Cubans Find Hope in Santería amid Crisis: How the Ancient Afro-Cuban Religion is Helping People Cope with Hardships

56

In Havana, Cuba, a two-room house on the edge of the city is making lots of noise. People from outside gather around its door and kids climb over the fence just to peek in and see what’s going on. Inside, many Cubans wearing white and African beads are praying at an altar decorated with bright blue colors. They’re asking for good luck, safety, and health from these gods they’re worshipping.

In Latin America, most people are Catholic (70%). But in Cuba the main religion is called Santería. It’s actually a mix of African beliefs and Catholicism that managed to survive, even though it was banned by the communist government.

Santeria, a religion that used to have a bad reputation, is becoming very popular in a time when the country is going through economic, political and migration problems.

At Mandy Arrazcaeta’s home, people are celebrating and making offerings to Yemayá the Yoruba God in front of an altar with a plastic doll representing him.

Mandy said that Santeria is getting more important every day as it provides some sort of protection for everyone in the country.

Santería was born in the Caribbean islands when a lot of African slaves were forced to come by Spanish colonists. The slaves used their own religions from West Africa and made them look like Catholic saints so that they can keep it a secret.

Cuba’s most important religious figure is named “Our Lady of Charity.” It was combined with a religious figure from Africa – the golden god called Oshun. Roberto Zurbano, a Cuban cultural critic, explains that through this combination of Catholic and African religions, they were able to keep the faith alive. There are hundreds of different gods in Santería but worshippers usually only follow and connect with just a few. They do this by taking part in rituals and giving them gifts.

On one Friday night, Arrazcaeta’s family and friends got together to offer coconut and Cuban pesos with the face of Che Guevara on them. They also sacrificed two chickens over bowls filled with rocks and seashells in hopes that they would be granted good health, strength when things get tough and even luck in love.

Arrazcaeta said that “Santeria”, a religion widely practiced by millions of people around the world, is something special and unique to Cuban culture. It is often difficult to tell how many Cubans practice Santeria because it’s an informal religion. However, estimates suggest that about 70% of Cubans are involved in some way with this or similar African-based religions.

Across the island, you can find many altars in people’s homes and lots of Cuban people wearing white clothing. This is because they have become Santeros [people who practice the religion Santería], and are wearing white to mark their conversion to that religion – like a way of showing they are being reborn. It’s clear that Santería has taken hold in Cuba.

In the 1950s, Fidel Castro took over Cuba and wanted to get rid of religion. He made it illegal and would not allow anyone who spoke negatively about him in churches. Catholicism started failing because people couldn’t go to church anymore. However, Santería worshippers used the same practices from long ago like before the revolution so they could keep going on with their religion.

People believed in Afro-religious faiths, but they had to keep it a secret because it was illegal according to Marxism. For example, Zurbano’s family would perform rituals inside their home and make ceremonies which usually took a week much shorter to escape the attention of authorities. Also, some people used to hide religious clothes under their daily outfits.

Katrin Hansing, a scientist from City University New York researching in Cuba, said that Santería (a religious practice) was still popular because it gives people hope and promises good health as long as offerings are given.

In the 1990s, when Cuba faced very tough economic times due to the collapse of their biggest ally (the Soviet Union), Santería became an even more important part of Cuban culture, bringing comfort to its people.

The Cuban government has agreed to it, but people still don’t attend the official ceremonies very often. Instead, they like to celebrate in their own homes – like Arrazcaeta’s home for example.

Hansing said that Santería is extremely strong and it lets each person use or practice it however they want.

It’s gaining popularity once again, but this time not just among poorer black communities like before.

Arrazcaeta, a white Cuban and someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, found comfort in religion when he was 12. He used to be a Christian but he said people there taught him that being gay was wrong.

“I never felt like I belonged to that religion,” Arrazcaeta said. “But Santeria doesn’t judge anyone for who they are, and that’s why I like it.”

When Arrazcaeta was a teenager, he tried to put cups of water around the house as prayer offerings to gods (“orishas”), but his mother refused this saying that there was no room for religion in their home.

Three years ago, Arrazcaeta decided to take a dangerous trip across South America – through the thick and scary jungles known as “The Darien Gap”.

When Arrazcaeta disappeared in the jungle for a whole week, his Mom had a change of heart and prayed out an offering.

Perdomo said that she begged with all her heart to hear from her son and luckily, shortly after, she got a call from him. Out of happiness, she decided to join the religion practiced by many Africans and African-descendants along with her kids. Hansing added that Santería has spread a lot over time, not just among people of African descent but also other races.

Santería means something different for everyone who practices it. Arrazcaeta and Perdomo, who work as an Uber driver in Cuba and Florida respectively, use Santería as a way to have spiritual experiences or seek good health. Going further, it connects them with people in the other country even when they’re so far apart. Perdomo says that today everyone is wearing white clothes.