Santería

Santeria is the popular name for a set of religious beliefs which are a blend of Catholic and African religious traditions. It developed in the Spanish-speaking islands of the Caribbean during the first centuries of Spanish colonization. Spanish missionaries attempted to teach the Catholic religion to black Africans brought as slaves, mainly from the Yoruba tribe in what is now Nigeria.
It is believed that the African slaves accepted reluctantly the teachings of Spanish missionaries. They were threatened against practising their own religious rites. Fear of punishment may have had much influence in the resulting blend of beliefs. From the beginning, Santeria had a lot of similarities with the Catholic Church, like worshiping of saints, mass, lighting of candles, and celebrations of the saintís holidays. Throughout time, many Catholic Puerto Ricans became followers of Santeria. The same thing happened throughout other Spanish-speaking nations in the Caribbean and Latin America. Each country developed its own set of beliefs, always in the bipolarity of Catholic and African cultural traditions.

To this day, many people practice Santeria in secret because they do not want to be criticized by the Catholic church that is against this practice. Secrecy has been a key feature of Santeria since it began to be practiced in the Caribbean. Slaves were forbidden to practice their rituals by Catholic missionaries, and severely punished if caught in Santeria rituals.