Cubans seek solutions and solace in Santería amid crises

(AP) From a tworoom concrete home on the fringesofCuba’scapital,the rumble of wooden drums spillsoutontothestreets.

Neighbors gather at the door and kids climb a fence topeerinside.

Theywatchasdozensof Cubans wearing white and African beads make offerings at a bright blue altarconsuminghalfaroom, asking for luck, protection andgoodhealth.

While nearly 70% of LatinAmerica’s670million people consider themselves Catholic, in Cuba, Santería isthenameofthegame

A fusion of African religions and Catholicism, Santería was one of the few religious practices to quietly endure through decades of prohibitions and stigma by the communist government.

Now, as that stigma gradually fades and the country enters a moment of compounding economic, political and migratory crises, the religion is growing in popularity and expanding to new demographics.

“Every day the religion growsalittlemore,”Mandy Arrazcaeta, 30, said among the throngs of people in his home dancing and making offerings at the altar to a plastic doll depicting the Yoruba deity Yemayá “Right now, Santería in the countryisasortofbastion.”

Santería was born as a form of quiet resistance among the island’s black communities The religion dates back centuries to when Spanish colonists brought in hundreds of thousandsofAfricanslaves

While the Spanish tried to force Catholicism on the slaves,theAfricansbrought their own religions, mostly from West Africa, which they would camouflage by attaching their deities — orishas—toCatholicsaints.

Cuba’s patron saint, Our Lady of Charity, for example, blended with the goldendeity,Oshun.

“Itwouldmixandmix through this Catholic virgin, they would speak to their African saints,” explained Roberto Zurbano, a Cuban cultural critic. “That’s how the religion was able to survive.”

“More innovation and initiative are being taken to make this activity more excitingforthevisitors,”the ministeradded.

Hundreds of persons were thrilled in the wee hours Sunday, by horseback riders, who were nothing shortofentertainers.

Membersoftheaudience were at the edge of their seats,whenthecowboysand cowgirls performed some fearsomebull-riding.(DPI)

One killed after motorcycle collides with bicycle

A29-year-old man is now dead after a motorcycle collided with a bicycle around 02:00hrs on Sunday morning, along the EnmoreAccessRoad,EastCoastDemerara (ECD).

Dead,isParishramSancharrieofHope, West Enmore, ECD. According to police, Sancharrie was the pillion rider on the motorcycle.

Trafficinvestigatorssaidthatthepedal cyclistidentifiedasImranBacchus,30,was riding his bicycle north along the western side of the road, when the motorcycle crashedintohim.

The driver of the motorbike, Deochan Dass, 28, Sancharrie, and the pedal cyclist all fell onto the road as a result of the impact.

An ambulance was summoned and the injuredvictimswererushedtoGeorgetown PublicHospitalformedicalattention. Sancharrie,however,succumbedtohis injuries around 7:35 hrs while receiving treatment. Dass and the pedal cyclist remaininaseriouscondition.

Investigationsareongoing.