Cuba’s Fascinating Babalú-Ayé Procession Honors African and Catholic Traditions
On December 17, Cubans perform a ritual pilgrimage for a powerful deity that can bring good health or can take it away
On December 17, pilgrims flood the streets of the Cuban town of Rincón, home to a leprosarium and a church dedicated to St. Lazarus. (Alejandro Ernesto/epa/Corbis)
By Michael Atwood Mason
smithsonian.com
December 16, 2015
After more than 50 years of economic embargo and political brinksmanship, the announcement one year ago of the renewal of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States came as a surprise. Washington, D.C., had been awash in rumors that a change was in the offing, but almost no one guessed at the magnitude of this remarkable development in global geopolitics. For many, particularly Cuban exiles around the world, it was one of those unforgettable historic moments, like the first man on the Moon or the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Some called it a miracle, as it occurred on an auspicious day for Cubans.
“Isn’t it amazing that this occurred on December 17,” exclaimed Cuban-American anthropologist Ruth Behar in a piece she wrote for the Washington Post. “It’s a day of great significance to Cubans, when thousands of them make an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Rincón to mark the feast day of San Lázaro.”
Many of my Cuban friends and colleagues told me that this momentous event “had” to take place on this day. Since 1992, I have been visiting Cuba as an ethnographer and researcher of a unique Afro-Cuban tradition that honors both the Catholic St. Lazarus and the African-inspired Babalú-Ayé. (Yes, this is the same Babalú that performer Desi Arnaz sang to in “I Love Lucy.”)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/cubas-fascinating-december-holiday-honors-african-and-catholic-traditions-180957553/?no-ist
