Dreaming in Cuban Essay Example for Free

Dreaming in Cuban Essay Throughout the years, Cuba is known to be a Communist country struggling to determine its own identity. Some Cubans have fought with the decision to stay in their native country or migrate to the United States. Others have decided to settle in Cuba and let their fate be determined by the gods. Santeria, an African religion mixed with Catholic traditions, is practiced by many Cubans and allows followers to establish their destiny by the orishas, or African spirits. It also gives a sense of individuality to the characters in the novel, Dreaming in Cuban which incorporates several elements of the faith into the story. Overall, the Santeria religion affects the Cuban people in many parts of their lives politically, artistically, musically, and in their relationships. Santeria or La Regla Lucumm originated in the region of West Africa and was part of the traditional faith of the Yoruba inhabitants. It was brought to the Caribbean countries of Cuba, Haiti and Brazil, Trinidad, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic through the Yoruba people who were part of the slave trade. When they arrived at their Caribbean destinations, they reluctantly baptized within the Roman Catholic faith and were forced to leave behind their traditional beliefs and practices. However, they managed to come up with a way to merge their beliefs with the Roman Catholic Church by â€Å"†¦choosing a catholic saint and associating the saint to each of the orishas, [or African gods,] of their traditional practices† (Santeria 101). The santeros focus on building relationships with â€Å"powerful, but mortal, spirits, called orishas, [which is] a manifestation of †¦God† (BBC). In addition, they are taught that if they carry out the appropriate rituals, these spirits will support them in life, and enable them to â€Å"achieve the destiny that God planned for them before they were born† (BBC). The idea makes the followers feel that they have a purpose for their life and will live their life according to the standards. According to a Cuban researcher, â€Å"there are several principle orishas which are believed to control every aspect of human life, especially health, purity, and fertility. The orishas are rather like Greek gods or goddesses, in that they reflect the human weaknesses and strengths, but are closely identified with their Catholic counterpart† (Marshall 231). In Dreaming in Cuban, by Christina Garcia, Felicia chooses her orisha to be Saint Sebastian due to her admiration of his â€Å"double death† (Garcia 77). She was able to related to the god in a way that resembles how she feel. A man chooses to sacrifice every little item he has to his orisha: â€Å"He lights an unfiltered Popular—Cuba’s national brand—and offers a bit of tobacco to Eleggua, the orisha of opportunity† (Sigler 207). Having the fear of a god controlling his life, the man would submit everything he has to the god. For such crisis as the Cuban Revolution, Cubans have sought for help from the spiritual world and have become drawn to the Santeria religion. According to a documentary filmmaker, Cubans have always â€Å"flocked to Santeria priests, or babalawos, during hard times to ease their weary bodies, minds, and souls; and the current climate of economic instability proves no exceptions† (Sigler 213). They have also looked to their orishas for a â€Å"†¦source of comfort and help in time of need†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gonzalez- Wippler 70). However, in order to continue receiving assistance from the, they have to uphold their moral behavior strictly. Straying from the â€Å"right and narrow way† will disqualify them from the protection of the orishas and will receive punishment. A santero priest who lived in Cuba says he sees between seven to eight clients per day, but â€Å"demand for his services has gradually increased in recent years† (Sigler 213). Thus, the downfall of the life quality in Cuba increased the influence of the religion on Cubans. Many people are drawn to the practices of the religion throughout their neighborhoods. According to an Afro-Cuban woman, â€Å"[she] was drawn to the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria and to the practice of spiritualism, [and] grew up surrounded by many people who practice this religion of African origin and who believed in the orishas, or African gods† (Carrillo 63-4). The African society in Cuba has been looking for solace in their history of torture and discriminating experience: â€Å"The slave seeks a bit of peace and hope after much suffering and harassment. With rites, offerings and the sacrifice of blood, he invokes the gods of redemption, from whom he has been brutally separated by inhuman slavery† (Marshall 235). The religion makes them feel more human and therefore helping them live their lives the way the â€Å"gods† what them to live. Felicia wishes to settle peace with her father. Her best friend Hermania told her â€Å"He [the orisha] will bring you and your father peace, a peace you never knew while he lived on this earth† (Garcia 14). Eventually, she decided to give into her friend’s request and sacrificed a goat on the altar. Felicia also went to Santeria for another husband, believing that she can attain her blessings through orishas: â€Å"believers can accomplish many things because the dead are benevolently inclined toward the living†¦Felicia del Pino is fortunate in that she knows unequivocally what she wants: another husband. In this respect, at least, she will be twice more blessed† (Garcia 147). However, they told her she cannot keep her husband: â€Å"What you wish for, daughter, you cannot keep. It is the will of the gods† (Garcia 148). This became true later on when the man she met died in a fire. In another part of the book, Celia visits a santera â€Å"when she was dying of love for the Spaniard† (Garcia 159). Therefore, Santeria affects people in their relationships because people rely on the religion to fix their issues on love. The Santeria religion may manipulate the minds of their followers to fail in their revolution against Batista. Traditionally, all the presidents in Cuba have been â€Å"initiated santeros† (Gonzalez- Wippler 69) and given a god to protect them; therefore the followers of Santeria are in fear and submission to the leader. They also believed that the battle for the power between Castro and Batista was fought on two levels: the physical world and the world of the orishas† (Gonzalez- Wippler 69). It was believed that Castro won the war because of the many [sacrifices] made on his behalf, but he could not destroy Batista who escaped from Cuba with a fortune. In the novel, Felicia asked Hermania’s father about fighting Batista. However â€Å"he said it was useless, that the scoundrel is under the protection of Chango†¦ Batista’s destiny†¦is set. He will escape Cuba with a fortune in his suitcase† (Garcia 163). The religion affects the santeros in their political stance and gave them no hope of rebelling against the president of Cuba. The Santeria religion is also increasing in its numbers after the Revolution. â€Å"Now that there is more freedom of religious expression, an increasing number of young people have been initiated into Santeria. And since they no longer fear losing their jobs or facing other hassles because of their religion, you can see people on the streets wearing colored, beaded necklaces that correspond to their particular saint† (Carrillo 67). Pilar, in the book, also wore beads to represent an orisha: â€Å"I select a red and white one and place it over my head† (Garcia 200). In an African woman’s opinion, â€Å"Santeria and the ‘folklore† of my family neighborhood was no longer devalued or considered taboo; on the contrary, these practices were to be celebrated as a central part of [her] Cuban heritage† (Morejon 84). Therefore, the religion grows substantially in rate by the acceptance that they have of expressing themselves. In the life of an African woman, Santeria affected the way she expressed herself through art: â€Å"I’ve always felt inspired to paint Afro-Cuban folk themes, mostly orisha motifs, although some of my early work is landscapes. I paint with both acrylics and watercolors. (Carrillo 66)† Pilar also paints the colors of the beads that she chose to represent the orisha, Chango: â€Å"I awake and paint a large canvas ignited with reds and whites, each color betraying each other†(Garcia 203). Thus, the Santeria religion affects the people artistically. The religion also affected Cuban music. The system of beliefs was interconnected in that â€Å"†¦white saints were matched to black gods while African drums beat time to Catholic prayers† (Marshall 20). The practice of drum beating plays a major part in Cuban music and how it centers on the orishas. The dance moves are â€Å"choreographed to represent sacred messages to and from† (Gonzalez- Wippler 195) each other. Not only does it affect the rhythm and movements in dancing but also the lyrics of voiced music: â€Å"Santeria†¦has supplied many songs sung in Yoruba by a male singer leading a chorus to the rhythm of conga drums, while dancers dressed in different colors express the attributes of the different orishas or saints of the sect† (Marshall 216). Therefore, Santeria affect the music part of the Cuban lives. As time progresses, the influences to Santeria will continue to increase in Cuba and sink into the spiritual identity of Cuba. According to a professor in history, â€Å"†¦Santeria isn’t just a religion, its part of the Cuban identity† (Sigler 212). Santeria may be widely celebrated because so many people in the government are currently practicing the religion† (Sigler 213). Thus, Santeria will continue to affect the Cubans politically, artistically, musically, and in their relationships.