Guest
When I was growing up in the 1950s Fidel Castro was seen by many as a hero. By the time I became a professional filmmaker and began to talk with Cubans who had moved to Miami, I heard from those who saw him as an evil dictator. In 1990 my team got a job from Turner Broadcasting, from Ted Turner himself, to make a Portrait of Cuba TV Special. We didn't know why he wanted us to make this but it gave us the chance to visit a place few had visited. We were mostly welcomed by the Cuban people we met. Although we we're told that we had free reign there were many places we were not taken and many scenes that were unavailable to film. But we left Cuba with more than 250 reels of 16mm film and audio and made a 2 hour special . This is a portion from that special. There are some scenes shown that had never been recorded before, like this religious practice.. This clip from the special shows Santeria, a syncretic religion that originated in Cuba among the Yoruba slaves from West Africa & integrated elements from Catholicism, indigenous traditions and other influences, resulting in a unique religious practice shown here. Slaves brought to the Caribbean by Spanish colonizers carried their religious beliefs with them. Over time as these slaves were forcibly converted to Catholicism, they began to associate their African deities (called “Orishas“) with Catholic saints in a process called syncretism. This allowed them to continue their traditional worship under the guise of Catholic veneration. At the core of Santería are the Orishas, deities that represent various natural and human qualities. For instance, Chango is the god of thunder, music, and dance; Yemayá is the goddess of the sea and motherhood; and Oshun is the goddess of rivers and love. Becoming a priest or priestess involves a rigorous initiation process. Initiates undergo a series of ceremonies and are often required to follow specific taboos or rituals as part of their religious journey. What my team saw included some very strange practices that some would find disturbing. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Santeria involves animals, such as chickens or goats that are sometimes sacrificed during rituals. The sacrifice is seen as a way to appease or feed the Orishas. The meat from a sacrificed animal is consumed by practitioners so they say that it is not a wasteful during certain rituals practitioners are “mounted“ or “possessed“ by an Orisha. The Catholic Church does not officially recognize or endorse Santería. From the Church's perspective overlaying saints with orishas undermines the true meaning and role of the saints. Also the practice of animal sacrifice goes against Catholic teachings. Also the idea of being possessed by spirits contrasts with Catholic teachings on possession. While Catholicism believes in possession by evil spirits (demons) requiring an exorcism to drive them out, Santería's view of possession is more about communion with orishas. So while the official stance of the Catholic Church is not in favor of Santería, many practitioners of Santería consider themselves Catholic and might attend Mass or participate in Catholic rituals. In regions where Santería is practiced, this has led to complex relationships between local Catholic authorities and Santería practitioners. Please. Support my efforts to continue to present clips like this from my archive by clicking the Super Thanks button below the video screen. You can also support me by becoming a patron at I thank you in advance for the consideration. David Hoffman filmmaker David Hoffman filmmaker
