When you hear the word Pathfinders, you might picture a club full of uniforms, scarves, and campouts. But across the border, in Argentina, this same movement goes by another name: Conquistadores. It arrived there around 1959, brought by a teacher who had heard about a new idea coming from Chile. This is the story of how it all began.
Before Argentina: where it all began
To understand how the Conquistadores arrived in Argentina, it's worth taking a step back. The idea of a church club for children and teens, with outdoor activities, honors, and progressive classes, was born in the United States. In 1946, youth leader John Hancock helped organize a club in Riverside, California, and designed the famous triangle emblem that remains the Pathfinders' symbol to this day.
The idea spread quickly across California, and in 1950, the General Conference of the Adventist Church officially established the Pathfinder Club as a worldwide organization. That's when the movement gained its own uniform, flag, and anthem.
In South America, the first club appeared in Peru. On April 4, 1955, the Conquistadores Club of the Miraflores church, in Lima, was organized. From there, the spark spread country by country, and it wouldn't be long before Argentina joined the story.
The spring of 1959 in Buenos Aires
According to official Adventist sources, Argentina's first Conquistadores Club began in the spring of 1959, at the church in Florida, a neighborhood of greater Buenos Aires. At the time, this region was part of the territory known as the Austral Union. The first director was Elvira Weiss de Schmidt.
What makes this story so lovely is how it began. In her own account, Elvira says she had read, probably in the Adventist Review, that a pastor had organized a Conquistadores club in Chile. Inspired by that, she decided to try the same thing at her own church. The Schmidt family had just moved from Uruguay to Florida, and it was there, in an old school building, that the first meetings took place.
The activities were simple and full of purpose: hikes along the Panamericana highway, earning honors, and visits to a nursing home in the Derbi neighborhood, where the young people helped with cleaning and sang for the residents. Small gestures, big lessons.
"I had learned, I believe from the Adventist Review, that a pastor had organized a Conquistadores club in Chile."Elvira Weiss de Schmidt, first director, in her account of the founding of the Florida club
Read alsoHow the Pathfinders reached SpainEntre Ríos enters the story
A little over a year after Florida, the movement reached a place that holds special meaning for Argentine Adventists: Libertador San Martín, in the province of Entre Ríos, home to the traditional Colegio Adventista del Plata.
On October 26, 1960, the club tied to the Colegio Adventista del Plata began its activities, with Lucas Schulz as director. Then, on July 21, 1962, right there in Libertador San Martín, the so-called C.C.C. Club was formed, bringing together the Cachorros classes (known today as Adventurers) and the Centinelas (today's Master Guides).
So within just a few years, what began with one teacher and a small group in Buenos Aires had grown into a movement taking root in different corners of the country.
Pathfinders or Conquistadores? Same family
It can be confusing, but the explanation is simple. In Brazil and Portugal, the movement is called Desbravadores. In Spanish-speaking countries, like Argentina, Peru, and Chile, the name used is Conquistadores. In the United States and other English-speaking places, they're the Pathfinders.
Despite the different names, it's all the same movement, with the same triangle emblem, the same system of progressive classes and honors, and the same goal: helping children and teens grow in a healthy way, with faith, friendship, and a love of nature.
That's why, when a Brazilian club runs into an Argentine club at a campout, they quickly realize: they speak different languages, but they're living the same adventure.
A history still being pieced together
It's important to be honest with you, reader: the earliest records of the Conquistadores in Argentina are scarce, and some of them survive only in the memories of the pioneers themselves. Elvira Schmidt herself, in her account, admits she doesn't remember every official detail, such as the exact date of some appointments.
That's why we speak of the "spring of 1959" and use the dates found in official Adventist sources. If you come from a family connected to these early clubs and have photos, documents, or stories, that kind of memory is a treasure, it's worth recording and sharing with your club.
After all, the history of the Pathfinders isn't found only in books. It's alive in every club that keeps camping, marching, and serving, from Brazil to Argentina.