Santeria: A Practical Guide to Afro-Caribbean Magic

by Luis Manuel Núñez, Michael Ventura (Foreword)

Santería can conservatively claim one hundred million participants in North and Latin America. As the Hispanic migration into the United States grows, Santeria will become more and more part of American life. Yet, these rituals are a major assault on the Western mind and its established ideas of religion.

Santeria deals with the passions of the soul; hatred, jealousy, fear, money and jobs, hopeless love, betrayal, and the misfortunes of ill health. Messages from Santeria oracles, its sacrifices and body-healings are as immediate as our blood, sweat, and the heat of sex.

As Michael Ventura writes in his Foreword: "... the Gods of Santeria are here... They sing, walk, talk, dance, joke, heal, curse, and save through a process that the West usually classifies as psychotic...."

Although Luis Manuel Nuñez lived in Cuba until age ten, "the American educational system proved to be very effective": he found his parents' beliefs merely quaint. Marriage to a Cuban woman revived his heritage, leading to Santeria, this elegantly clear, authoritative, and practical book.

Genres: Spirituality

163 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

Reviews

[Amy Yam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is on my shelf with the author's name listed as Luís Manuel Núñez. What gives?