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Sunday, January 04, 2015

For South Florida Santeria leaders, U.S.-Cuba reset opens door for dialogue

For South Florida Santeria leaders, U.S.-Cuba reset opens door for dialogue
BY ALFONSO CHARDY ACHARDY@MIAMIHERALD.COM
01/03/2015 6:37 PM 01/03/2015 7:27 PM

Santeria church leaders in South Florida may be able to have official
contacts and exchanges with similar churches in Cuba thanks to President
Barack Obama's order to restore relations with the communist island,
Ernesto Pichardo, the president of the Lukumí Babalú Ayé church, said in
Hialeah on Friday.

"The change in policy toward Cuba announced by President Obama allows
us, for the first time, as a minority religion, to assume the same
privileges that have been extended to Catholic, Presbyterian and other
religions that exist in Cuba, where they have been able to visit
parishioners and churches there and have exchanges of church leaders and
faithful," Pichardo told el Nuevo Herald.

The interview took place after a long presentation by Pichardo and other
Santeria religious leaders in South Florida in which they spoke of
strengthening relationships with Santeria churches in Cuba. They also
detailed tips for the new year , part of an annual ritual known as a
letra — or letter — which are a collection of predictions and advice by
which the faithful should govern themselves.

This year the letter is Ogbe Sa.

Pichardo said Ogbe Sa seeks to correct past "destructive mistakes" and
purify the body of toxic substances and psychological chaos.

Santeria is a religion that grew out of the beliefs of Yoruba slaves
from West Africa who were brought to Cuba and other Caribbean islands.
Santeria includes a mixture of Yoruba beliefs and elements of other
religions including the Catholic Church.

The Lukumí Babalú Ayé church was founded in 1974.

In 1993, Lukumí Babalú Ayé made headlines when it won a landmark Supreme
Court ruling affording it legal recognition.

Gradually the church flourished, and in October, it officially entered
into an agreement with Kola Ifa, the religion's most prominent church in
Miami.

On Friday, Pichardo extended his wish for unification by talking about
future plans through which Santeria church leaders in Miami and Havana
open a new era of cooperation and exchanges. "Our priests, our religious
followers in Cuba have never had this privilege," Pichardo said,
referring to an absence of religious exchanges involving followers and
church leaders in Miami and Havana. "Now we can, as a church, certify
priests in Cuba," Pichardo said. "And through religious exchanges we can
go there and they can come here."

Source: For South Florida Santeria leaders, U.S.-Cuba reset opens door
for dialogue | The Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article5388237.html

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