Top Price Market
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Investing
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Investing
  • World

Top Price Market

World

Cubans crawl on rough roads to ask for good fortune

by December 19, 2024
December 19, 2024
Cubans crawl on rough roads to ask for good fortune

The pilgrims crawled forward, some barely inching along the rough ground with hands, knees and elbows rubbed raw.

The procession of St. Lazarus is one of the largest yearly religious processions in officially secular Cuba and also one of the most colorful.

To show their devotion, thousands of Cubans walk for miles barefoot to the small church known as El Rincón — the corner in Spanish — on the outskirts of Havana ahead of December 17, the day when the saint is celebrated.

“It was a tradition of my father’s and I have followed it for 27 years since he passed away. Lazarus grants me what I ask for,” said pilgrim Fernando Valdez, after walking without shoes for more than five hours on broken roads.

In the New Testament, Lazarus was resurrected four days after his death by Jesus and became the patron saint of the poor and the sick. Many of the Cubans asking a wish from the saint wear clothing made from rough cloth sacks to represent poverty.

Other adherents take their shows of devotion to the extreme, crawling on their stomachs or facing backwards or sometimes with cinder blocks tied to their feet to further slow them down.

Blood stains the pavement in places and medics with the Red Cross apply bandages on scraped knees and hands and pass out water to exhausted pilgrims.

Open displays of religious belief have slowly grown over the years in Cuba, which changed its constitution in 1992 to transition from an officially atheist state to a secular one. A groundbreaking visit by Pope John Paul II six years later further helped restore rights for people of faith.

Still, a heavy police presence surrounded El Rincón during the pilgrimage and officials strategically placed large posters of former Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro as well of the island’s current president Miguel Diaz-Canel outside the entrance to the church.

The complexity of Cuba was also on display as many of the pilgrims are believers in Santería, an offshoot of the Yoruba religion brought to Cuba more than 200 years ago by African slaves. Forced to convert to Catholicism, the slaves blended the two faiths into a syncretic religion that spread across the island and around the Caribbean.

Believers melded African deities like Babalú-Ayé, who both spread and healed sickness, with Catholic saints like Lazarus, who granted wishes for good health.

Already adept at surviving in the shadows and without central leadership, Santería in large part flourished after the crackdown on organized religion in Cuba following Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Santería’s growth has presented a dilemma to the Catholic Church in Cuba which does not recognize the religion but, faced with often empty pews at services, cannot afford to turn away its followers.

At an outdoor mass held at El Rincón, Catholic priests told Santerîa followers they were welcome at the ceremony but should not ask the priests to bless their beads and idols.

Some priests appeared to pretend to not notice as Santería followers blew cigar smoke onto statues of St. Lazarus, who is represented walking on crutches and wearing a sack cloth.

But the acceptance only goes so far.

Many of the pilgrims voiced concern at Cuba’s worsening economic situation and expressed a wistfulness for the change in policy towards the communist-run government announced by then-President Barack Obama exactly 10 years ago to the day.

Many followers of St. Lazarus saw the announcement on the same day celebrating their deity as fortuitous timing. As the two Cold War-era enemies restored diplomatic ties, Cuba experienced a tourism boom and the island’s beleaguered economic fortunes briefly lifted.

But during his first term, then-President Donald Trump, a critic of what he called Obama’s appeasement of Cuba, reversed much of that opening. Many Cubans say a second Trump term — combined with their own government’s resistance to make meaningful economic reforms — could spell the worst crisis in their lives.

In 2024, Cuba has suffered island-wide rolling blackouts that lasted more than a week, hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from the island and the social safety net once provided by the government all but evaporated.

But as he rested from his pilgrimage, Valdez said he was sure St. Lazarus would once again steer him through the tough times ahead.

“To live, human beings need a reason,” he said. “Something that gives them light and for me it’s my faith. If not, you die.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
DOGE Caucus leader Joni Ernst eyes relocation out of DC for third of federal workers
next post
Putin ducks question on retaking Kursk, insisting Russia making progress in Ukraine during year-end news conference

You may also like

Carli Lloyd: The 13-minute ‘out of this world’...

‘What the f**k to do with them?’ Russian...

Modi to visit Ukraine, weeks after Kyiv condemned...

Foreign-born residents in Japan sue government for alleged...

Netanyahu’s government votes to dismiss head of Israel’s...

Lowitja O’Donohue, trailblazer for indigenous Australian rights, dead...

‘This isn’t Russia, never was, and never will...

Most Israelis oppose the court overhaul. But a...

Body found in hunt for two British hikers...

Decades-old grenade kills two toddlers in rural Cambodia

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Latest

    • Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘none of our business’ as Trump offers US...

    • Trump pushes tax hikes for wealthy as ‘big, beautiful bill’ deadline looms

    • US and other allies of Ukraine pile pressure on Putin, threatening fresh sanctions if he refuses 30-day truce

    • OpenAI’s Sam Altman thanks Sen John Fetterman for ‘normalizing hoodies’

    • Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter dead at 85

    Categories

    • Business (1,632)
    • Investing (4,781)
    • Politics (7,552)
    • Uncategorized (2)
    • World (6,137)
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Disclaimer: toppricemarket.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 toppricemarket.com | All Rights Reserved


    Back To Top