I first wondered why there was such a racket that I could hear it clearly from over a block away until I gradually realized that it was December 17th already, which is the day that half the country pays homage to St. The noise was an underground music genre called “Reparto”, the kind that human beings who still have a little good taste find torture, both to the ears and soul. I came to my senses and figured out that it was coming from a house that is quite a ways away. I was woken up by a noise on Saturday December 17th, at 1 AM. They know that nobody there is going to worship their saint, but on this day they imitate their enemies of faith, demonstrating an exemplary ecumenism. Lots of people only worship the Orisha from their Yoruba religion however, Catholic priests from the Rincon sanctuary, aren’t shocked by what would be considered idolatry from a Christian perspective. Many people bleed at the knees, dragging themselves across the ground or carrying heavy crosses for kilometers and kilometers to keep their word to a protector who apparently saved a loved one or granted an important wish. Over the years, this rejection grew until it turned into something so grotesque that I’ve never been able to understand how some people worship something that suggests hardship, death toll and deception.Įvery year, there are tens of thousands of people who travel from the most remote places in the country to the Rincon sanctuary on the outskirts of Havana to pay homage to this saint. Simple fun, although statues of the saint used to scare me. I could eat candy and run about freely with the other kids. Lazarus, used to take me to the vigils organized by the Martinez family, a rural family that is friends with my family, who used to celebrate this holy festival and pray for a promise.Īs a child, it was always a show. The COVID-19 pandemic has marked, and limited, the life of humanity, but in one way or another, the old man on crutches, Babalú Ayé, San Lázaro in general, receive this day in Cuba a heartfelt tribute, which forms part of the nation#39 s heritage.HAVANA TIMES – I remember when I was little that my beloved grandmother, a great follower of St. There is a centennial leprosarium, today the modern Guillermo Fernández Hernández-Baquero Dermatological Hospital, and next to it a church dedicated to San Lázaro Obispo, founded in 1916. That Saint Lazarus represents skin conditions (identified with leprosy), contagious diseases, especially venereal diseases, andĪfter that of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuban Patron Saint, the cult of this San Lázaro of the people is the most important on the island, with a pilgrimage of thousands, promise-payers and others who ask for favors, to the town of El Rincón, on the outskirts of Havana. The last one mentioned is the one that is most popularly worshiped in Cuba, syncretized with Babalú Ayé, oricha (deity) from Dahomey, in Africa, and worshiped in the Regla de Ocha, known as Santeria. In the Christian tradition there are two Saint Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, whom he resurrected, later Bishop of Marseilles and canonized by the Catholic Church, and a poor beggar represented as a long-haired and bearded old man who wears rags and uses a pair of crutches, with sore legs and surrounded by dogs. The devotion to San Lázaro / Babalú Ayé in Cuba, with a long and rich tradition, is one of the quintessential examples of the syncretism that sustains national culture based on African and Spanish roots.ĭecember 17 is a very special day on the Caribbean island, since more than a saint is venerated, a whole hope, waiting for specific miracles according to believers and, in general, for better times.
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