From Newsweek to TV’s Ugly Betty, the secretive religion known as Santeria is increasingly making its presence known in American popular culture. Some of the references are ones most people would miss if they were not already familiar with the Gods and Goddesses of the Yoruba Pantheon worshiped by 5 million Latinos living in the U.S. and a growing number of African Americans, many of whom practice a version of Santeria that does not include associations with the Catholic saints.
Here’s a sampling of recent Santeria sightings.
• Until early 2008, the horoscopes in Latina magazine were for a time based on readings done by a santero instead of on astrology.
• In the Feb. 5, 2007 issue of Newsweek, Lisa Miller reports in the magazine’s “BeliefWatch” section on the case of a santero suing the city of Euless, Texas for denying him a permit to sacrifice animals as part of his religious practice.
“The ancient Jews did it. So did the Romans and the Aztecs. Sacrificing an animal to please or placate God or the gods has been commonplace for many thousands of years. Still, it’s a little bit shocking when we see the practice in our own backyards.”
–From BeliefWatch: Animal Slaughter by Newsweek’s Lisa Miller, Feb. 5, 2007.
• In the Feb. 1, 2007 episode of ABC’s Ugly Betty, Daniel Meade is given an African idol by a globe-trotting playboy photographer. “What is it,” Meade asks. “It’s an oshé Changó,” his friend answers, referring to the double-headed axe that is the symbol of the orisha warrior god, Changó.
• Jennifer Lopez’s ex-husband, Ojani Noa, is quoted in June 2006 as saying that J.Lo practiced what he called voodoo. In a story about Noa’s claims, the New York Daily News says it wasn’t the first mention of Lopez’s practice of Santeria. “In 2003, it was reported that Lopez called off her wedding to Ben Affleck after her spiritual adviser, Merle Gonzalez, warned against it.”
• Joe Quesada is the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. In 2006, he completed Daredevil: Father, a story lovingly dedicated to his own father and featuring the Santerians, the first Hispanic superheroes based on some of the major orishas of Santeria.
• It was only a matter of time before Santeria wound up being misunderstood and to blame for an unsolved murder on CSI: Miami. It happened during an October 2006 episode called “Curse of the Coffin.” Here’s a description of the show that mistakenly equates Santeria with voodoo.
When strange accidents occur in the lab, the CSI team is spooked during a death investigation involving voodoo. As Halloween is near everyone starts to think that the lab is cursed.
For the record, santeros do not put curses on people or labs, for that matter.
• The word Santeria became a household word (at least for some young people) when, in 1996, the alternative rock group Sublime came out with a song entitled Santeria that opens with these lyrics:
I don’t practice Santeria
I ain’t got no crystal ball
The song actually has nothing to do with Santeria, the religion, and is actually refers to violence. Sigh.
Nothing New. It turns out the orishas have been making appearances on American television and in American music since the 1950s. Anyone who has mimicked Desi Arnaz’s charcter Ricky Ricardo belting out “Babalú-Ayé” on I Love Lucy has already unknowingly invoked the spirit of an orisha. Who knew? Check out Ricky and Little Ricky singing Babalú-Ayé on one of the show’s episodes.
The examples of the influence of Afro-Cuban rhythms on popular music are too numerous to name. For a list of songs from different genres, see Celebrating the Orishas.
More to Come. Examples of Santeria and orishas turning up in popular culture will only increase. The religion is growing and modern practitioners are increasingly wanting to honor their practices in public ways. For a flavor of what’s to come, check out this cartoon pilot, The Story of Oshun and Ogun on MySpaceTV.com.