January 21, 2007
After Castro
What Was Once Theirs
By ANTHONY DePALMA
FOREIGNERS almost never show up on the ragged streets of the old town across the bay from Havana. But there was a knock recently on the front door of the battered yellow house in Guanabacoa that is home to Marielena and Francisco, a working-class couple, and outside stood an American.
The stranger explained that his wife had lived in that four-room house as a child. In 1962, almost four years after Fidel Castro took power, she and her family fled to New York, and now she wanted pictures to show their children where she had twirled in the patio and sung old Spanish ballads as she grew up in another time, and another world.
Marielena welcomed the stranger, but Francisco (he was afraid to give his last name) stood with arms folded over his bare chest. “You came here all the way from America just to take pictures,” he said suspiciously. “Are you going to reclaim this house?”
The stranger in Guanabacoa (pronounced hwan-ah-bah-COE-ah) had no intention of reclaiming the shoebox house or anything else. I know, because I was the person who knocked on that door during a trip to Cuba last year. My wife, Miriam, lived in that house until she was 10. When she saw the photographs I carried back, she was overcome with bittersweet emotion. Though now faded and chipped, the pink paint on the walls and the green and red tiles on the floor were still there, 44 years later.
Nothing had changed and, of course, everything had changed in the years since the revolution triumphed. That’s the phrase Fidel Castro’s regime has always used — “the triumph of the revolution” — and it slips off the tongues of even those Cubans who have benefited little from his rule.
But now, as they await the demise of the only leader most of them have ever known, Cubans are forced to reconsider what the revolution has meant. Many on the island are caught between two fears — today’s and tomorrow’s. Where will they find the money, energy and enterprise to get themselves and their children through another day? And when Fidel dies, will the 1.5 million Cuban-Americans in Florida and New Jersey return to take back what once was theirs? Mr. Castro, who confiscated private property throughout the island nearly 50 years ago, has exploited such anxieties to bolster a sense of national identity, and those fears have only intensified during his long illness.
And not without reason. The United States maintains a list of some 5,911 compensation claims by American companies and United States citizens dating from the revolution. Including interest, they are now worth more than $6 billion. And lawyers in Florida and the New York area are girding for one heck of a fight.
To Cubans who stayed, those who left are “gusanos,” worms that crawled away from the homeland. The government turned over any house left behind to other Cubans long ago, and after so many years the current residents believe these houses belong to them, though they hold no title because technically everything in Castro’s socialist enclave belongs to the state.
Few exiles have papers either, and unlike the American citizens of a half-century ago whose claims were registered by Washington, Cubans who lost property had no mechanism in their own country for recording their losses.
But so much time has passed that many gusanos agree that they no longer have a legitimate claim to the houses and small properties they left behind. Miriam’s family never even owned the house in Guanabacoa, and no one claims it as theirs.
Several public opinion polls and surveys of Cuban-Americans conducted recently in South Florida and North Jersey show that a declining percentage of the diaspora still dreams of reclaiming houses. This is especially true among the younger generation, whose members never lived in Cuba.
Still, some exiles did sneak out deeds and have fished them out of strongboxes since Fidel became sick. While some undoubtedly will try to reclaim former residences, most want factories, mills and other commercial properties.
“Cubans are not going to fight over the last few crumbling homes,” said Nicolas J. Gutiérrez Jr., a 42-year-old Cuban-American lawyer in Miami who represents many business claimants and for himself seeks the return of two sugar mills, 15 cattle ranches, a food distribution center and more. “Out of the hundreds of people I represent and the thousands I talk to I’ve never met anyone who says he’s going to go back there and kick people out. On a base level, that would be immoral.”
Even so, the fear held by people like Marielena and Francisco matters, having been planted by the regime and nurtured by a controlled press that issues regular warnings about ignoble gusanos and what they might try in a moment of crisis.
This dense cloud of uncertainty has been hanging over Cuba since the summer, when Mr. Castro, who is 80, ceded power to his brother, Raúl, who is 75. For most Cubans, the fear of the future has little to do with who eventually replaces “El Commandante.” Rather, most are consumed by the contradiction between longing for change and fearing that change will come.
All but the most strident military families and pampered government officials hate the current economic system. They have had it with ration books and wartime restrictions — one tasteless roll a day, and every month eight eggs, a few pounds of chicken and a half-pound of something called “ground-up texturized soy” among other basics. But they also can’t imagine life without such subsidized guarantees.
They also resent a two-tier currency system that makes many consumer goods available to tourists, but out of reach for Cubans. And capitalism itself seems brutal and forbiddingly unequal, a system they can glimpse only when it rubs shoulders with shabby Castro-style Communism in hotels they cannot enter and restaurants that let them in only if they are on the arm of a foreigner.
So engulfed have they been in the daily struggle to survive that many Cubans told me they wanted just to forget about the transition now taking place. The regime seemed willing to assist them. Visiting relatives in La Lisa, a poverty-stricken area outside Havana with a forest of six-story Soviet-style housing blocks, I saw what looked like a water tanker in a public square one Saturday night. Crowds thronged, and I could tell that it wasn’t water that flowed from the tap. It was cheap beer. A bucket and a few centavos could make the weekend pass more quickly.
Still, there continues to be an undercurrent of pride in Fidel’s ability to stand up to so many American presidents for so long, and a deeply rooted resentment of the United States and its embargo. So whenever Fidel dies, there is likely to be a great show of grief in Cuba, and a funeral fit for a pharaoh.
But the next day will bring the longed-for, dreaded future — the specter of a new encounter with the outside world that will challenge the efforts of Cuba’s current leaders to make certain that Fidel Castro’s Revolution survives his death.
Already, the leaders are making him more myth than man. New billboards have sprouted along the main highways around Havana: “Fidel Es Un País” — Fidel is a country.
But Cuban-Americans in the United States don’t see it that way. And it isn’t likely that Marielena and Francisco and other ordinary Cubans do either.
When Fidel no longer looms over Cuba, it is much more likely that both sides will focus on what happens when there is another knock at the door, and another stranger asks to come in.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Cuban artists' union enters censor debate
Miami Herald
Posted on Fri, Jan. 19, 2007
CUBA
Cuban artists' union enters censor debate
A union of Cuban writers and artists expressed indignation, and apparent resignation, over the reappearance of a government censor.
From Miami Herald Staff and Wire Reports
HAVANA - The Cuban government's union of writers and artists on Thursday backed intellectuals who protested the recent TV reappearance of a censor blamed for Stalinist-type purges in the 1970s, but issued what appeared to be a warning that limits remain on criticisms of Fidel Castro's revolution.
The statement by the National Union of Cuban Artists and Writers appeared aimed at defusing a fiery and unusually public debate among Cuban intellectuals on and off the island about the former censor's TV appearance. Two other former hard-line culture officials also appeared on TV recently.
Published in the Communist Party daily Granma, the union's statement said it shared the ''just indignation'' of intellectuals disturbed by the resurfacing of the official.
But it blamed part of the controversy on people abroad ''obviously working for the enemy'' and concluded by noting that Cuba's 'anti-dogmatic, creative and participatory cultural policy maintained by Fidel and Raúl [Castro], founded with `Some Words to the Intellectuals,' is irreversible.''
''Some words to the intellectuals'' refers to a famous 1961 speech in which Fidel Castro warned an audience of intellectuals that there were limits to criticism of his government: ``Within the Revolution, everything. Outside the Revolution, nothing.''
The words were later taken as the basis for crackdowns on intellectuals during the 1960s and '70s known in Cuba as the Quinquenio Gris -- the gray 15-year period.
In Miami, a website run by pro-Havana commentator Francisco Aruca said a seminar on Quinquenio Gris: Revisiting the Term, will be held Jan. 30 at the Cuban Film Institute in Havana, apparently as part of the settlement of the dispute over the reappearance of the censor.
Since censor Luis Pavón Tamayo's TV appearance, Cuban writers on the island and in exile have engaged in a spirited debate about what it all meant -- a public dispute specially unusual because of Fidel Castro's current illness.
Castro ceded his powers provisionally to his brother Raúl on July 31.
Raúl Castro recently has been campaigning for fearless and critical debate within the confines of the island's communist system.
In the flap about the former censor, the union statement did not name Pavón, who was president of Cuba's National Culture Council from 1971 to 1976.
During those years, writers and artists were expelled from their jobs for being gay or not toeing the government line. Some were hounded into exile. Beatles music, and even long hair, were banned on the island.
The statement said union leaders had met with writers who worried that the new appearances by Pavón and the others could ``express a tendency other than the political culture that has guaranteed and will guarantee our unity.''
Posted on Fri, Jan. 19, 2007
CUBA
Cuban artists' union enters censor debate
A union of Cuban writers and artists expressed indignation, and apparent resignation, over the reappearance of a government censor.
From Miami Herald Staff and Wire Reports
HAVANA - The Cuban government's union of writers and artists on Thursday backed intellectuals who protested the recent TV reappearance of a censor blamed for Stalinist-type purges in the 1970s, but issued what appeared to be a warning that limits remain on criticisms of Fidel Castro's revolution.
The statement by the National Union of Cuban Artists and Writers appeared aimed at defusing a fiery and unusually public debate among Cuban intellectuals on and off the island about the former censor's TV appearance. Two other former hard-line culture officials also appeared on TV recently.
Published in the Communist Party daily Granma, the union's statement said it shared the ''just indignation'' of intellectuals disturbed by the resurfacing of the official.
But it blamed part of the controversy on people abroad ''obviously working for the enemy'' and concluded by noting that Cuba's 'anti-dogmatic, creative and participatory cultural policy maintained by Fidel and Raúl [Castro], founded with `Some Words to the Intellectuals,' is irreversible.''
''Some words to the intellectuals'' refers to a famous 1961 speech in which Fidel Castro warned an audience of intellectuals that there were limits to criticism of his government: ``Within the Revolution, everything. Outside the Revolution, nothing.''
The words were later taken as the basis for crackdowns on intellectuals during the 1960s and '70s known in Cuba as the Quinquenio Gris -- the gray 15-year period.
In Miami, a website run by pro-Havana commentator Francisco Aruca said a seminar on Quinquenio Gris: Revisiting the Term, will be held Jan. 30 at the Cuban Film Institute in Havana, apparently as part of the settlement of the dispute over the reappearance of the censor.
Since censor Luis Pavón Tamayo's TV appearance, Cuban writers on the island and in exile have engaged in a spirited debate about what it all meant -- a public dispute specially unusual because of Fidel Castro's current illness.
Castro ceded his powers provisionally to his brother Raúl on July 31.
Raúl Castro recently has been campaigning for fearless and critical debate within the confines of the island's communist system.
In the flap about the former censor, the union statement did not name Pavón, who was president of Cuba's National Culture Council from 1971 to 1976.
During those years, writers and artists were expelled from their jobs for being gay or not toeing the government line. Some were hounded into exile. Beatles music, and even long hair, were banned on the island.
The statement said union leaders had met with writers who worried that the new appearances by Pavón and the others could ``express a tendency other than the political culture that has guaranteed and will guarantee our unity.''
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Spanish newspaper: Castro prognosis 'very grave'
CNN
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish newspaper cited sources at a Madrid hospital Tuesday saying that Cuban leader Fidel Castro suffered from a serious infection of the large intestine and faces a "very grave prognosis," but the doctor who examined Castro last month said he stood by his statement of last month that Castro was recovering from his ailments.
El Pais -- one of Spain's largest and most reliable papers -- reported that two sources at the Madrid hospital told its reporters that Castro had suffered complications after three failed surgeries to correct the problems.
Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, chief of surgery at the public hospital Gregorio Maranon in Madrid, traveled to Havana in December where he examined Castro for about 90 minutes. He told CNN's Al Goodman Tuesday that he was not the source of the report in newspaper El Pais.
"Any statement that doesn't come directly from his (Castro's) medical team is without foundation," Dr. Garcia Sabrido said.
Garcia Sabrido refused to further comment on the report and instead referred Goodman to his statement made on December 26 in which he said Castro is recovering from his ailments and does not have cancer. At that time, Garcia Sabrido told reporters that Castro was doing "fantastically well" with his treatment.
The doctor had led a conference at the 9th Cuban Congress of Surgery in Havana last month and, according to Spanish newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya, traveled to Cuba aboard a Cuban government plane. In addition, the Cuban Embassy oversaw all details of his visit, the newspaper reported.
Spain's El Pais reported that Castro suffered from diverticulitis, an inflammation of sacs on the large intestine that can rupture and cause bleeding. The infection spread to the tissue on the walls of the abdomen, a condition called peritonitis.
The infections, the paper said, have impeded the healing process.
According to El Pais, the Cuban leader has undergone at least three operations on his large intestines that have had various complications.
Based on the newspaper's descriptions, CNN's Sanjay Gupta said it appeared that Castro's first surgery likely entailed the removal of a portion of his infected intestine and of his rectum. The surgery likely also involved the connection of two parts of his intestine, a difficult procedure.
The second surgery was to clean out infection in the abdominal cavity, reconnect broken parts of the connected intestine and put a small prosthesis in the gall bladder, Gupta said.
A third operation would have required surgeons to replace the prosthesis, fix the gall bladder and again reconnect the two parts of intestine, Gupta added. (Watch Gupta explain what the reported operations would entailVideo)
But the operation apparently is not working, Gupta cited the report as saying. "He is still leaking half a liter of fluid into his abdominal cavity every single day, which is a lot. He is a very sick guy, and that just leads to more infection," Gupta said.
The El Pais report was posted on the newspaper's Web site early Tuesday and then on the front page of its Madrid print edition.
Castro, 80, underwent intestinal surgery on July 31, and has not been seen in public since. The Cuban government has released at least one video of him.
CNN's Al Goodman contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish newspaper cited sources at a Madrid hospital Tuesday saying that Cuban leader Fidel Castro suffered from a serious infection of the large intestine and faces a "very grave prognosis," but the doctor who examined Castro last month said he stood by his statement of last month that Castro was recovering from his ailments.
El Pais -- one of Spain's largest and most reliable papers -- reported that two sources at the Madrid hospital told its reporters that Castro had suffered complications after three failed surgeries to correct the problems.
Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, chief of surgery at the public hospital Gregorio Maranon in Madrid, traveled to Havana in December where he examined Castro for about 90 minutes. He told CNN's Al Goodman Tuesday that he was not the source of the report in newspaper El Pais.
"Any statement that doesn't come directly from his (Castro's) medical team is without foundation," Dr. Garcia Sabrido said.
Garcia Sabrido refused to further comment on the report and instead referred Goodman to his statement made on December 26 in which he said Castro is recovering from his ailments and does not have cancer. At that time, Garcia Sabrido told reporters that Castro was doing "fantastically well" with his treatment.
The doctor had led a conference at the 9th Cuban Congress of Surgery in Havana last month and, according to Spanish newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya, traveled to Cuba aboard a Cuban government plane. In addition, the Cuban Embassy oversaw all details of his visit, the newspaper reported.
Spain's El Pais reported that Castro suffered from diverticulitis, an inflammation of sacs on the large intestine that can rupture and cause bleeding. The infection spread to the tissue on the walls of the abdomen, a condition called peritonitis.
The infections, the paper said, have impeded the healing process.
According to El Pais, the Cuban leader has undergone at least three operations on his large intestines that have had various complications.
Based on the newspaper's descriptions, CNN's Sanjay Gupta said it appeared that Castro's first surgery likely entailed the removal of a portion of his infected intestine and of his rectum. The surgery likely also involved the connection of two parts of his intestine, a difficult procedure.
The second surgery was to clean out infection in the abdominal cavity, reconnect broken parts of the connected intestine and put a small prosthesis in the gall bladder, Gupta said.
A third operation would have required surgeons to replace the prosthesis, fix the gall bladder and again reconnect the two parts of intestine, Gupta added. (Watch Gupta explain what the reported operations would entailVideo)
But the operation apparently is not working, Gupta cited the report as saying. "He is still leaking half a liter of fluid into his abdominal cavity every single day, which is a lot. He is a very sick guy, and that just leads to more infection," Gupta said.
The El Pais report was posted on the newspaper's Web site early Tuesday and then on the front page of its Madrid print edition.
Castro, 80, underwent intestinal surgery on July 31, and has not been seen in public since. The Cuban government has released at least one video of him.
CNN's Al Goodman contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
Monday, January 08, 2007
Cuban paper warns against consumerism
Cuban paper warns against consumerism
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press WriterSun Jan 7, 2:10 PM ET
Cuba's official youth newspaper on Sunday reported an increase in sales of children's toys this year but warned against a rise in consumerism on the communist-run island.
In a two-page spread, the Juventud Rebelde reported on the revival of "Three Kings Day," a Latin American tradition of giving gifts to children on Jan. 6, commemorating the arrival of three wise men who offered the newborn Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
"A tradition that seemed extinct in Cuban society rises again," the state-run newspaper said. "Although no one sees celebrating the millennial festivity of the Three Kings as heresy, the danger could be in (the holiday) accentuating consumerist habits and social differences."
Christmas is a low-key affair in Cuba. The government discouraged holiday celebrations for religious and consumerist reasons for decades following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, but made Christmas a holiday in 1997 ahead of a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
Christmas was declared a permanent holiday at the end of 1998, a decision religious leaders embraced while also echoing concerns that it would succumb to Western-style commercialization.
State-run department stores offer no special promotions or sales on toys this time of year. Those interviewed for the Juventud Rebelde article attributed the increase of gift-giving in Cuba to the influence of globalization and visits by Cuban-Americans and other natives living abroad.
"During these days one can hardly move around the toy department of stores ... in the capital," the article said.
The newspaper spread showed photographs of shoppers holding several bags and children playing with toys. Raisa Vazquez, a manager of Havana's La Epoca department store, was quoted as saying toy sales were the highest this year since the store reopened in 1998.
"The enormous demand has forced us to spread out the toys to other departments, like the hardware section or the area with school supplies, so that the customer doesn't have to wait in such an immense line," Vazquez told the newspaper.
No specific sales numbers were reported, however.
Some of those interviewed by Juventud Rebelde expressed disdain for the resurgence of the holiday, calling it "a tradition of capitalist countries." University professors also warned that gift-giving can highlight economic differences.
"What should worry us is the social connotation that this could have, making it an objective of families to buy the most ostentatious gift," Teresa Munoz, a sociology professor at the University of Havana, told the newspaper. "The solution is not to prohibit (the celebration) but rather to be conscientious of the consequences we could face creating consumerist habits that deform little ones and make them feel superior to their companions."
The Three Kings Day tradition comes from Spain. While not actively promoted by the communist government, the newspaper said rebels led by Castro in the 1950s also gave toys on the holiday to children in the mountains where they were fighting the Cuban revolution.
On Monday, the office of Havana's city historian will distribute 100,000 toys to children to celebrate the holiday but also to honor Castro's Jan. 8 entrance in Havana after the triumph of his revolution in 1959.
By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press WriterSun Jan 7, 2:10 PM ET
Cuba's official youth newspaper on Sunday reported an increase in sales of children's toys this year but warned against a rise in consumerism on the communist-run island.
In a two-page spread, the Juventud Rebelde reported on the revival of "Three Kings Day," a Latin American tradition of giving gifts to children on Jan. 6, commemorating the arrival of three wise men who offered the newborn Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
"A tradition that seemed extinct in Cuban society rises again," the state-run newspaper said. "Although no one sees celebrating the millennial festivity of the Three Kings as heresy, the danger could be in (the holiday) accentuating consumerist habits and social differences."
Christmas is a low-key affair in Cuba. The government discouraged holiday celebrations for religious and consumerist reasons for decades following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, but made Christmas a holiday in 1997 ahead of a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
Christmas was declared a permanent holiday at the end of 1998, a decision religious leaders embraced while also echoing concerns that it would succumb to Western-style commercialization.
State-run department stores offer no special promotions or sales on toys this time of year. Those interviewed for the Juventud Rebelde article attributed the increase of gift-giving in Cuba to the influence of globalization and visits by Cuban-Americans and other natives living abroad.
"During these days one can hardly move around the toy department of stores ... in the capital," the article said.
The newspaper spread showed photographs of shoppers holding several bags and children playing with toys. Raisa Vazquez, a manager of Havana's La Epoca department store, was quoted as saying toy sales were the highest this year since the store reopened in 1998.
"The enormous demand has forced us to spread out the toys to other departments, like the hardware section or the area with school supplies, so that the customer doesn't have to wait in such an immense line," Vazquez told the newspaper.
No specific sales numbers were reported, however.
Some of those interviewed by Juventud Rebelde expressed disdain for the resurgence of the holiday, calling it "a tradition of capitalist countries." University professors also warned that gift-giving can highlight economic differences.
"What should worry us is the social connotation that this could have, making it an objective of families to buy the most ostentatious gift," Teresa Munoz, a sociology professor at the University of Havana, told the newspaper. "The solution is not to prohibit (the celebration) but rather to be conscientious of the consequences we could face creating consumerist habits that deform little ones and make them feel superior to their companions."
The Three Kings Day tradition comes from Spain. While not actively promoted by the communist government, the newspaper said rebels led by Castro in the 1950s also gave toys on the holiday to children in the mountains where they were fighting the Cuban revolution.
On Monday, the office of Havana's city historian will distribute 100,000 toys to children to celebrate the holiday but also to honor Castro's Jan. 8 entrance in Havana after the triumph of his revolution in 1959.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Letra del Año en Español e Inglés - 2007
Letra del Año en Español e Inglés - 2007
Sign of the Year in Spanish
and English - 2007 (see below)
Reposted from:
Folkcuba.com Homepage
Predicciones de Ifá para el año 2007
Para Cuba y el mundo
A los sacerdotes de Ifá, a los hermanos Oriates, Babaloshas, Iyaloshas e Iworos.
Pueblo religioso en general
El pasado 31 de Diciembre del 2006, se reunieron 950 Sacerdotes de Ifá en representación de la inmensa mayoría de las ramas o familias de Cuba. En la casa templo situada en Ave. 10 de Octubre # 1509 e/ Josefina y Gertrudis, Víbora, Municipio 10 de Octubre, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.
Esta ceremonia fue presidida por el sacerdote de Ifá Guillermo Diago “Ogbe Weñe” y saco la letra el sacerdote mas pequeño.
Signo Regente: Ofun Otura (Ofun Topola)- Ofun Lame el Corojo.
Oración Profética: Ire Ashegun Ota lese Oshosi (Beneficio de vencer las dificultades y enemigos al pie de Oshosi.
Ónishe: Frutas variadas, su coco y sus velas.
Divinidad Regente: Oshosi: Esta palabra se deriva de O,-quien, -So,- vigilar,- SII.- a una distancia, algún tiempo. Osha de los cazadores (Ode) y de los conocedores de las propiedades mágicas de las plantas. Es un Orisha guerrero, por tener una especial habilidad de ver a gran distancia y escuchar el mas mínimo sonido, así como el actuar con increíble rapidez.- Uno de los hijos de Yemaya, como su hermano Orgun, el es el Patrón de los Cazadores. Su asistencia se desarrolla llevando a los animales a las trampas o huecos que los atrapen; colabora con su hermano dándole la ayuda necesaria a los cazadores.- Tiene 2 formas de representación, una es simplemente un Arco y la otra, un hombre con un Arco.
Asegura la comida en nuestras casas y muchas veces se le vincula con la policía, por lo que no pocos religiosos tratan de ensalzarlo para escapar de las persecuciones y persecuciones de las autoridades.- Oshosi lleva las sentencias de Obatala, por lo que muchas veces se le confunde y se le vincula con las cárceles y prisiones.
Su planta fundamental es la ciruela.- Esta Osha esta relacionada con Esi, especie de fetiche que se pone detrás de la puerta, para proteger la casa del ataque de las fieras.- Este fetiche es un arco con 3 flechas, el cual es consagrado en el culto (Esin) a Oshosi.
Su collar es de cuentas azules y color miel (ámbar) recibe los mismos sacrificios y ofrendas que Orgun.- En Cuba se sincretiza con San Norberto; en Brasil con San Sebastián, y los Amerindios con Aimore.- Oshosi llego al mundo acompañado del Odu Ifa Oshe Kana para proporcionar el alimento a las comunidades humanas....
Nota Importante: cuando el devoto de Oshosi se desarmoniza con esta Osha o no toma en cuenta sus tabúes, ni acata los requerimientos que se exigen, son afectados con problemas en los negocios y con la pobreza.
Divinidad Acompañante: Oya, Divinidad de las tormentas y de los suaves vientos. Identificada con el espíritu de los antepasados. Es la diosa del río Níger (Odo Oya), el cual ha recibido su nombre por esta divinidad. Se supone que sea la primera esposa y favorita del Orisha Shango. La tradición nos dice que el río se formó originalmente por las copiosas lagrimas que ella derramó el día que murió su esposo.
Bandera del Año: Mitad Azul y mitad Amarilla con ribetes en morado.
Ebbo: Un pollon, una flecha y una trampa y los demás ingredientes.
La distribución de éste documento es gratuita y esta Comisión no es responsable de la venta que hacen personas inescrupulosas, con ánimo de lucro.
Enfermedades de cuidado.
* Enfermedades Contagiosas. Cuidado con la Lepra o enfermedades que presenten lasEnfermedades Contagiosas. Cuidado con la Lepra o enfermedades que presenten las mismas características sintomá
* Enfermedades Neurológicas
* Trastornos en la garganta y las cuerdas vocales
* Marca impotencia en el hombre
SUGERENCIA ESPECIAL PARA LOS CIENTIFICOS E INVESTIGADORES
Estudiar los principios activos medicinales del Jobo y Ponasí
Acontecimientos de interés social.
* Grandes epidemias que pudieran propagarse a una extensa Grandes epidemias que pudieran propagarse a una extensa área o Nació
* Modificaciones en el sector de la agricultura
* Alteración de las relaciones interpersonales y tragedias entre vecinos
* Rupturas de convenios entre países amigos por maquinaciones de un tercero
* Intervenciones militares
Recomendaciones
1. Mejoramiento de los sistemas hidráulicos en general y en especial en los sectores urbanos. Tener cuidado con la contaminación de las aguas potables.
2. Analizar los métodos y procedimientos en el sector agrícola
3. Incrementar presas y embalses para garantizar el consumo de Agua
4. Se recomienda evitar el Tabaquismo
5. Incumplimientos de los Pactos y compromisos.
6. Se mantiene la sequía y enfermedades por falta del agua
7. Hacer limpieza con granos y demás ingredientes
8. Cumplir los compromisos religiosos adquiridos
9. Consolidar el matrimonio.- Se hace un llamado a la cordura.
10. Incremento del espionaje – Signo de sentencia.- Continua el peligro de Guerras
11. Realizar sacrificios para lograr propósitos
12. Signo que advierte confabulaciones
13. Solo la fe y la oración salva.
Refranes del Signo
1. Cabeza verde, cabeza hueca
2. Cuando hay cabeza el sombrero no se lleva en las manos
3. Saco vacío no se para
4. Inútil mostrar argollas de oro al que no tiene orejas
5. La lengua habla más rápido que lo que la cabeza piensa
Mensaje
Seguir los modelos ejemplificantes del Año 2005 y tomar referencias de los aspectos negativos del propio año como experiencia y cambios oportunos. (http://www.folkcuba.com/aa_la_letra_del_ano_2005.htm).
Sacrificio Colectivo en Beneficio de la Comunidad
Se recomienda el Sacrificio de un Carnero a Eggun y Shango con los demás ingredientes
Nota: Se recomienda dirigirse a sus respectivos padrinos en busca de orientaciones individuales.
Feliz y Próspero Año 2007 le desea la Comisión Organizadora de la Letra del año.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sign of the Year in English - 2007
Folkcuba.com Homepage
IFÁ DIVINATION FOR THE 2007 YEAR
FOR CUBA AND THE WORLD
To the priests of Ifá, to our brothers and sisters— the Oriatés, Babaloshas, Iyaloshas, and Iworos— and the general religious public.
On the 31st of December of 2006, 950 priests of Ifá gathered in representation of the great majority of the religious branches or families of Cuba in the casa-templo situated on Avenida 10 de Octubre, #1509, between Josefina and Gertrudis, Vibora, Municipio 10 de Octubre, City of Havana, Cuba.
The Ifá priest Guillermo Diago Ogbe Weñe presided over the ceremony and the most junior priest took out the sign of the year.
Reigning Sign: Ofún Otura (Ofún Topolá). Ofún laps up palm oil.
Orientation of the sign: Iré Ashegún Otá elese Oshosi (the fortune of overcoming difficulties and enemies at the foot of Oshosi).
Onishe: Varied fruits, coconut, and candles.
Reigning Deity: Oshosi. The name is derived from O (the one who); S[h]o (to conduct vigilance); Sii (from a distance, over time). He is the orisha of the hunters (odé) and belongs to the specialists in the magical properties of plants. He is a warrior orisha by virtue of having the special talent of seeing over great distances and hearing the slightest sound, as well as, acting with incredible speed. He is one of the sons of Yemayá, and as is his brother Ogún, is the patron of hunters. His presence leads animals to hunters’ traps or the holes that trap them. He collaborates with his brother, giving hunters the help they need. He is represented by two forms: a simple bow and the bowman. Oshosi ensures food in our homes and often he is linked to the police, because no few religious practitioners try to propitiate him in order to escape persecution and persecution by the authorities. Oshosi carries out the judgements of Obatalá, for which reason there arises the confusion that Oshosi is the orisha associated with jails and prisons.
His foundational plant is the ciruela [plum].
Oshosi is related with esi, a species of power object that is placed behind the door in order to protect the house from attacks by brutes. This power object is a bow with three arrows, which is consecrated within the worship (esin) of Oshosi.
Oshosi’s necklace is made of blue and honey-colored (amber) beads. He receives the same sacrifices as Ogún. In Cuba he is syncretized with Saint Norbert, in Brazil with Saint Sebastian and among the Amerindians with Aimore.
Oshosi arrived to the world accompanied by the Ifá odu Oshé Kana so that he could distribute nourishment to the human community.
Important Note: when the followers of Oshosi fall out of harmony with this orisha or don’t take into account his taboos, nor comply with the requirements Oshosi demands, they are afflicted with problems in business and of poverty.
Accompanying Deity: Oyá, deity of storms and gentle winds. She is identified with the spirits of the ancestors. She is the deity of the River Niger (Odó Oyá), which received its name from this deity. It is believed that she was the first and favorite wife of the orisha Shangó. The tradition tells us that the river was originally formed by the copious tears she shed when her husband died.
Flag of the Year: Half blue and half yellow with purple trimming.
Ebbo: A young rooster, an arrow, a trap, and the rest of the ingredients.
The distribution of this document is free and the Commission is not responsible for its sale by unscrupulous people driven by profit.
ILLNESSES TO WATCH OUT FOR
* Contagious illnesses. Be careful with Leprosy or sicknesses that present the same characteristic symptoms.
* Neurological diseases.
* Disorders of the throat and vocal chords.
* It marks impotence in men.
A Special Suggestion for Scientists and Researchers
Study the active medicinal principles of jobo and ponasi [plants].
Events of Social Concern
* Great epidemics that can proliferate throughout a large area or nation.
* Changes in the agricultural sector.
* Disturbances in interpersonal relations and tragedies amongs neighbors.
* Breaks in treaties between friendly countries because of machinations of a third party.
* Military interventions.
Recomendaciones
1. Improvement in water resource systems generally and specifically with the urban sector. Be vigilant about the contamination of potable water.
2. Analyze the methods and processes of the agricultural sector.
3. Add dams and reservoirs in order to guarantee water consumption.
4. Avoiding smoking is recommended.
5. There will be non-compliance in agreements and obligations.
6. Droughts and sickness because of lack of water will continue.
7. Perform cleansings with grains [including all kinds of dried beans, etc.] and other ingredients.
8. Comply with the religious obligations you have acquired.
9. Strengthen your marriage.
10. Use common sense.
11. There will be an increase in espionage; this is the sign of condemnations; the danger of wars continues.
12. Carry out sacrifices in order to achieve goals.
13. This sign warns of plots
14. Only faith and prayer save.
Proverbs of the Sign
1. Green [newcomer’s] head, empty head.
2. Where there’s a head, the hat is isn’t carried in the hands.
3. The empty sack doesn’t stop.
4. It’s useless to show big gold earrings to someone who has no ears.
5. The tongue speaks faster than the mind thinks.
Message
Continue the models exemplified in 2005 [same sign] and take note of the negative aspects of that year for experience and opportune changes. (http://www.folkcuba.com/aa_la_letra_del_ano_2005.htm).
Collective Sacrifice to Benefit the Community
The sacrifice of a ram [carnero] to Eggun and Shangó with the rest of the necessary required ingredients is recommended.
Note: All of you should go to your respective godfathers for individual orientation.
The Organizing Commission of the Reading of the Year Wishes you a Happy and Prosperous Year 2007.
Sign of the Year in Spanish
and English - 2007 (see below)
Reposted from:
Folkcuba.com Homepage
Predicciones de Ifá para el año 2007
Para Cuba y el mundo
A los sacerdotes de Ifá, a los hermanos Oriates, Babaloshas, Iyaloshas e Iworos.
Pueblo religioso en general
El pasado 31 de Diciembre del 2006, se reunieron 950 Sacerdotes de Ifá en representación de la inmensa mayoría de las ramas o familias de Cuba. En la casa templo situada en Ave. 10 de Octubre # 1509 e/ Josefina y Gertrudis, Víbora, Municipio 10 de Octubre, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.
Esta ceremonia fue presidida por el sacerdote de Ifá Guillermo Diago “Ogbe Weñe” y saco la letra el sacerdote mas pequeño.
Signo Regente: Ofun Otura (Ofun Topola)- Ofun Lame el Corojo.
Oración Profética: Ire Ashegun Ota lese Oshosi (Beneficio de vencer las dificultades y enemigos al pie de Oshosi.
Ónishe: Frutas variadas, su coco y sus velas.
Divinidad Regente: Oshosi: Esta palabra se deriva de O,-quien, -So,- vigilar,- SII.- a una distancia, algún tiempo. Osha de los cazadores (Ode) y de los conocedores de las propiedades mágicas de las plantas. Es un Orisha guerrero, por tener una especial habilidad de ver a gran distancia y escuchar el mas mínimo sonido, así como el actuar con increíble rapidez.- Uno de los hijos de Yemaya, como su hermano Orgun, el es el Patrón de los Cazadores. Su asistencia se desarrolla llevando a los animales a las trampas o huecos que los atrapen; colabora con su hermano dándole la ayuda necesaria a los cazadores.- Tiene 2 formas de representación, una es simplemente un Arco y la otra, un hombre con un Arco.
Asegura la comida en nuestras casas y muchas veces se le vincula con la policía, por lo que no pocos religiosos tratan de ensalzarlo para escapar de las persecuciones y persecuciones de las autoridades.- Oshosi lleva las sentencias de Obatala, por lo que muchas veces se le confunde y se le vincula con las cárceles y prisiones.
Su planta fundamental es la ciruela.- Esta Osha esta relacionada con Esi, especie de fetiche que se pone detrás de la puerta, para proteger la casa del ataque de las fieras.- Este fetiche es un arco con 3 flechas, el cual es consagrado en el culto (Esin) a Oshosi.
Su collar es de cuentas azules y color miel (ámbar) recibe los mismos sacrificios y ofrendas que Orgun.- En Cuba se sincretiza con San Norberto; en Brasil con San Sebastián, y los Amerindios con Aimore.- Oshosi llego al mundo acompañado del Odu Ifa Oshe Kana para proporcionar el alimento a las comunidades humanas....
Nota Importante: cuando el devoto de Oshosi se desarmoniza con esta Osha o no toma en cuenta sus tabúes, ni acata los requerimientos que se exigen, son afectados con problemas en los negocios y con la pobreza.
Divinidad Acompañante: Oya, Divinidad de las tormentas y de los suaves vientos. Identificada con el espíritu de los antepasados. Es la diosa del río Níger (Odo Oya), el cual ha recibido su nombre por esta divinidad. Se supone que sea la primera esposa y favorita del Orisha Shango. La tradición nos dice que el río se formó originalmente por las copiosas lagrimas que ella derramó el día que murió su esposo.
Bandera del Año: Mitad Azul y mitad Amarilla con ribetes en morado.
Ebbo: Un pollon, una flecha y una trampa y los demás ingredientes.
La distribución de éste documento es gratuita y esta Comisión no es responsable de la venta que hacen personas inescrupulosas, con ánimo de lucro.
Enfermedades de cuidado.
* Enfermedades Contagiosas. Cuidado con la Lepra o enfermedades que presenten lasEnfermedades Contagiosas. Cuidado con la Lepra o enfermedades que presenten las mismas características sintomá
* Enfermedades Neurológicas
* Trastornos en la garganta y las cuerdas vocales
* Marca impotencia en el hombre
SUGERENCIA ESPECIAL PARA LOS CIENTIFICOS E INVESTIGADORES
Estudiar los principios activos medicinales del Jobo y Ponasí
Acontecimientos de interés social.
* Grandes epidemias que pudieran propagarse a una extensa Grandes epidemias que pudieran propagarse a una extensa área o Nació
* Modificaciones en el sector de la agricultura
* Alteración de las relaciones interpersonales y tragedias entre vecinos
* Rupturas de convenios entre países amigos por maquinaciones de un tercero
* Intervenciones militares
Recomendaciones
1. Mejoramiento de los sistemas hidráulicos en general y en especial en los sectores urbanos. Tener cuidado con la contaminación de las aguas potables.
2. Analizar los métodos y procedimientos en el sector agrícola
3. Incrementar presas y embalses para garantizar el consumo de Agua
4. Se recomienda evitar el Tabaquismo
5. Incumplimientos de los Pactos y compromisos.
6. Se mantiene la sequía y enfermedades por falta del agua
7. Hacer limpieza con granos y demás ingredientes
8. Cumplir los compromisos religiosos adquiridos
9. Consolidar el matrimonio.- Se hace un llamado a la cordura.
10. Incremento del espionaje – Signo de sentencia.- Continua el peligro de Guerras
11. Realizar sacrificios para lograr propósitos
12. Signo que advierte confabulaciones
13. Solo la fe y la oración salva.
Refranes del Signo
1. Cabeza verde, cabeza hueca
2. Cuando hay cabeza el sombrero no se lleva en las manos
3. Saco vacío no se para
4. Inútil mostrar argollas de oro al que no tiene orejas
5. La lengua habla más rápido que lo que la cabeza piensa
Mensaje
Seguir los modelos ejemplificantes del Año 2005 y tomar referencias de los aspectos negativos del propio año como experiencia y cambios oportunos. (http://www.folkcuba.com/aa_la_letra_del_ano_2005.htm).
Sacrificio Colectivo en Beneficio de la Comunidad
Se recomienda el Sacrificio de un Carnero a Eggun y Shango con los demás ingredientes
Nota: Se recomienda dirigirse a sus respectivos padrinos en busca de orientaciones individuales.
Feliz y Próspero Año 2007 le desea la Comisión Organizadora de la Letra del año.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sign of the Year in English - 2007
Folkcuba.com Homepage
IFÁ DIVINATION FOR THE 2007 YEAR
FOR CUBA AND THE WORLD
To the priests of Ifá, to our brothers and sisters— the Oriatés, Babaloshas, Iyaloshas, and Iworos— and the general religious public.
On the 31st of December of 2006, 950 priests of Ifá gathered in representation of the great majority of the religious branches or families of Cuba in the casa-templo situated on Avenida 10 de Octubre, #1509, between Josefina and Gertrudis, Vibora, Municipio 10 de Octubre, City of Havana, Cuba.
The Ifá priest Guillermo Diago Ogbe Weñe presided over the ceremony and the most junior priest took out the sign of the year.
Reigning Sign: Ofún Otura (Ofún Topolá). Ofún laps up palm oil.
Orientation of the sign: Iré Ashegún Otá elese Oshosi (the fortune of overcoming difficulties and enemies at the foot of Oshosi).
Onishe: Varied fruits, coconut, and candles.
Reigning Deity: Oshosi. The name is derived from O (the one who); S[h]o (to conduct vigilance); Sii (from a distance, over time). He is the orisha of the hunters (odé) and belongs to the specialists in the magical properties of plants. He is a warrior orisha by virtue of having the special talent of seeing over great distances and hearing the slightest sound, as well as, acting with incredible speed. He is one of the sons of Yemayá, and as is his brother Ogún, is the patron of hunters. His presence leads animals to hunters’ traps or the holes that trap them. He collaborates with his brother, giving hunters the help they need. He is represented by two forms: a simple bow and the bowman. Oshosi ensures food in our homes and often he is linked to the police, because no few religious practitioners try to propitiate him in order to escape persecution and persecution by the authorities. Oshosi carries out the judgements of Obatalá, for which reason there arises the confusion that Oshosi is the orisha associated with jails and prisons.
His foundational plant is the ciruela [plum].
Oshosi is related with esi, a species of power object that is placed behind the door in order to protect the house from attacks by brutes. This power object is a bow with three arrows, which is consecrated within the worship (esin) of Oshosi.
Oshosi’s necklace is made of blue and honey-colored (amber) beads. He receives the same sacrifices as Ogún. In Cuba he is syncretized with Saint Norbert, in Brazil with Saint Sebastian and among the Amerindians with Aimore.
Oshosi arrived to the world accompanied by the Ifá odu Oshé Kana so that he could distribute nourishment to the human community.
Important Note: when the followers of Oshosi fall out of harmony with this orisha or don’t take into account his taboos, nor comply with the requirements Oshosi demands, they are afflicted with problems in business and of poverty.
Accompanying Deity: Oyá, deity of storms and gentle winds. She is identified with the spirits of the ancestors. She is the deity of the River Niger (Odó Oyá), which received its name from this deity. It is believed that she was the first and favorite wife of the orisha Shangó. The tradition tells us that the river was originally formed by the copious tears she shed when her husband died.
Flag of the Year: Half blue and half yellow with purple trimming.
Ebbo: A young rooster, an arrow, a trap, and the rest of the ingredients.
The distribution of this document is free and the Commission is not responsible for its sale by unscrupulous people driven by profit.
ILLNESSES TO WATCH OUT FOR
* Contagious illnesses. Be careful with Leprosy or sicknesses that present the same characteristic symptoms.
* Neurological diseases.
* Disorders of the throat and vocal chords.
* It marks impotence in men.
A Special Suggestion for Scientists and Researchers
Study the active medicinal principles of jobo and ponasi [plants].
Events of Social Concern
* Great epidemics that can proliferate throughout a large area or nation.
* Changes in the agricultural sector.
* Disturbances in interpersonal relations and tragedies amongs neighbors.
* Breaks in treaties between friendly countries because of machinations of a third party.
* Military interventions.
Recomendaciones
1. Improvement in water resource systems generally and specifically with the urban sector. Be vigilant about the contamination of potable water.
2. Analyze the methods and processes of the agricultural sector.
3. Add dams and reservoirs in order to guarantee water consumption.
4. Avoiding smoking is recommended.
5. There will be non-compliance in agreements and obligations.
6. Droughts and sickness because of lack of water will continue.
7. Perform cleansings with grains [including all kinds of dried beans, etc.] and other ingredients.
8. Comply with the religious obligations you have acquired.
9. Strengthen your marriage.
10. Use common sense.
11. There will be an increase in espionage; this is the sign of condemnations; the danger of wars continues.
12. Carry out sacrifices in order to achieve goals.
13. This sign warns of plots
14. Only faith and prayer save.
Proverbs of the Sign
1. Green [newcomer’s] head, empty head.
2. Where there’s a head, the hat is isn’t carried in the hands.
3. The empty sack doesn’t stop.
4. It’s useless to show big gold earrings to someone who has no ears.
5. The tongue speaks faster than the mind thinks.
Message
Continue the models exemplified in 2005 [same sign] and take note of the negative aspects of that year for experience and opportune changes. (http://www.folkcuba.com/aa_la_letra_del_ano_2005.htm).
Collective Sacrifice to Benefit the Community
The sacrifice of a ram [carnero] to Eggun and Shangó with the rest of the necessary required ingredients is recommended.
Note: All of you should go to your respective godfathers for individual orientation.
The Organizing Commission of the Reading of the Year Wishes you a Happy and Prosperous Year 2007.
Letra del Año
El Nuevo Herald
Posted on Wed, Jan. 03, 2007
CUBA
Cuba's Santería priests predict 'funereal' future
Two Havana groups of Santería priests issued their predictions for 2007, eagerly awaited by the many Cubans who practice the mixture of African and Catholic religions.
BY RUI FERREIRA
El Nuevo Herald
In separate and virtually competing new-year predictions, two groups of Cuban Santería priests are predicting a ''funereal'' future but also an ''ideal'' moment for an economic recovery.
The island's babalawos have long been split into several groups, with one group relatively loyal to the government. But their annual predictions nevertheless are anxiously awaited by the many Cubans who practice the mixture of African and Catholic religions.
This year, the predictions were awaited with special interest because of Fidel Castro's still-unknown ailment, which has kept him out of the public eye since July 26 and sparked speculation that he's seriously ill.
On Monday, the Yoruba priests who make up the relatively independent Commission for the Year's Letter announced that 2007 would be marked by wars and ''military interventions'' although the island will see an economic improvement based on the discovery of oil and mineral deposits.
While they refused to speak specifically about Castro's health, babalawo Lázaro Cuesta, who read the year's prediction, made comments that seemed to be directed at the Cuban leader's ailment.
''The panorama that presents itself to us is a little funereal,'' he said. ``When one doesn't leave his place at its proper time, one runs the risk that unpredictable things happen.''
Castro surrendered power for the first time in 47 years after undergoing intestinal surgery in late July. A Spanish surgeon who visited him two weeks ago said Castro was recovering from ''complications'' following ``very grave surgery.''
The 80-year-old Castro turned over most of his power temporarily to his younger brother Raúl, who is believed by many Cuba-watchers to be more willing than his brother to open the island's economy to more market forces.
''I was powerfully impressed that they [the babalawos] were so categoric on this,'' said María I. Faguaga Iglesias, a Havana anthropologist who took part in the process of developing the commission's predictions.
Although the Cuban babalawos usually avoid making statements with political implications, this year they raised eyebrows when they called for more care and attention to the island's youth ``because today's youth will be called to rule from a house to a country in the not-too-distant future.''
The babalawos' comments coincided with recent statements by Raúl Castro that the generation that fought in and led the Castro revolution is reaching the end of its time ``and we must give way to new generations.''
Meanwhile, the Cuban Council of Senior Ifá Priests, considered to be more loyal to the government, said its predictions ``speak of legal problems and their repercussions, which could bring as a concequence an increase in corruption and crime.''
A third group of babalawos in Miami, which will make its own predictions public today, said the true forecast falls somewhere between the two Havana groups. ''If we take a piece of each letter to make up one real letter, if out of all this mess we take a little bit of each, this year, simply put, the letter is predicting something bad,'' said Miami babalawo José Montoya.
rferreira@herald.com
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