Journal of American Academy Religion - 2001-De La Torre-837-62

Miguel A.
De La Torre
The Cuban Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre/Ochiin has the potential to

inspire a theology of reconciliation for the Cuban community of Miami,
Florida, and La Habana, Cuba. To ignore Ochun disregards the religious
contribution to reconciliation that can be made by Cuba's most marginalized communities. Although La Virgen de la Candad/Ochun can
serve as a catalyst for reconciling the two Cubas, She also serves as a witness against the dominant white Cuban elite who reconstruct Her image
in a way that masks their own power and privilege.
1 GREW UP as a practitioner of Santeria in a home where both parents

were santero and santera. I was an hijo de Ellegua (child of Ellegua) destined to be initiated as a babalawo.1 Yet I went to Blessed Sacrament, a
Catholic elementary school in Queens, New York. I took my first communion, participated in weekly confession, and was confirmed at that
church. On nights, however, crowds would visit our apartment to consult the quasi deities known as the orishas. Because my parents were unable to communicate in English, I would serve as interpreter for those
"seekers" who did not speak Spanish. There was never any confusion in
my mind, my parents' minds, or those of their "house congregation" as
to the difference between what was done at the Irish church down the street
Miguel A De La Torre is Assistant Professor of Religion at Hope College, Holland, MI 49422-9000
I wish to thank Steve Bouma-Prediger, Luis D Le6n, and John Raines for their valuable feedback and suggestions on earlier versions of this article.
1
Babalawo is the "father of mystery," a high priest in Santeria, not to be confused with a santera/
o who serves as priest. The santera/o is consecrated to a specific onsha, becoming representative of
that specific divine force This reflects the era when the inhabitants of each Yoruba city-state served
as priests to a sole onsha, the one who protected that individual city
Journal of the American Academy of Religion December 2001, Vol. 69, No. 4, pp 837-861.
2001 The American Academy of Religion
Downloaded from http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Wales, Swansea on December 4, 2011
(N)Either the (M)Qtheir

of All Cubans (n)oir the
Bleached Virgin
838
Journal of the American Academy of Religion
and what was done in our apartment. My parents explained to me from

an early age that the rituals we participated in could not be revealed to los
curas y monjas (the priests and nuns) because they are "confused" about
how God works, and if they found out that we had el conocimiento (the
knowledge), I would be expelled from the school. When I asked what we
were, without hesitating, as if by rote, they would reply, "Somos cat6licos
romanos, y apost61icos, creemos a nuestra manera" [We are apostolic
Roman Catholics, we believe in our own way]. Those of us raised in this
spiritual environment survived our alienation in this country because of
the shared sacred space created by the tension existing between Christianity and Santeria. While there was no confusion among those practicing
Santeria concerning the difference between them and los curas y monjas,
still an ambiguous religiosity developed fusing the elements of these diverse traditions in order to resist what was perceived to be the danger of
assimilating into the dominant Euro-American ethos.
From this socioreligious location, reverence toward our virgensita
(little virgin) flourished. She became a sacred symbol of immense spiritual importance to most Cubans. Catholics know Her as La Virgen de la
Caridad del Cobre. In 1926 the Catholic Church, the dominant religion
in Cuba, officially recognized la virgensita as the patron saint of the island. Yet this same image is venerated by the practitioners of Santeria, the
repressed religion of Cuba, as Ochiin, brought to the island by African
slaves. Historically, these two diverse communities, separated by power
and privilege, were bound together by this religious space, constructed
for the whole Cuban community.
As "the Mother of all Cubans," this symbol has represented the potential of reconciliation for the Cuban people, an important task considering the present estrangement existing between the communities of La
Habana and Miami, Florida. As symbol, it remains layered by contradictory religious thoughts, normalizing intra-Cuban racial oppression. While
La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun can serve as a catalyst for reconciliation
among Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits, She also serves as a
witness against the dominant white Cuban elite, who re-create Her image
in order to mask their own dominant social position.
Because of racism Santeria has historically been alien to many white
Cubans; yet, paradoxically, it is part of, if not central to, the Cuban identity as a whole. As such, Cubans have yet to come to terms with this
African-based religion reformulated within the depths of their own culture. In Santeria there are rich resources for understanding Cubans that
provide a healing response to the rupture existing between the communities in Miami and La Habana. If this healing is to happen, Santeria cannot continue its colonial subordination to European Christianity or to the
De La Torre Ochun
839
CREATING A RELIGION OF RESISTANCE

"Sorcery and magic," according to Bourdieu, are the disqualifying
names imposed on the religions of those who are oppressed, while those
who do this naming use the legitimating term religion to refer to their own
brand of "sorcery and magic" (12). For white Cubans, Santeria is the "sorcery and magic" of Cuba's most marginalized communities, a religious
expression whose roots are African. In reality, four African religiouscultural structures live within the overall national Cuban culture: the palo
monte of Kongo origin; the regla Arard of Ewe-fon origin; the Abakud
Secret Society containing Ejagham, Efik, Efut, and other Calabar roots;
and the regla de Ocha of Yoruba. The latter, as Santeria, is the most popular among Cubans. Santeria, also known as the Lucumi religion, is the
product of a religious space created by those who were subordinated to
the arbitrary exercise of power imposed by Catholic Spaniards on their
African slaves. Specifically, Santeria's components consist of a European
Christianity shaped by the Counter-Reformation and Spanish "folk" Catholicism blended together with African orisha worship as practiced by
the Yoruba of Nigeria and as modified by nineteenth-century Kardecan
spiritualism, which originated in France and was later popularized in the
Caribbean.
Santeria recognizes the existence of a supreme God. Olodumare, the
supreme being, is a transcendent world force or "current" known as ashe.
This sacred energy becomes the power, grace, blood, and life force of all
reality, embracing mystery, secret power, and divinity. Ashe is absolute,
illimitable, pure power, nondefinite and nondefinable. It is what has been
called a nonanthropomorphic form of theism (Verger: 36-39). Orishas,
on the other hand, are quasi deities serving as protectors and guides for
every human being, regardless of the individual's acknowledgment. They
were the first to walk the earth, and from them all humans are descended.
Hence, the orishas are the first ancestors. Created by the supreme God,
African Yoruba faith: It is a distinct reality with an equal voice in any dialogue for reconciliation. This article will attempt to explore this possibility by first briefly discussing the emergence of Santeria, specifically the
central and oppositional role it plays in creating Cuban ethnic identity.
Next, I will discuss how La Virgen occupies a religious-social space that
reveals Her potential for intra-Cuban reconciliation, even though that
space is often constructed to mask the power and privilege of the dominant white Cuban elite. Finally, I examine how La Virgen de la Caridad/
Ochun opens a shared cultural space and a liberative mandate for intraCuban reconciliation.
840
Olodumare, they are the specific parts, forces, or manifestations within

Olodumare. They govern certain parts of the universe, for Olodumare is
an absentee ruler. Because the universe is so vast, Olodumare has no time
to become directly involved in the affairs of humans. Consequently, when
an animal is sacrificed to the orisha Babalu-Aye (who governs the sphere
of illness), the practitioner is worshiping the part of Olodumare exemplified in this particular orisha. Olodumare created the orishas to allow
the divine will to be manifested to humanity via nature. Although the
Yoruba system lists over 1,700 orishas, only a few became renowned within
Cuban culture. In some instances, when the entire population of a vanquished African village was brought to Cuba, it ended the worship of a
particular orisha in Africa while installing a new one with a large Cuban
following.
The elaborate belief system of the Yoruba became part of the Cuban
experience when colonial Cuba began to import enslaved Africans to develop the urban centers and work the mines and sugar estates. These Africans were noble patricians and priests who had been disloyal to the ascendancy of new rulers, specifically in the kingdoms of Benin and Dahomey
and the city-states of Yoruba. The vicissitudes of monarchic power struggles
resulted in those opposing the new hegemony becoming enslaved and
expatriated. Captives of war were routinely enslaved, but slavery was also
imposed as a debt payment for a period of time or as judicial decision for
committing a legal infraction (Brandon: 19). Tragically torn from their
ordered religious life, Africans were compelled to adjust their belief system to the immediate challenges presented by colonial Cuba. This transition created a new space for Santeria, where the Yoruba ethos survived
by manifesting itself through Spanish Catholicism.
Santeria is legally recognized as a legitimate religion in the United
States. On 11 June 1992 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the practitioners of Santeria had a constitutional right to sacrifice animals in connection with their rituals. Although it is impossible to document the exact number of orisha worshipers, scholars estimate that about five million
in the United States are identified with the religion of Santeria (GonzalezWippler 1989: 9). And while there are no official numbers, it is believed
that on the island there are more than 4,000 resident Cuban babalawos,
in contrast to about 250 Roman Catholic priests. According to a study
done by the Catholic Church of Cuba in 1954, one out of every four Catholics occasionally consulted a santera/o (Agrupaci6n Cat61ica Universitaria:
37). Even when Cubans reject Santeria and insist on their Christian orthodoxy, they still observe the adage, "Tenemos que respetar los Santos"
[We have to respect the Saints]. Clearly, Santeria can be classified as Cuba's
"popular religion" and, as such, cannot be ignored.
De La Torre: Ochun
841
When defining popular religion, Orlando Espin rejects the term popular as referring to popularity, indicated by the widespread practice of a
religion. Instead, he focuses on its sociohistorical reality. The religion
is "popular" because the disenfranchised are responsible for its creation,
making it a religion of the marginalized. The emphasis is on el pueblo as
opposed to the elites. Popular religion becomes the expression of the
popular classes' creativity rather than the "true" Christianity of the "official" Church (Espin: 65-67). Santeria, then, can be classified as a "popular religion" because it is both widespread and a product of Cuba's most
marginalized community.
Throughout Cuba's history santera/os faced religious persecution.
Official Christianity portrayed the Afro-Cuban religions as the principal
cause for Cuba's problems, according to post-1886 studies. Slavery was a
curse, not because of its maltreatment of Africans but because it contaminated whites with the barbarism of Ham's descendants. Prostitution, laziness, superstition, and criminality were said to have originated with
Cuba's blacks. Cuban whites legitimated their religious practices by labeling Christianity a religion while disqualifying the black Other's beliefs
as syncretistic and superstitious, if not demonic. Fanon says it tellingly:
"Sin is Negro as virtue is white" (139).
While Santeria is seen as an authentic search on the part of the believer to grasp the reality of God, the Catholic priests' role is to correct
the santera/o so that she or he can enter the official faith of the Church.
Others voice harsher criticism, claiming that Santeria adulterates the true
(mostly white) form of Catholicism. For Evangelicals, specifically Pentecostals, Santeria is a Satanic cult. For exilic Cubans, especially those who
are upwardly mobile and are attempting to assimilate into Euro-American
culture, Santeria is a source of embarrassment, appearing both backward
and primitive. Similarly, a movement known as "Yoruba Reversionism"
exists among African Americans who attempt to extract Spanish Catholicism from Santeria (Edwards and Mason: v). While such an undertaking
may help elucidate Santeria's genesis, it hinders understanding it as a
present-day transcultural phenomenon. As a genuinely Cuban religion
rooted in the violent contact of separate religious faiths, it contributes to
a Cuban worldview on its own terms. As its own defined conceptual,
physical, and sacred space, the veracity of Santeria cannot be comprehended or communicated through ideological paradigms but must be
recognized as a unitary phenomenon bound to cultural life through its
historical development.
But such truths have been obscured by white Cuban Christians who
often portray Santeria as the dialectical product of the Yoruba's belief
system and Iberian Roman Catholicism, in which a "confused" and idio-
842
2
"Anonymous Christianity," according to Karl Rahner, understands non-Christian religions not
as a self-willed decision to avoid accepting the "true" faith from God but as the revelation of God
at work in all non-Christian religions. All religions contain God's grace, a gratuitous gift on account of Christ. Ergo, a non-Christian religion should be recognized as a lawful religion without
denying the error or depravity that it may contain (Rahner. 119-123)
syncratic merging of the saints with the orishas has occurred. The official
Cuban Church places itself above the Other's religion through rhetoric
designed to reduce Santeria to a sphere of ignorance and impurity. Power
is exercised in the way the subject "sees" the object. We (read: white Catholic subjects) operate from doctrinal knowledge; they (read: objects) are
confused. Our beliefs are pure; theirs are impure. Our task, as subjects, is
to correct their confusion. Seeing the Other as "confused" relegates Santeria
to an inferior social position while elevating Catholicism to an authoritative location from which paternal correction can originate.
Yet the santera/o Other is not "confused" in her or his beliefs. I agree
with Pichardo, the santero whose church led to the 1992 U.S. Supreme
Court decision, when he states that Santeria is not the product of confused imagery. Distinctions between the santera/o's religion and Catholicism have always been recognized (Pichardo: 14). Practitioners understood the need for placing Spanish masks over the black faces of the orishas
so as to defend themselves from religious repression. This is possible because of the ecumenical nature of ashe. Everything that exists contains ashe,
thus creating a universality of the Yoruba faith allowing the orishas to
manifest themselves in other religions, a type of "anonymous Santeria"
like Karl Rahner's anonymous Christianity.2 Santeria's internal structure
allows for the incorporation and assimilation of new deities. According
to Pichardo, when a "seeker" is unable to comprehend a concept because
she or he lacks a Catholic background, the santera/o may substitute for a
saint a compatible icon of the seeker's own religious tradition (22). For
example, if the "seeker" were Roman Catholic, the creator of the world,
Obatala, could cross-dress as the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God (Our
Lady of Mercy), and the war onsha, Oggiin, could cross-dress as St. Peter.
However, if the "seeker" were Hindu, then Obatala could easily cross-dress
as Brahma, the creator, and Oggun, as Shiva the destroyer. According to
santera/os the seeker is enlightened by a newer and deeper understanding
of the original faith and a knowledge of how to manipulate its spiritual
power.
Throughout Cuba's history Santeria was linked in the minds of the
white elite to antisocial behavior and was thus persecuted. During 1919
(seven years after the 1912 race massacres) a brujo (witch doctor) craze
De La Torre: Ochun
843
After the war for independence an attempt was made by the Cuban African community to participate in the creation of a new society. By 1910 black mambises (Cubans who fought for independence) were mobilizing to petition the government for their rights through the creation of El Partido
Independiente de Color (the Independent Party of Color). El Partido served as the political vehicle
to force the government to consider seriously its rhetoric of racial equality and provide equal opportunities in power, employment, and services El Partido did not advocate black separatism; rather,
it called for integration, specifically the elimination of racial discrimination and equal access to
government jobs. The Cuban government responded by outlawing El Partido. Blacks openly protested in 1912, immediately leading the power structures to label the protest the beginning of a "race
war" between "white civilization" and "black barbarism." The 1912 "race war" is generally ignored
in the official remembering called Cuban history Thousands of black Cubans, mostly unarmed,
were deliberately butchered by white Cubans, mostly for "resisting arrest" (a Latin American euphemism for the assassination of captured prisoners). Yet no trace of the rumored uprising could
be found, no cache of arms was ever discovered, no demonstration occurred outside the province
of Onente, no white woman was ever raped or cannibalized (contrary to newspaper accounts), and
no destruction of valuable property occurred Even so, thousands of white Cuban volunteers were
given arms and paid by the government to rove across the nation putting down the revolt in any
way possible (Helg. 177-215)
swept the island.3 Mass lynchings occurred fueled by rumors of santera/

os kidnapping white children in order to use their blood and entrails in
religious practices. These reports began to circulate after a white girl was
found dead, presumably cannibalized by brujos. White mobs descended
on blacks with "righteous indignation." One newspaper, El Dia, praised
the lynchings, commending their violence as a "step forward that we take
toward civilization." Middle- and upper-class blacks abandoned Santeria
and internalized the myth that racism did not exist in Cuba, while disassociating themselves from the lower-class masses in order to assimilate
into the white mainstream.
Fernando Ortiz, the famed Cuban sociologist, conducted ethnographic research under the rubric of racial theorizing and attempted to
prove the moral inferiority of blacks to whites during the early decades
of the twentieth century. The assumption of blacks' malefaction is evident in the title of his book, which primarily deals with criminality by
focusing on Santeria, complete with police mug shots: Los negros brujos:
Apuntespara un estudio de etnologia criminalThe Black Witches: Notes
for a Study on Criminal Ethnology. Ortiz insists that African immorality
was "in the mass of the blood of black Africans," a contamination affecting lower-class whites. The fetishism of Santeria had to be eliminated;
hence he suggests the lifelong isolation of its leaders. The movement
away from "African fetishism" (and its white form, i.e., palm reading
and spiritualism) and toward scientific reasoning could be accomplished
by providing a solid scientific education for all blacks and also for lowincome whites. Expressions of African culture (i.e., African festival
844
dances) had to be heavily policed to prevent inciting lust, encouraging

immorality, and encouraging the (stereotyped) "black rapist." As a congressman during the 1919 brujo craze, Ortiz proposed legislation outlawing superstitious practices deemed antisocial.
Until 1940 Santeria was a punishable crime in Cuba and a source of
ridicule by the general populace. Persecutions resumed in 1962. Degraded
as "folklore" rather than religion, Santeria became subject to a growing
number of restrictions, including bans against practicing the rituals or
participating in the festivals. In the mid-1960s santera/os were arrested,
imprisoned, and in at least one case executed. Authorization from the
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (an adjunct of the State
Police) was needed to celebrate any ceremony, even though such authorization was routinely denied. Lack of official authorization for worship resulted in arrest. Catholics needed no such authorization. The final declaration of the first National Congress on Education and Culture in 1971 stated
that juvenile delinquency was partially caused by "religious sects, especially
of African origin" (Moore: 100-102). It is reminiscent of the days when Cuban anthropologist Ortiz stressed the "criminality" embedded in Santeria.
During the 1980s persecutions began to soften. An increased interest
in Santeria developed because of the numbers of black Cuban soldiers
returning from Angola and because of the 1985 publication of Castro's
bestseller Fidel y la religidn (Fidel and Religion). Added to this was the
1987 visit by his Majesty Alaiyeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II,
the Ooni of Ife. The Ooni is the spiritual authority of the Yoruba of Nigeria and all who worship the orishas in the Americas. The Castro regime
found value in the folklore of Santeria. Santeria as the bizarre and dangerous cultural Other was domesticated and commodified to produce
tourist dollars. Hence, the government initiated an unprecedented campaign to court the practitioners of Santeria, and by 1990 the Religious
Affairs Department provided economic and political support to statefriendly santera/os.
The development of Santeria on Cuban soil has made it an intrinsic
expression of Cuban culture. Cuban ethos cannot be complete without
an understanding of the formidable social force of this religion. Santeria
is an active ingredient in the Cuban ethos that cannot be relegated to an
alien element in need of Christianization and sycreticization in order to
"whiten" its African foundation. The contribution of Santeria is in no way
subordinate to European Christianity or the African Yoruba faith. It is a
separate reality with the right to an equal voice in any Cuban dialogue.
Intra-Cuban reconciliation should be based not solely on Christian principles but also on duty to the orishas in maintaining harmony with the
environment.
De La Torre: Ochun
845
* The bembe is a drum and dance festival performed in honor of the orishas. Santeria, as a dance
religion, uses percussion rhythms to invite the ortshas to manifest themselves by "mounting" or
possessing the participants who are dancing to the beat according to a choreographed tradition.
Santeria cannot be understood by solely examining its tenets, rituals,

or beliefs. Unlike many western religions, Santeria is an amorphous, practical, and oral tradition that promises wisdom and power in dealing with
life's hardships. The focus is not on understanding the sacred forces, like
the orishas. Rather, it is concerned with how these universal forces can be
used for the betterment of humans. As a distinctive and definitive Cuban
way of being and living, Santeria is an indigenous symbol of cultural resistance. If we attempt to explain Santeria theologically, we reduce the
religion to a "worldview" rather than a way of survivalsurvival by way
of resistance to a dominant culture bent on destroying its indigenous
African presence.
But, as Foucault argues, where there is power, there is resistance (95).
Every oppressed group creates from its sociological location what James
Scott terms a "hidden transcript," representing a collective critique of
power. These "hidden transcripts" are usually expressed openly, though
disguised so that the oppressors are kept in the dark (Scott: 51). In this
way Santeria meets the psychological need of naming and addressing
power from within a relatively powerless milieu. While the practitioner
is impotent, his or her orishas possess the power to protect the marginalized and also to humble the powerful. Santeria is essentially a resistance
religion whose rituals critique the dominant power structures. For example, a white decapitated dove found on the front steps of the "Christian" slaveholder serves as a sign of forthcoming disaster. The master
might, in turn, change his previous treatment of the slaves to elicit a reversal of the "spell." The powerful were in effect given a warning that their
behaviors and attitudes toward those they oppressed were more grievous
than could be tolerated.
Another example of resistance can be found in the bembe, or trancestate dance, in which the participant is mounted by the orisha.4 This form
of spiritual possession creates a sacred space where one is given opportunity to express one's hostility toward the oppressors. Under normal conditions such outbursts would not be tolerated. Yet the voiceless can openly
protest their existential locations by creating a "hidden transcript" of expression within the safe outlet of the possession. The protest comes not
from the subordinate individual but, under the cloak of possession, from
the powerful orisha.
As a catalyst for resistance Santeria has always played a role in the
political development of Cuba. In summer 1958 Fulgencio Batista, Cuba's
846
Ebbos are incantations conducted through an offered sacrifice to an onsha.

Pataki is the story concerning the origins and interrelationships of the orishas, as well as the
role they play in determining the destiny of humanity
7
Several of Obatala's caminos (paths, ways, avatars) cross-dress as Christ. These caminos represent the multiplicity of meanings coexisting within human life that are ruled by an onsha.
6
dictator, spent thousands of dollars to convene a meeting of santera/os

throughout the island to summon the onshas to aid him against the forces
of Castro's revolution (Thomas: 1122). For many Cubans, the battle between Batista and Castro was as much a spiritual war as a physical one,
and Castro won because of the ebbos done on his behalf.5 Ebbos done by
the vulnerable disenfranchised became a "safe" alternative to challenging
the dictatorship of Batista, allowing them to participate safely in the triumph of Castro.
Castro's revolution symbolically tied itself to Santeria. The revolutionary guerrillas were based in Oriente, the colonial haven for runaway slaves
and a stronghold for African religions. Many of the guerrillas, upon entering La Habana, wore elekes and waved the red-and-black flag of the 26 July
Movement. These colors are significant because they belong to Ellegua, the
trickster, who determines destiny and fate. Ellegua is also considered first
among the trio of holy warriors (Oggiin and Ochosi being the other two).
As these colors triumphantly arrived in La Habana, spectators familiar with
Santeria saw Ellegua (the appropriate symbol for what was to be a selfespoused guerrilla society) enter the city, ready to provide protection to
Cuba and her people. Crucial was the date of the rebel's entry into La
Habana1 January, Nino de Atocha's day, the holiest day of the orishas
when the course of history is set for the rest of the year.
The most often cited evidence of Castro's "designation" by the orishas
occurred on 8 January 1959 during his first national speech from Camp
Columbia. While he pleaded for unity and peace, a white dove landed on
his shoulder. In addition to being a Catholic symbol for the Holy Spirit, the
white dove is also the Santeria symbol of Obatala, the son of Olodumare.
One pataki states that during a physical battle between the brothers Chang6
and Oggiin, Obatala appeared on the scene.6 Suddenly a white dove hovered over the combatants, bringing an end (however temporary) to the
brother's feuding. Castro symbolically occupied this ambiguous religious
space. For Christians, he assumed the role of the Son of God, the Prince of
Peace (Mat. 3:16-17). For santera/os, he appeared as Obatala, the divine
provider of peace.7 Even Cuba's oldest daily newspaper, the conservative
Diario de la Manna, referred to the incident as an "act of Providence."
A more recent example of how Santeria has had an impact on the
Cuban communities is the story of Elian, the boy found off the coast of
Florida surrounded by dolphins, on Thanksgiving Day, 1999. One of the
De La Torre. Ochiin
847
THE CUBAN (M)OTHER

Within this religion of resistance and survival there exist the seeds for
reconciliation through the orisha Ochiin, known to Catholics as La Virgen
de la Caridad del Cobre. La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun is among the great
signifiers of Cuban identity. We discover that there exist many caminos
(paths) to Her because as Ochun She represents different realms of human
life. Rather than a one-dimensional entity, Ochun, the youngest of all the
orishas, has multiple meanings adaptable to the changing social milieu.
As Ochun Yeye Mor6, She signifies the sensuous saint, knowledgeable in
the art of lovemaking, akin to the Greeks' Aphrodite or the Romans' Venus (see figure 1). She is the goddess of love capable of bringing union
between two people. As Ochiin Kole" Kol, She signifies the saint of poverty, the owner of one faded yellow dress who only eats what the vulture
brings to Her door. She represents and defends the suffering of all women
at the hands of abusive men. She epitomizes both joviality and seriousness. She signifies frolicking, enjoying nightlong dancing and parties, as
8
9
See Laughhn.
See Travierso and Cotayo
side stories that emerged during the Elian saga centered on a note that
Lazaro Gonzalez, the boy's great-uncle and Miami guardian, wrote to
Elian's grandmothers. He entrusted the note to Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin,
host to the boy's grandmothers in late January 2000 during their trip to
the United States. Sister O'Laughlin forgot to pass the note on, finding it
in her pocket days later. The note was a warning to the grandmothers that
Castro wanted the child so that he could make a Santeria sacrifice of Elian.
This concern is based on the most repeated rumor on the streets of Miami,
that Castro was forewarned of a child saved by dolphins in the sea who
will overthrow his regime. Castro had to acquire the boy to prevent the
fulfillment of this prophecy. Elian (Jesus) was being sought by Castro
(Herod), who wanted to kill the messiah who threatens his rule. Even
Miami's Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Roman was quick to make the comparison between Castro and Herod after reading the Scriptures about
Herod wanting Jesus killed to preserve his reign.8 According to resident
and exilic Cuban practitioners of Santeria, Castro participates in this AfroCuban religion, even traveling to Africa to be initiated into its mysteries.
But according to the annual oracles, Castro offended Eleggua, the first and
most powerful orisha. Eleggua is depicted as a child, and some see Elian
as the child that Eleggua has destined to overthrow Castro. Hence, Castro's
obsession in having Elian returned.9
jaar.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Wales, Swansea on December 4, 2011
De La Torre: Ochun
849
well as domesticity, sewing, and keeping house. Like life, She represents
different aspects.
She becomes a sacred space providing metaphorical value within which
Miami and La Habana can attempt to reconcile into one cubanidad (Cuban
community). There is a pataki that recounts the plight of Oggun, who
became weary of the folly and bloodshed of humanity and chose to live as
a hermit in the forest. All the other orishas failed to bring him out of the
forest, yet Ochiin succeeded through the power of love, represented as
Ochun's oni (honey). She embodies the civilizing force of humanity. Both
exilic and resident Cubans have followed Oggun, who protects those who
work with iron (the militia). But the two Cubas have chosen to live in
separate forests. Maybe it is time for Ochiin to lead them out of their isolation and to seek reconciliation.
As a Catholic saint, She also signifies hope for the Cuban people. Several conflicting stories of La Virgen de la Caridad exist. According to the
traditional Catholic version, around 1610 two Taino Native American
brothers, Juan and Rodrigo de Hoyos, along with a ten-year-old black slave
boy named Juan Moreno (whose last name means "person of color") went
rowing on Nipe Bay in search of salt. Nipe Bay is not far from the copper
mines of Cobre on the northwestern tip of the island. At about 5:30 in the
morning, while rowing their canoe, they came upon a carved statue of the
Virgin Mary floating on a piece of wood. Miraculously, the statue was dry.
At its feet was inscribed "I am the Virgin of Charity." She was, in effect, la
primera balsera (the first rafter) to be rescued.
During the time of the apparition there were approximately 20,000
inhabitants on the island of Cuba. This was a population in flux, composed of Spaniards, Amerindians, and Africans. The decimation of the
Amerindians had reduced that group to less than 2,000 individuals, while
the African population, at 5,000, was increasing because of the expansion
of the slave trade. The Spaniards, constituting the rest of the population
(about 13,000), came to Cuba in search of fortune and glory, many only
stopping over on their way to more exploitable lands on the continent,
specifically Mexico (Perez: 4547). European women made up less than
10 percent of the population, an imbalance persisting throughout the
seventeenth century. This skewed European male-female ratio led to the
rape of the indigenous and slave populations by Spaniards, giving birth
to the Cuban ethos.
Cobre was a mining town where innumerable Amerindians died tunneling for copper. African slaves were beginning to replace them as they
approached extinction. While two peoples of the Cuban ethos suffered grave
oppression, La Virgen de la Caridad appeared to the "least" of Cuban society. Her apparition accomplished two tasks. First, She symbolized the birth
850
of Cuban identity, the birth of cubanidad. Cuba's patron saint ceased being
a European white figure. Instead, the Divine appeared in the form of a
bronze-colored woman, a color symbolizing death (the color of the mined
copper responsible for the death of Amerindians and Africans) as well as
life (the color of the Cuban new race). Second, to the oppressed She gave
dignity. Rather than appearing to the white Spaniard religious leaders, She
identified with the economic and racial outcasts, appearing in the color of
oppressed Cubans. A biracial virgen severs the bond between inferiority and
nonwhiteness, for the Divine is represented as colored. Her presence allowed
the two Juans and Rodrigo and, with them, all Cubans to become companeros
(companions) with the Divine. Not surprisingly, la virgen's earliest devotees were the slaves working in the copper mines. For a time, the statue was
housed in a slave hospital adjacent to the shrine at Cobre. Also, it was in
Cobre where slaves were first emancipated.
Yet a close examination of popular modern icons of la virgen reveals
a white blond-haired virgensita. Also, one of the Amerindians has been
replaced with a balding, bearded, and white-haired Spaniard. (See figure
2.) One of the Amerindian brothers, Rodrigo, was transfigured into a white
Spaniard named Juan, creating los tres Juanes (the three Johns)one
white, one black, and one Amerindian. It is unlikely that a white Spaniard would have accompanied slaves on such an arduous and demeaning
journey. He probably would have been too busy increasing his wealth
through managing the mines. This bearded patriarchal figure rewrites
itself into tradition, inserting and incorporating the oppressor into the
drama and presenting him as an equal, thus masking the power relation
existing at this time.
During the nineteenth-century wars for independence Mary became
a crucial symbol. Latin American leaders credit her as an effective weapon
in their struggle for autonomy. She became the protector of numerous
independence movements. The wars for Cuban independence were no
different. These struggles elevated la virgen's prominence among all Cubans. Freedom fighters wore images of la virgen on their clothes, while
their families sought protection for them by making promesas (vows). For
her intervention in Cuba's struggle for independence, veterans petitioned
the pope officially to declare her the Patron of Cuba. On 10 May 1926,
Pope Benedict XV honored their request.
Nevertheless, exilic Cubans, who are tragically separated from the land
of their birth because of the 1959 Castro revolution, felt that they lost their
virgensita, who has always been tied to Cuban soil. In 1973, in order to
rectify this separation, exilic Cubans built on Biscayne Bay in Miami a tentlike shrine for La Virgen de la Caridad to serve as both a political and a
sacred space (see figures 3 and 4). She faces the ocean, a beacon for those
Fig. 2. This representation of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre is common among the
exilic Cuban community. The depiction reveals a "whitened" \'irgin and child with blond
hair, contrary to their original darker repretentation. Similarly, one of the original
Amerindian rowers is bleached and given Spaniard features. This particular illustration
appeared o n a Christmas card produced hv Gibson Greetings, Inc., for the exilic
communit\'s consumption and was immediately hung on my parents' home altar.
Fig. 4. A picture of the statute of La \'irccn de la Caridad u w i hy the i h r i n e t o O u r Lady

o f Charity. Religion a n d politics rncryc in ernhossing the C u b a n national seal o n the
Virqin's tvhite gown. ;\lw o f intcrect i \ the white Chri5t horn t o a
r v l i l n t r ~L'irgin.
854
10
Stones known as otanes are the primary talismans or fetishes of any santera/o. The essence of
the onshas is located within otanes Without these consecrated stones the santera/o's powers would
be impotent. The stone is not what is worshiped; rather, the "anima" within it is sacred. The ashe
gives the substance of the stone its life and power. Scattered among ordinary stones in the forest
are those resounding with the resonating ashe of the onsha. The devotee must "listen" carefully in
order to find the stones that are "alive " The onsha is fed the blood of the sacrificial victim when it
is poured on the otanes. These otanes are so important that when the Yoruba were deported to Cuba,
some would swallow otanes to ensure the orisha presence at their new destination. While on the
one hand the Catholic Church repudiates Ochun worshipers for venerating the orisha at the shrine,
santera/os cannot miss the obvious symbols of yellow colored stones (yellow is the color of Ochiin)
encircling the shrine's left exterior in Miami However, during my recent trip to the shrine, in
November 1998, the stones had been removed.
who cross over to the United States. According to a pamphlet entitled "Our
Lady of Charity Shrine," which is distributed there, "[The shrine] is situated with its back toward Cuba so that prayers may be offered by the faithful looking toward Cuba." Besides praying to Cuba, Saturday evening
masses are broadcast to the island on Sundays via Radio Marti. Along the
left exterior of the shrine appears the Cuban flag within a flowerbed, constructed of blue, red, and white stones.10 Upon this sacred ground exilic
Cubans construct the image of a nation while living in a foreign land.
This substitute shrine, interwoven with Cuban patriotism, is illustrated
by the mural behind the altar and icon. This impressive mural, painted
by exilic Cuban Teok Carrasco, merges religious and patriotic emotions.
The mural, entitled "The History of Cuba in a Glance," retells the history
of Cuba beginning with Columbus (hence history begins with European
penetration) and ending with the exile (hence ignoring the events that have
taken place on the island since the exilic Cubans' departure). Besides ignoring the Other (Amerindians and resident Cubans), it also ignores the
effects of Spanish colonialism and U.S. imperialism (the Statue of Liberty appears as a symbol of hope). The image of la virgen occupies the
central position as Cuban history swirls around. Jose Marti (father of
Cuban independence) also occupies a prominent spot (directly to la virgeris
right), ensuring the bond between nationalism and the sacred. Forgotten
are Marti's sharp critiques of the Catholic Church. His re-creation as a
child of the Church is crucial in the construction of la Cuba de ayer (the
Cuba of yesterday) myth (see figure 5). This mural provides a vision of
nationhood that can only be realized with the return of the exiles to the
island. Standing in the shrine, one can simultaneously occupy space in
both la Cuba de ayer and the Miami of today. This illusion, created by the
physical presence of the Cuban shrine of Cobre reproduced on U.S. soil,
provides the exilic Cuban with the temporary and illusory luxury of avoiding the reality of exilic status.
Fig. 5. Behind the shrine's nltnr is evilic C u h a n Teok Cnrracco's mural entitled "The
H ~ s t o n n Cuha
f
in a Glance." (:uhan hizton,s\vills around In t,ir<qcrititn.Ahzent frnm the
h i r t o n are the lecpcieq of Spaniqh snlonialicm and S n r t h Americnn imperialism. History endz \\-ith ;I depiction oievilic Cubans attemptins to reach the shores o f the United
States. O n e c o u n t n m a n lies clcad from the i o u r n e \ toward freedom.
856
11
In one patab Yemayd is presented as Ochiin's older sister. In another patah Yemayi is presented as Ochiin's mother. Both patahs present YemayS as the maternal ortsha of the oceans
The shrine not only reflects the sacred, it comes into being in a sacred
manner. For example, on 8 September 1961, on Her feast day, a statue of la
virgen left the pedestal of Her parish church in Guanabo Beach in La Habana
for Miami. This statute, a replica of the one in Cobre, was smuggled in a
suitcase to an awaiting crowd of over 25,000 Cubans congregated at a baseball stadium. La virgensita also becomes an exilic CubanfleeingCastro's rule.
Additionally, under the altar is a molded stone composed of the soil of all
Cuba's provinces and the ocean water retrieved from a raft that sailed to
the United States, a voyage that claimed fifteen lives. The six columns
sustaining the mantle and the six-sided, golden, cone-shaped roof represent the six Cuban provinces. The priest's chair was made from a Cuban
palm. For older Cubans, this shrine constructs and glorifies a unified and
Utopian Cuba that never was and can never be. Yet somehow, by simply
worshiping in this space, one can be transported to that mythical place
and time. For those who arrived as infants or children, and who are now
busy paying mortgages and climbing career ladders, the shrine is a physical representation of the dreams of their parents, dreams to which they
feel a strong yet fading loyalty. The shrine provides a space where they
can safely display this sense of loyalty without having to commit any required praxis to make those dreams a reality. For their children, born and
raised in the United States, the shrine confirms that their parents' dreams
of the island amount to little more than a fantasy, a relic having little or
no influence on the actions of the present.
The presence of Cuba's patroness in the Miami shrine indicates that
She too came from Cuba as an exile, just as in the Bible the Divine left the
rightful habitation of the "defiled" Jerusalem to reappear before the exiled
Ezekiel. Glory lives in el exilio, with humiliated and abandoned people.
From exile God begins a new history. This is not the first time She has
been manifested as a wandering symbol of Her people. As Ochiin, She
journeyed from Africa when Her African children were forced by slave
traders to go to Cuba. She consulted Yemaya, who admitted the orishas
powerlessness in preventing this catastrophe.11 Because of Ochiin's love
for Her children, She decided to accompany them to Cuba. She first asked
Yemaya to straighten Her hair and lighten Her skin to the color of copper, so that all Cubans might join together in worshiping Her. Just as the
Yoruba slaves found a source of support and comfort in Ochiin when
facing the difficulties of colonial Cuba, exilic Cubans today discover the
same support and comfort in La Virgen de la Caridad when facing refugee status in a foreign land.
De La Torre: Ochun
857
THE VIRGIN LOVE GODDESS:

TOWARD A THEOLOGY OF RECONCILIATION
La virgensita is one of the most important icons for Cuba, characterizing the hopes and aspirations of all Cubans. To gaze on Cuba's patron
saint in a genuinely Cuban way is to transcend the narrow rationalism and
doctrinaire empiricism of the secularist mind-set. To reflect on the meaning of Cuba's patron saint is for Cubans to open themselves to the deeper
ramifications of Her message, as their minds sort through a system of
operations that engender structures of commonalities and divergences
represented through language.
In Ferdinand Saussure's main work he defines paradigmatic (rapports
associatifs) as a term in linguistics denoting the "vertical" property of language. For example, a term used in a sentence can be replaced by a meaningful related term. A paradigmatic relationship can be contrasted with a
"syntagmatic" relationship. Saussure defines syntagmatic (rapports syntagmatiques) as a linguistic term denoting the "horizontal" aspect of language,
whereby a segment of speech can be unfolded into meaningful phrases
(170-175). I suggest that we can understand the symbolic meaning of La
Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun in the operation of its paradigmatic and
syntagmatic relationships. The linguistic terms La Virgen de la Caridad
and Ochun cease to simply serve as signs linking their separate images to
either a Roman Catholic or a Santeria concept and instead have become
interchangeable signs signifying both concepts. Within the ambiguity of
the constructed definitions of the symbols used to signify La Virgen de la
Caridad/Ochun, a sacred space reconciling diverse elements of Cuban
society can be forged. In short, the so-called reality of La Virgen de la
Caridad/Ochun can never be understood in purely secular terms. But
recognizing that all language is relativeacknowledging linguistic relativismwe can look beyond any arbitrary verbal structure or conceptual
system. Hence, this most Cuban symbol as signifier (image) will connote
a unique perspective on the transcendental signified (concept), serving
as a sign and representing the liberative mandate of reconciliation.
La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun as signifier is ambiguous. She is (n)either
Catholic (n)or santera, (n)either white (n)or black, (n)either African (n)or
Spaniard. Instead, She dismantles the binary opposition between culture
as oral tradition (literature) and faith as a way of being (philosophy). lacques
Derrida uses the term hymen to describe this in-between space occupied by
La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun. For Derrida, the term hymen arose out of
a specific writing in which it rendered a specific function not meant to be
imported or applied elsewhere. However, I find the usage of this concept
in association with La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun to be appropriate.
858
La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin as hymen connotes that She is an

either/or between an either/or. As hymen, La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin
lies beyond the notion of synthesis, Her significance being much more
than merely the end product of a Catholic thesis and an ortsha antithesis.
As such, La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin in particular and Santeria in
general cease to represent the third element mediating between aspects
of a binary opposition. Her ambiguity, like a hymen, represents (n)either
virginity (n)or consummation, (n)either inner (n)or outer (Derrida: 258267). The richness in diversity within the Cuban culture makes the possible loss of this hymen reparable; for, as we already saw in the multiple
undecidability of meanings of La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun, another
hymen will always "pop" into place.
To gaze on La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun is to witness a drama in
which no central configuration exists representing any single truth or a
polysemy representing many meanings. La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochun
as presemantic (before meaning) becomes indecipherable, refusing to be
integrated into (n)either Catholicism (n)or Santeria. Rather, She is grafted
onto each like a mutant branch, causing any reading of this symbol to
interreflect within itself. Her meaning (Virgen or Ochiin) as a Cuban symbol always depends on Her relationship to what She is not (Ochiin or
Virgen). Hence, for Her to mean anything requires the subversion of what
She means. (N)Either La Virgen (n)or Ochiin can purge the Other from
its domain, for each contains the Other within Herself.
La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin as subverter has played this role since
Her creation on Cuban soil. Because of historical persecution, many practitioners of Santeria maintained an outward appearance of Catholicism, in
effect cross-dressing as Christian. Also, gender cross-dressing is found in
Santeria, in which orishas appear as male or female depending on their paths
or avatars (i.e., Chang6, the male warrior, appears as St. Barbara, and Obatala,
the father of the orishas, as Our Lady of Mercy). In addition, Santeria demonstrates how race and class also play as formative a role as gender. Many of
the orishas, all of whom are black, put on white masks to appear European.
Moreover, the saints chosen are not the major ones of the Catholic faith.
Rather, they represent minor saints, those of the lower class who are closer
to the people and hence able to understand the practitioner's dilemmas and
effectively communicate them upward. In short, los santos (the saints) fail
to fit into any male/female, black/white, or major/minor category. They
inhabit a sacred area where borders are fluid and opposites are subverted
and perpetually put in disarray. With time, both the Catholic and the Yoruba
faith traditions began to share quite similar sacred spaces.
Throughout the Americas the widespread phenomenon of cultural
groups simultaneously participating in two diverse, if not contradictory,
De La Torre- Ochun
859
religious systems continues to exist. Christianity, when embraced under

the context of colonialism or slavery, creates a new space where the indigenous beliefs of the marginalized group resist annihilation. Unique
hybrids developed as the religious traditions of Yoruba slaves took root
in Caribbean soil. The vitality of the Yoruba belief system found expression through Catholicism as Voudou in Haiti, Shango in Trinidad and
Venezuela, Candomble in Brazil, Kumina in Jamaica, and Santeria in
Cuba. Modern examples of orisha worship are not limited to the "synthesis" of Catholicism with Yoruba religion. Examples of this African faith
combining with Protestantism can be found in the Jamaican groups Revival and Pocomania. A similar example can be noted in the Trinidadian
group known as Spiritual Baptists or Shouters, in which the Yoruba faith
found expression through Christian fundamentalism. Religion need not
be the only lens by which to explain Santeria. Another example is articulated by resident Cuban Magdalena Campos, who finds no conflict between Santeria and atheistic Marxism. For her, Santeria expands the frontiers of Marxism while enriching it. Furthermore, for Marxism to function
in Cuba, it must incorporate Cuban reality as defined by the traditions of
Santeria.
The ambiguousness of Ochun transcends Her role as solely a religious
symbol, for She also identifies with the Cuban exilic existence. Additionally, She can help exilic Cubans transcend their physical space in order to
begin constructing a Cuban ethical response toward reconciliation with
resident Cubans. For exilic Cubans, Ochun represents the Divine who also
left Cuba and resides in exile, waiting to return to Her rightful place. Simultaneously, for resident Cubans, She remains the hope for the marginalized
who never left. The orisha discovered by the marginalized Taino brothers
and the slave boy can also speak to white middle-class exilic Cubans. By
the 1990s the Miami shrine had become the most popular Catholic pilgrimage site in the United States, drawing mostly older, white, middleclass Cubans. La virgen has become a new symbol that exists for the entire cubanidad. She can be claimed as the Cuban's own sign, white and
black, poor and middle class, exile and resident. Long after Castro and
Mas Canosa (founder of the Cuban-American National Foundation) are
dead and buried, La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin will continue to live. In
this shared sacred and political space Cubans can begin a dialogue by
which to reconcile and rebuild their Cuban house.
Santeria is a Cuban national symbol that, as such, is also made sacred
in la virgen. Any attempt to Christianize or bleach Her does violence to
the Cuban culture. And to ignore Her prevents the construction of a theology of reconciliation that can heal the brokenness found in cubanidad.
This article advocates the use of Cuban cultural symbols to communicate
860
the liberative message of intra-Cuban reconciliation. This salvation, manifested as reconciliation for the Cuban people, can be facilitated as Cuban
theologians begin to operate from within Cuban spaces such as these. If
Cuban theologians refuse to participate in bringing about a dialogue, then
their voices will be irrelevant to whatever form reconciliation takes in a
post-Castro era.
Agrupaci6n Cat61ica
Universitaria
1954
Encuesta Nactonal sobre el Sentimiento Religioso del Pueblo
Bourdieu, Pierre
1991
"Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field." Comparative Social Research 13: 1-44.
Brandon, George
1997
Santeria from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell

Memories. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Derrida, Jacques
1972
La Dissemination. Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Edwards, Gary, and

John Mason
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de Cuba. La Habana: Bur6 de Informaci6n y Propaganda de la ACU.
Black Gods: Orisa Studies in the New World. Brooklyn:

Yoruba Theological Archministry.
Espin, Orlando
1994
"Popular Religion as an Epistemology of Suffering."

Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 2/2: 55-78.
Fanon, Frantz
1963
The Wretched of the Earth. Trans, by Constance Farrington. New York: Grove Press.
Foucault, Michel
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Gonzalez-Wippler,
Migene
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The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction.

Trans, by Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage Books.
Santeria: The Religion. New York: Harmony Books.
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Legends ofSanteria. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publication.
Helg, Aline
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Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Laughlin, Meg "Prayer Vigil Lifts Elian Fervor to New High." The
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Moore, Carlos
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Castro, the Blacks, and Africa. Los Angeles: Center for

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Pichardo, L. Ernesto
1984
Perez, Louis A., Jr.
1988
Rahner, Karl
1978
Oduduwa y Obatala. Miami: St. Babalu Aye, Church of

the Lukumi.
Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Foundations of Christian Faith: Introduction to the Idea
of Christianity. Trans, by William V. Dych. New York:
Seabury.
Cours de Linguistique Generate. Pans: Payot.
Scott, James C.
1990
Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Thomas, Hugh
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Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom. New York: Harper and

Row.
Travierso, Maria, and

Charles Cotayo
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"Elian, un nino 'milagroso' hecho simbolo." El Nuevo

Herald, 6 March.
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861
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Miguel A.

The Cuban Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre/Ochiin has the potential to

1 GREW UP as a practitioner of Santeria in a home where both parents

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(N)Either the (M)Qtheir

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and what was done in our apartment. My parents explained to me from

CREATING A RELIGION OF RESISTANCE

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Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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Olodumare, they are the specific parts, forces, or manifestations within

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swept the island.3 Mass lynchings occurred fueled by rumors of santera/

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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dances) had to be heavily policed to prevent inciting lust, encouraging

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Santeria cannot be understood by solely examining its tenets, rituals,

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

Ebbos are incantations conducted through an offered sacrifice to an onsha.

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dictator, spent thousands of dollars to convene a meeting of santera/os

THE CUBAN (M)OTHER

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Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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Fig. 4. A picture of the statute of La \'irccn de la Caridad u w i hy the i h r i n e t o O u r Lady

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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Downloaded from http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Wales, Swansea on December 4, 2011

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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THE VIRGIN LOVE GODDESS:

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Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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La Virgen de la Caridad/Ochiin as hymen connotes that She is an

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religious systems continues to exist. Christianity, when embraced under

Journal of the American Academy of Religion

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