African cults and religions enrich all aspects of Cuba's social, cultural and everyday life, and encompass all ethnic and social groups. Politics, art, and civil events such as weddings, funerals, festivals and carnivals all possess distinctly Afro-Cuban characteristics. Miguel Barnet provides a concise guide to the various traditions and branches of Afro-Cuban religions. He distinguishes between the two most important cult forms - the Regla de Ocha (Santeria), which promotes worship of the Oshira (gods), and the traditional oracles that originated in the old Yoruba city of Ile-Ife, which promote a more animistic worldview. Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves had to recreate their old traditions in their new Caribbean context. As their African heritage collided with Catholicism and with Native American and European traditions, certain African gods and traditions became more prominent while others lost their significance in the new Afro-Cuban culture. This book, the first systematic overview of the syncretization of the gods of African origin with Catholic saints, introduces the reader to a little-known side of Cuban culture.

African cults and religions enrich all aspects of Cuba's social, cultural and everyday life, and encompass all ethnic and social groups. Politics, art, and civil events such as weddings, funerals, festivals and carnivals all possess distinctly Afro-Cuban characteristics. Miguel Barnet provides a concise guide to the various traditions and branches of Afro-Cuban religions. He distinguishes between the two most important cult forms - the Regla de Ocha (Santeria), which promotes worship of the Oshira (gods), and the traditional oracles that originated in the old Yoruba city of Ile-Ife, which promote a more animistic worldview. Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves had to recreate their old traditions in their new Caribbean context. As their African heritage collided with Catholicism and with Native American and European traditions, certain African gods and traditions became more prominent while others lost their significance in the new Afro-Cuban culture. This book, the first systematic overview of the syncretization of the gods of African origin with Catholic saints, introduces the reader to a little-known side of Cuban culture.

Set in Cuba during the 1920s, this novel recounts the eventful life of a cabaret dancer named Rachel. The protagonist is an actress, a dancer, and a heartbreaker who takes readers on a guided tour through the different stages of her past, from the filthy theaters, cabarets, and circuses in which she debuted, to the mythical Alhambra Theater in which she reached the height of her career. In addition to Rachel's narrative, the voices of stagehands, journalists, friends, enemies, and gossips depict an accurate portrait of the customs during the Cuban belle epoque. "Ambientada en Cuba durante los anos 20, esta novela cuenta la azarosa existencia de una cabaretera llamada Rachel. La protagonista es una actriz, bailarina y rompecorazones que acompana al lector en un recorrido a traves de todos los escenarios de su memoria, desde los cochambrosos teatrillos, cabarets y circos en los que debuto hasta el mitico teatro Alhambra en el que triunfio. Junto a la narracion de Rachel, las voces de tramoyistas, periodistas, amigos, enemigos y chismosos componen un verdadero retrato de las costumbres de la belle epoque cubana."