"There's (a) collective feeling that the Supreme Court ruling did cause a psychological change in the way people think," says Ernesto Pichardo, the man who took the fight for Santeria to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court struck down laws banning religious animal sacrifices, the centuries-old Afro-Caribbean religion of Santeria is coming out of the shadows. "You'd be surprised at the people who practice this religion. As we wormed our way through the crowd, we celebrated the physical reverberations, connecting with the spiritual through our bodies, remembering, as Philbert Armenteros mentioned, “Without health, there is nothing."We have lawyers, doctors, policemen coming in here," he says. It was a short set, clocking in at only one hour, but the group made sure to close with a classic Cuban conga. That’s sacred,” says Herederos singer and percussionist, who goes by El Buda. But, when we’re playing a toque in a house, that’s something religious. A true catharsis after the morning’s pious silence.ĭespite Los Herederos’ devout faith, and the performance’s religious undertones, they are careful to note the difference between culture and religion. Her performance, in conjunction with Los Herederos, is a transcendent one, each note more bombastic and chilling than the last. The group's set included rumbas and folklores dedicated to Orishas, embodied by professional dancer and performer, Marisol Blanco. Once San Lazaro weaved his way through Hialeah, Los Herederos took the stage at Hoy Como Ayer, where they conjured up rhythms reminiscent of Celia Cruz. “Being here is the least I can do to say thank you for the miracles he’s given me,” says Rodriguez. Beginning on the víspera, (December 16) thousands flood the streets of Hialeah seeking communion with the giving saint. Rodriguez’s story is like many you’ll hear at the two-day festival. Rodriguez stands - a testament, she says, to the power of Babalú Aye - in front of El Rincon San Lazaro, a Hialeah Church founded in honor of Cuba’s own San Lazaro pilgrimage site. “Next to my mother, I’m able to walk because of San Lazaro.” I have lupus, fibromyalgia, and I’ve had heart surgery,” says Carry Rodriguez, a long time volunteer at Hialeah’s San Lazaro Festival. Due to a lot of trauma in my life, I was unable to walk for quite a while. “I’ve had problems with my legs, I’ve been severely sick, I have a bone graft, a rod that holds my spine together because my lungs collapsed. Propped up on an altar next to Los Herederos, his suffering gives way to our bendición. If you’re Cuban, chances are you can probably find a candle with his gaunt body and nurturing dogs lit somewhere in your home on December 17, the day of his physical death, but ascension to sainthood. The island’s saint is a mixture between Catholicism’s Saint Lazarus, a close friend to Jesus who revived him after dying, and Yoruba’s Orisha (the spirits who reflect the Yoruba Gods), Babalú Aye, who is invoked to heal health problems. It was Hialeah's San Lazaro Festival, and the six-piece band played a packed house in celebration of their beloved milagroso, Cuba’s San Lazaro. The audience at Hoy Como Ayer on Thursday night was happy to receive this gift. “This is what we have inherited, our gift, and it’s what we need to share with the people.” As I grew older, I started realizing, wow, I have a richness, and that richness was our folklore, our essence, our roots,” says Philbert Armenteros, lead singer and percussionist. Of course, in that moment I was too small and did not understand. “My grandma always said I would inherit something. Los Herederos, an afro-Cuban band based in Miami, have made it their job to share Yoruba culture with the world.
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