
Following the election a letter of the regional assembly noted that "Considerable attention is being paid to stressing the need throughout the area of a much greater understanding of the administration of the religion.
Local assemblies are being taught, by means of the National Teaching Committee and the Baha'i Bulletin to acquire a much higher concept of their own importance as governing bodies.
They are being groomed slowly but surely to realize that they are not merely groups of nine people gathered together in a purely spiritual unity, but nine members of a governing body, gathered together to maintain order and peace in their own communities, resolve their problems through the medium of prayer and consultation and to devise efficient ways and means of spreading the Faith in the territory under their immediate jurisdiction.
"[41] The 1952 members were Raquel Constante, Cora Oliver, James Facey, Elena Marella, Artemus Lamb, Louise Caswell, Zenayda Jurado, David Escalante, and Randolph Fitz–Henley.
[47] The regional assembly was reorganized in April 1957 with Mexico joining with the Republics of Central America:[4][12] Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
[50] Coordinated efforts were made in 1959 to celebrate United Nations Day[51] and the first assembly of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato was formed.
In Mexico they were: Samuel Burrafato, Carmen Burrafatoc, Romeo Guerrac, Anna W. Howard, Florence Mayberry, Earl James Morris, Harold Baldwin Murray, Valeria Lamb Nichols, and Dr. Edris Rice–Wray.
[66] Its first Mayan member was elected that year – Jorge Coronado – after 3 yrs of work promulgating the religion among the Maya people.
[69] Youth from the United States were known to offer a period of service to the Yucatán area including the institute there and accompanied the Auxiliary Board member on many trips.
[78] In 1970 a Baháʼí club was founded in the Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla[79] which was officially recognized – the first in all Latin America – in 1971.
[82] Later in 1975 a series of public concerts by Baháʼí performers at a university of Mérida included audiences of hundreds as well as news coverage.
Three Hands of the Cause were present – Paul Haney, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir, and Enoch Olinga, as well as Counsellor Florence Mayberry who had been on the first national assembly of Mexico.
Aside from continuing the various schools Baháʼí musicians from 14 countries met for an international conference including Charles Wolcott, which served as an exhibition of indigenous dance and music, a memorial to Baháʼís suffering Persecution and an opportunity to toured a local children's hospital, an orphanage, a school and a local theatre to play for children and staff – two traveling musicians joined the religion during the events.
[106] The Mexican Baháʼí community was among the respondents of the Special Rapporteur of the UN who had conducted a survey on problems relating to freedom of religion and belief from the standpoint of the curricula and textbooks of primary or elementary and secondary education institutions.
The videoconference linked participants in Bogota, Chicago, Geneva, Mexico City, New York, Rome, San Francisco, Santiago and Vienna.
Speakers included Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Jyoti Singh, Executive Coordinator of the UN World Conference Against Racism; Techeste Ahderom, Chairman of the NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Committee on Human Rights and a Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations; and Pitso Montwedi, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the UN.
[108] In 1980 two teams of Native American Baháʼís from Alaska, Canada and the United States representing 10 tribes under the nameTrail of Light traveled from the north to the south starting mid June and presented the religion to audiences in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and finally Ecuador.
[116] In 2009 a regional conference held by request of the Universal House of Justice to celebrate recent achievements in grassroots community–building and to plan their next steps in organizing in their home areas.