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Published: February 27th 2021
Santeria Temple
Inconspicuous entrance - a surprise for usThis morning, Israel Bravo Vega, introduced us to the Afro-Cuban religion often known as
Santeria. In the large forecourt of his home was the local temple; all Santeria temples are in private homes. We were sitting on benches set up as for a congregation or audience. He said that people can come and go as they feel the need, although a number of activities are more organized, such as initiation, spiritual “check-ups”, and dances (soft energy). Music, particularly mamba, salsa and African rhythms, is considered as a form of meditation.
Santeria is a syncretic faith that fuses certain African faiths with Christianity. This temple is based on the
Yoruba faith and the
Orisas (loosely translated as gods). The adherents’ faith and practices are based on water, a symbol of both maternity and sailors. Different temples use different founding symbols, for example, earth instead of water. Also, some symbols are incorporated from the Jewish and Muslim faiths, such as genuflecting during prayer.
Israel told us that the origins of the Virgin of the Sailors are in Roman Catholic
Cádiz, Spain. Equality is expressed in that Mary is black and Jesus is white. All church members are equal: in Cuban Santeria
Templo Yemalla
Heaven and Hell there is no hierarchy. Faith is transmitted from generation to generation orally and through books.
Mary is the central figure to worshipers. Painted on the two walls behind the altar are arrows pointing up and down. Hell is identified as the oppression of men, or slavery; thus, it already exists on earth. After their earthly death, adherents expect to rise again in the flesh in Africa. On the wall, the uppermost symbol was an upward pointing arrow and long S, which represents the long, twisting road from Cuba to heaven/Africa. The sun and moon symbols indicate balance in the universe.
Official celebrations, such a marriage, death or burial, take place in the Catholic church. Afterwards, there are African celebrations. 70% of Cubans identify with the Afro-Cuban religion, and the same percentage with the Roman Catholic religion. Although in the post-revolution period all religions were discouraged, after the visit of Pope in 1998, religious faith in Cuba became a free choice. Now Santeria is the official state religion. Israel Bravo Vega has practiced Santeria for forty years, thirty years as an initiated member; he is authorized by the government to lead processions.
A short walk from the Santeria
Tall Drums
Enticing us to learn how to make music temple was a large, leafy courtyard. David López Garabito was waiting for us, drums and instruments ready for our percussion lesson. Each of us sat in front of a large African drum. With great enthusiasm and the help of his colleague, Arturo, he taught us to count. Whereas we counted 1 – 2 – 3 and start, Cuban music counts 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 and start. We made lots of mistakes! If someone’s mistake was ridiculous, he would swing his arm overhead to point and forcefully call, “No!”, in a deep voice. This was done with such good humour that during the rest of the trip we would call each other out, “No!”. Next, we learned to use a stick to stroke the güiro, a hollow gourd on which parallel grooves had been carved. The sound is characteristic of all salsa music. Then, we were given maracas and taught to shake them in a few different rhythms beyond the obvious 1 - 2, 1 – 2. Despite all the fun, the best part came when David and Arturo displayed the magic of passionate professional musicians making the drums sing. In a tribute to Calgary, David made the
sound horses of walking, trotting and galloping, climaxed by his exclaiming, “Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”. David has visited Calgary four times, for
Africadey and
Festival Latino, and of course he felt cold even in the summer.
">Watch my video of David's drumming.
Given some free time, I visited the Iglesia Mayor Santísima Trinidad on the main square. The intricately carved dark wood altars seemed to have originated when the church was built in 1892. The magnificent main altar stretched across the front wall and reached high to the ceiling. At least in the present time, the absence of gilding and painting really focuses attention on the statues of saints and Christ. Except for a raised pulpit, the rest of the sanctuary was quite plain, as are most churches are in Cuba.
I left the cool of the church for the heat of the streets, where stalls lined short alleys, selling mainly crocheted clothing and intricate drawn-thread tablecloths. For a few minutes I watched one woman making the pattern by wrapping threads around those that had been exposed (by pulling out the cross-wise threads). At least the bright sun provided good light for this highly-focused work. Regretfully, I did not actually want a drawn-thread tablecloth; I had hoped
for a crocheted one.
With some time left, I walked past the church again and on to the studio of Alex Cepeda, the painter I met last night. He warmly greeted me and invited me in to see his range of paintings. Leaning against one wall was an enormous painting of his wife, obviously done with love. Many of his paintings were in the recognizably Cuban style – full of motion, emphasized by black. Not my taste. He had about half-a-dozen paintings in the bold style of the one I bought, but none of them appealed to me – fortunately! Rashly, he offered to give me one, but I had what I wanted.
Our group re-convened on the main square and walked the cobbled streets (good ankle exercise) to a large restaurant on several balconies and floors of a private B&B. The home was immaculate and decorated with antiques and old-fashioned furniture. I ate their speciality – shrimps gently cooked in garlic and oil, served with white sweet potatoes. The portions were large! As usual, I drank Crystal beer.
The return to our all-inclusive hotel marked the beginning of our only beach time, less than three hours.
I quickly donned my swimsuit, collected my paraphernalia, and walked through the resort buildings to find a lounge chair under a palm tree. Out in the coolish water, I swam up and down and chatted a little with Carolyn and Stephen. Stretching out in the warm air and reading for a while was a luxury. Finishing with more swimming, I contentedly returned to my room to prepare for our sunset cruise.
A short drive away, we climbed aboard a catamaran. Daniel, our guide, could not go with us, because all Cubans are forbidden to go on boats, except those licensed for work on the sea. Daniel explained that this was to prevent hi-jacking by people wanting to flee to Florida.
We sailed between little islands and peninsulas, until the captain found the right spot. He poured us each a Cuba Libre, while we arranged ourselves to look west. As gradually the sky lost its light, the sun seemed ever more prominent. Red pinks made the horizon glow. We watched and snapped photos as the blazing orange sun dipped lower and lower until the last curve disappeared.
Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
Religion and music
Fascinating. I'd never heard of Santeria. The Roman Catholic church seems to have melded with many local faiths over the millenia. I loved the video of the drumming class and the drummers' performance. There's nothing like trying a little hands-on exercise to give you a real appreciation of what the virtuosos can do.