Santeria is a mixture of the Yoruba African religion and elements of the Roman Catholic Church. Santeria originated with the African Slaves that were being brought over to the island of Cuba.(Bascom)Many of them practiced Yoruba, which is still popular today in Africa, and try to keep their culture intact during enslavement. One of the ways that the slaves went about this was to have the owners think that they were praying to Christian saints rather than their own Gods. (Wigington)This lead to the hybrid religion that is so popular today.
Because of this Santeria was an unground religion for much of its early history. It was looked down upon by the Spanish plantation owners. The reputation that Santeria had for a long time was a religion for poor uneducated people. But as the population of Cubans that practiced Santeria grew, and the impact the religion was having on the culture become more undeniable. Along with that, people of every race started practicing Santeria more as well. This really became the case after the revolution in 1959 caused a large number of Cubans to flee to America. The religion spread even more than becoming even more diverse. However, things were not so good for the religion in revolutionary Cuba. For the first 15 years, the government clamped down hard on Santeria. After seeing the amount of money that Santeria can generate though, the government again became more relaxed on its policies towards the religion. (BBC)
Santeria is still wildly practiced today and has mainstream acceptance with people in every level of society. It is now proudly displayed as part of Cuba’s own unique culture. Santeria has no central organization so it is hard to get an accurate number for how many people practice Santeria, but one estimate puts it as high as 100 million people practicing as of 2008. Many people today, including myself have learned about Santeria through Cuban American stand-up comedian Joey Diaz. Joey Diaz’s blue style comedy (comedy term for a comedian that has an explicit comedy style) is full of stories from his days growing up in New York. His stand-up bit for This is Not Happening Now on YouTube titled A Santeria Prediction currently has over three million views on YouTube. His dark comedy has been a gateway for many people to discover the wonderful world of Santeria and its many beliefs. (BBC)
Sources
Bascom, William R., and Search for more articles by this author. “The Focus of Cuban Santeria.” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/soutjanth.6.1.3628691?journalCode=soutjanth.
“Religion: Santeria.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/santeria/.
Wigington, Patti. “What Is the Santeria Religion?” Learn Religions, www.learnreligions.com/about-santeria-traditions-2562543.
