Santería Provides Comfort and Answers for Cubans in Crisis

Santería, a fusion of African religions and Catholicism, is growing in popularity in Cuba amid economic, political, and migratory crises. The religion, which was born as a form of quiet resistance among the island’s black communities, has endured through decades of prohibitions and stigma by the communist government. Santería practitioners make offerings to orishas, or deities, in exchange for good health, strength during hardship, and even luck in love. The religion is expanding to new demographics and is now a multiracial religion in Cuba.