Lazarus

Revered throughout Cuba, Saint Lazarus has been adopted by different religious traditions. For the Yoruba creed, he is Babalu Aye, the old man of the crutches and dogs, for the Catholics he is the Bishop and martyr of Marseilles, for practitioners of Ganga he is Yebe, and for Bantu religions he is the old Luleyo or Coballende. He is the protective deity, said to cure illnesses and protect life.

This syncretism is a socio-historical and cultural phenomenon. These religions are inseparable from Cuba’s national culture and are intertwined into an amalgam that Fernando Ortiz, the father of Cuban anthropology, aptly described as « transculturation. » Religions are a component of Cuba’s national identity. This is a portrait of Old Havanna before the feast of Saint Lazarus