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2008 8: 249Tourist StudiesKali Argyriadis

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Speculators and santuristasThe development of Afro-Cuban cultural

tourism and the accusation of religious

commercialism

Kali ArgyriadisInstitut de Recherche pour le Développement, Bondy, France

abstract Within the last ten years, cultural tourisn based mainly on Afro-Cuban

folklore has grown considerably in Havana. At the same time, an increasing number

of foreigners are visiting the island in order to learn about religions such as santería

and palo monte, both considered as having their roots in Africa. In the economical

crisis facing Cuba today, religíon has become one of the most efficient way to

improve one’s economical situation. This fact is discussed and criticized at various

levels of Cuban society. This article analyses this phenomenon, considering criticisms

of mercantilism as an ambigous ‘category of accusation’ typical of the exchanges

between practitioners and of the social relations on the island in general. Based on

ethnographic researches conducted in Havana, this article also addresses the

classical distinction between sacred and profane. Distinctions between cultural,

artistic, religious, political, emotional and economical dimensions is also discussed.

We will see that those dimensions are always manifest and connected together in

touristic shows as well as in religious ceremonies.

keywords Cuba, religion, tourism, patrimonialisation, folklorisation, afrocuban dance

and music

Introduction

Within the last 10 years, cultural tourism based mainly on Afro-Cuban folklorehas considerably grown in Havana. At the same time, an increasing number offoreigners are visiting the island in order to learn about religions such as santeríaand palo monte, both considered to have their roots in Africa. In the economicalcrisis facing Cuba today, religíon has become one of the most efficient ways toimprove one’s economical situation.This fact is discussed and criticized at vari-ous levels of Cuban society.This article analyzes this phenomenon, considering

tourist studies© 2008sage publicationsLos Angeles, London,New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DCvol 8(2) 249-265DOI: 10.1177/1468797608099251www.sagepublications.com

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criticisms of mercantilism as an ambiguous ‘category of accusation’ typical of theexchanges between practitioners and of the social relations on the island ingeneral. Based on ethnographic researches conducted in Havana, this article alsoaddresses the classical distinction between sacred and profane. Distinctionsbetween cultural, artistic, religious, political, emotional and economical dimen-sions will also be discussed. We will see that those dimensions are alwaysmanifest and connected together in touristic shows as well as in religiousceremonies.

The growth of tourism in Cuba is regularly criticized for its contribution tothe commercialization and degeneration of religious practices. These arereferred to by the generic term religión, covering a whole series of distinct cultsand practices: santería, the ifá divinatory system, palo-monte, spiritualism and thecult of saints and virgins.Throughout the year, lovers of Cuban culture can takepart in courses, festivals, colloquia and conferences in which the Afro-Cubandimension is emphasized. Participation is one way of achieving closer involve-ment, sometimes even leading to real religious practice (Argyriadis, 2001–2002).This has generated a very particular type of tourism that could be qualified as‘religious’, in that the main objective of the voyage is to attend ceremonies,either as a spectator or as a participant.Today, some researchers criticize the lowquality of so-called ‘Afro-Cuban’ cultural events, which, according to them,bring foreigners into contact with unscrupulous profiteers who transformCuban religious and cultural experience into an artificial consumer good.Rogelio Martínez Furé, co-founder of the National Folklore Ensemble, callsthis phenomenon santurismo (personal interview, 11 November 2003); he alsodescribes it as ‘pseudo-folklorism’ (2004: 155) manipulated by ‘predators of thetraditional popular heritage’ (2004: 160).

Moving beyond the discourse so often repeated in Cuban discussions aboutthe socio-religious degeneration or crisis, I would like to try to understand theprocesses that produce these accusations, to understand their role within areligious practice afflicted, like all religions, by internal power struggles.There isno question here of taking sides or of stigmatizing either the actors or theprocesses, but rather, following the suggestions of M. de la Pradelle (1996:12–13), of analyzing situations of market exchange as some among many formsof social relation, necessarily interacting with other dimensions. In this light, theaccusations of commercialism, such as the accusations of black magic or non-traditionality, should be understood as a category of discourse that nurtures therivalries between religiosos (practitioners) and informs us about the rules gov-erning the circulation of material and spiritual goods within religión.

The context of the accusations

Each year, about two million tourists visit the island of Cuba, mainly Canadianand European and to a lesser extent Mexican, Venezuelan (very recent) andArgentinean.2 The government has decided to encourage the development of

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this industry with the clearly stated aim of combating a situation of crisis.Whenthe special economic relations with Eastern Europe collapsed in 1990, FidelCastro decreed a state of emergency, the ‘Special Period in Peacetime’. After atime of great hardship (1991–1995), and despite a relative economic recoveryaccompanied by new laws allowing certain private initiatives (restricted to theindividual or family level), the situation continued to be difficult for all thosewho had no direct access, through a job in the tourist sector, with a public–pri-vate company or through receipt of money sent home by family membersworking abroad, to the American dollar or its equivalent, the convertible peso.In this singular context, the population has developed numerous strategies fordaily survival, denoted in popular language by the terms ‘fight’, ‘solve’ and‘invent’. In Havana, people do not buy a bus ticket, they ‘fight a transport’ (lucharun transporte) and they ‘invent a meal’ (inventar la comida).

For those who have no family abroad and who do not work in the ‘emerg-ing sector of the economy’, religión (and more precisely the santería and the cultof ifá, which enjoy a certain prestige, both inside the country and abroad)remains one of the surest, most lucrative and relatively legal ways to improvetheir material situation.The inhabitants of Havana have invested more and morein these activities, which also attract a growing number of foreign visitors,willing to spend considerable sums of money to become initiated:US$1200–8000 to ‘do one’s saint’ (hacer santo) or to ‘do ifá’.

However, this religious development cannot be reduced to a simple search forprofit. The status of believers has evolved very favorably since the politicalopening of 1991 (Cuarto congreso …, 1992). ‘Cuban religions of African origin’are now considered strong and valuable markers of Cuban cultural identity.Thepublic is also convinced of the supremacy of the Cuban santería over its sisterreligions of Africa and America. Cuba is held to be the birthplace of the yorubatradition and of the sacred energy called aché. Today, many religiosos base theirlocal legitimacy on the prestigious visitors or foreign godchildren they receiveand the voyages they have been on, ‘invited as a specialist’ to give ‘conferences’or to serve as guarantors of the effectiveness and traditionality of variousceremonies.

As a consequence, rivalries between religiosos have shifted onto a global field.Fifteen years ago, the main preoccupation of each specialist was to disprove thesuspicions of black magic that might weigh on him. Now they are moreconcerned to demonstrate their traditional authenticity through the mediationof an international public. Within the context of the antagonism betweenCubans and Cubans exiles, the accusation of disguised or instrumentalizedpolitical militantism is also widely employed (Argyriadis and Capone, 2004).But there is another type of accusation which, although often associated withthe economic context described above, has in fact existed for more than acentury. This involves denouncing confidence tricks, charlatanism, spéculation(ostentation of wealth and power) and greed (metalizarse), whether they arepracticed between one Cuban and another or between Cubans and foreigners.

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The context in which these views are expressed has a considerable influenceon their content: this is above all a competitive world, admitting neithersupreme head nor dogma, a market for goods of salvation (Bourdieu, 1971: 320)in the broadest sense of the term (removing the strictly Christian connotation –in this case the hoped-for salvation concerns the present moment) in whicheach actor must promote his own qualities and minimize those of his com-petitors. Moreover, the religiosos have had to defend themselves against discrimin-ation, rejection and sometimes persecution from government and/orecclesiastical authorities. The integration of the African element into theconcept of Cuban national culture was far from established at the dawn ofindependence (1898), and it was subsequently the subject of bitter debateamong the members of the island’s intellectual and artistic elite. It is worth not-ing that from the beginning, this slow process has always included denunciationof the commercialization of religious services.We could give many examples toillustrate the timeless nature of the accusation of commercialism (Cabrera, 1993:117; Díaz Fabelo, 1960: 43–4). See for instance the early critiques of the Cubanessayist and scholar Fernando Ortiz (1995) on the religious practises of Afro-Cubans which he considered as a ‘social pathology’ involving the commercialexploitation of credulity. Forty years later, and in a very different context, whenCuban academics had taken up the defense of music and dance of Africanorigin as paradigms of Cubanity in the face of North-American, commercialexploitation of the Afro-Cuban liturgy was in turn sharply criticized (Ortiz,1981: 149).

One essential point to bear in mind is that in their diffusion through Cuba,these religious practices were always structured by market principles, with pricesrising and falling depending on the customer concerned and the cost of livingat the time. At the same time, thanks to artistic enhancement and the use ofmodern communication techniques, they have opened up to cover a widerfield.

Giving to receive: the circulation of goods

Before going any further, we shall explain more precisely the symbolic andeconomic implications of religión in the Cuban context.The relations betweenliving people and the spirits (the dead and the saints) are based on interdepend-ence (see Augé, 1988: 11) and constant negotiations that determine the type ofgoods that will be put into circulation and the type of benefits that will accruein return.The orishas, the dead and the living all need to accumulate force, lightor aché in order to develop.The ritual activity can therefore be seen as a contractof reciprocity to be fulfilled (Palmié, 2004: 251), a time when these energies areput into circulation and each of the parties involved claim their due, withouthesitating to exert all kinds of pressures in the event of a dispute. Of course,people fear the punishment that the spirits might inflict, but it is not uncom-mon to see someone threaten or insult their saints or nfumbe, by turning their


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receptacle upside-down or ceasing to attend to them ritually for several days(the supreme punishment being to stop believing in them and to throw theirmaterial representation into the sea or into the garbage).

It is important to recall that for these rituals payment in kind has, in certaincontexts, constituted an important form of remuneration. Only 10 years ago, thequestion of the type and number of animals to be sacrificed was fiercelydebated, and still is in the poorest religious milieus. Except in certain specificcases, a substantial proportion of the meat from these animals is consumedritually, the remainder being shared between the organizers of the ceremony,their godparents and/or the sacrificer. The saints (or orishas) and the dead,sometimes demanding, sometimes magnanimous, surprised or capricious, takepart in the discussion, call for four-legged animals, and are countered witharguments evoking the Special Period, prices on the local market and the valueof the dollar. Likewise, they determine which members of the public at aforthcoming ceremony will be invited to the ritual meal and which people willonly receive caldoza (a thick soup made with pork and tubers). Beyond thequestion of the possible greed of certain parties, these negotiations explicitlydefine the border between the closest/most attentive godchildren within theritual family, the preferred family members and friends and the others. In fact,many people invite themselves to religious feasts (cajones and tambores), theoreti-cally open to everyone, with the sole aim of eating a piece of meat and a fewspoonfuls of sweet dishes.

Even in the case of an experienced religioso, with deep knowledge and manygodchildren, the presence of others is indispensable for two fundamentalreasons: first, to accumulate force, light or aché; and, second, to bear witness to theaccomplishment of the ceremony (a function whose importance grows inproportion to the religioso’s desire to establish his/her prestige). Religiosos obtaintwo benefits in exchange for their services in a ritual: they receive both aché anda payment.As rites of passage, initiations are also social events, like marriages orbaptisms, and for this reason no expense can be spared.The living, the dead andthe saints must be fed, and a fee (derecho) must be paid to each active participantaccording to the task (and celebrity) of each one: the godparents, the sacrificer,the diviner, those who help with the cooking, cleaning and decoration and thepreparation of the ritual ingredients, the musicians, those who have the gift ofbecoming possessed.The acolyte takes great pride in the ‘sacrifice’ he has madeto ensure the success of his initiation, source of prestige par excellence andwhich he mentions regularly: ‘I don’t have to hide away, because I love myreligion and it [the initiation] cost me a lot [mi dinero me costó]’; this is the great-est proof of love and devotion that he can give to the gods, who are supposed,in return, to help him recover the sum invested a hundred times over.

Implicitly, the contract of reciprocity linking someone to their spiritsconcerns his whole social and religious circle. In this respect, spirits are medi-ators of the relation with others and with oneself (Augé, 1982: 103).This idea isexpressed very concretely in all the systems of redistribution that are organized


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during public ceremonies. Several authors, for example, highlight the case of thealtars set up on these occasions, veritable ‘machines of exchange’ (Brown, 1989:467; see also Palmié, 2004: 252).These thrones, on which the receptacles of theorishas and/or the dead repose majestically under a canopy of brightly coloredcloths surrounded by flowers, dishes of food, drinks and baskets of fruit (calledplaza – marketplace) symbolize abundance, the promise of future prosperity.Their contents are shared out amongst those present, either by those who havebecome possessed during the ceremony, if there are any, or at the end by theorganizers. It would be inconceivable to refuse the plate of cakes, the honey orthe mouthful of eau de vie offered in this context: ‘it’s aché, it’s good for you’,explain the religioso. In exchange, a basket and a small idiophone (maracas, bell)are installed at the foot of the throne, so that each person, kneeling on a mat, caninvoke the spirit being celebrated, salute him, ask him and leave him a sum ofmoney.Another basket is set at the musicians’ feet, to collect the extra paymentleft to the discretion of the public. Sometimes, enthusiastic participants stickbanknotes on the perspiring foreheads of the singers or of those possessed, whocan then in turn offer them to the people present.The money remaining in thebasket at the foot of the throne (the fee for the saint or the dead) is used to buythe offerings asked for by the spirits during the ceremony.The organizer is wellaware of the amount of money available, and he negotiates firmly with thepossessed to limit the expense.

Within the more limited context of the consultation or simple personaltherapies, the role of the money paid in addition to the other ingredients, alsocalled a fee, is particularly subject to controversy. For here, the specialist is alonewith his customers, without other religioso (considered competitors, in thiscontext) as witnesses, and he sets his own prices. It is therefore easy to level theaccusation of commercialism. It is not by chance that the babalawos, meninitiated into the ifá divinatory system, who currently enjoy great prestige, arealso those who ask the highest prices. Holbraad (2002) has underlined the factthat, beyond its potential of abstraction, money, as an instrument of negotiationwith the divinities and as a ‘fluid and immanent substance that vivifies themovement of exchange’ (our translation), is an integral element of the cult andits cosmology. For that author, the spending of money literally animates thelogic of ifá.This reflection could be extended to cover all the material modali-ties of religión, i.e. those that admit the sacrifice of animals and the payments offees (santera and palera consultations). Bank notes and coins symbolize more thanjust prosperity, they are not simply the means of paying for a service: they arealso the bearers of aché or force, and this is why they are sometimes included inthe ingredients of offerings destined to be thrown out with the other waste orput inside the receptacles of spirits, where nobody would dare to touch them.

Devoting oneself to consultations is one of the key elements in a religioso’scareer; it goes hand in hand with the fact of having godchildren and formingone’s own ritual family. Some exercise this activity in parallel with anotherprofessional activity, but for many it is now their main employment. From this


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point of view, consultation fees are re-introduced into the religious circuit topay for the ceremonies enabling the religioso to attain higher initiatory levels andso to perform stronger works, to fulfill his duty towards the spirits and to cleansehimself, all costly operations that in turn justify the high prices of consultations.It is also important to impress the customers, for, paradoxically, although humil-ity is praised in discourse, signs of wealth are interpreted as marks of powerwhen it comes to choosing a godfather. External signs of prosperity (newclothes, jewels, knock-knacks, buffet food for visitors, household appliances,etc.) are proudly exhibited as so many proofs of the recognition and gratitudeof national and foreign godchildren. The views one hears are nourished bycriticism or admiration, depending on whether they are expressed by allies orrivals. The money received is therefore used as an investment enabling thereligioso to maintain status, in an environment of power struggles where effortsto outdo the others are constant and indispensable, especially now that it is nolonger simply a question of the religious market of Havana, but of flourishingcompetition on a tricontinental scale.

Attending to or taking care of others, and vice versa (by giving proofs ofaffection) is an essential element in the range of exchanges between humans andspirits, and in general a highly valued way of behavior. For this reason, each timea religioso criticizes the self-interest of others, he does so by contrasting this withthe concepts of love and affection which he claims for himself.A santera, refer-ring to the exploitation of foreigners, specifies:‘it’s just a business, to speculate.Theydon’t give it with all their love, as we do.As I do, myself’. Beyond the dimension ofself-promotion, always present in this type of discourse, the concept of love ascurrency of exchange needs careful analysis.

When the spirits come down (once the material obligations have been fulfilled:fees, offerings, meals, feasts), they begin their evolution by effusively embracingtheir children, while blessing them and using all the affectionate terms in thevocabulary of kinship.Almost at the same time, they complain loudly about howthey have been neglected, despite their devotion. These reproaches can alsocondemn the attitude of certain individuals towards members of their family.Here, once again, the spirit plays the role of mediator in human conflicts. Mostoften, the criticism concerns the lack of attention shown by godchildrentowards their godparents, and sometimes by children towards their mothers.Those present then make it a point of honor to express the deepest affections,and when a request is made, it is always expressed in an emotional register,stressing the ties of love between the spirit and the person.

Beyond the contrast between self-interest and affection, material goods andproofs of love are closely linked, the giving of the former constituting one ofthe possible means to receive the latter, and vice versa.As N. Juárez Huet (2005)observed: ‘Exchanges, which can be reciprocal or asymmetric, combine diversesituations, means, contexts and interests that are not always either analogous orrelated exclusively to economic questions.’And it is interesting to note that the‘pay-what-you-want’ form of payment (used by many spirites and sometimes by


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certain paleros, santeros and babalawos) is probably the hardest debt to settle. Howcan it be quantified? Generally speaking, the ritual family ties that are created inthe religión lead not only to the exchange of goods, but also to relations of care,affection and mutual aid that can in turn be expressed through services renderedand gifts, all the more so when the purchasing power and/or level of religiousknowledge of the two parties are unequal.

The accusation of commercialism therefore has a political function, servingas a strategic weapon in power struggles within the religión. But it must also beunderstood in relation to the effective practice that it masks: a relation ofnegotiation with the spirits and with other people. Whether they are high orlow, the prices are never brought into question per se. What is at stake is thequality of the work and consequently of the relation. Criticism only arises whenthere is conflict or disappointment, and it is the evolution in the social link thatproduces the accusation, the debt of affection being symbolically staged throughthe accusation of self-interest, and not the reverse.

The dramatization of ‘folklore’ and cultural tourism

As we observed above, there is nothing new about the accusation of commer-cialism. What is new is the scale of the current phenomenon. In the Cubancapital, there has been an evident, marked increase in the numbers of specialists,ceremonies, and places where one can encounter religión, and a resultinginflation of prices. Meetings between the religiosos of Havana and visitors who,even if they speak the same language, do not share the same codes and implicitrules, has become easier and more current since the recent opening of theisland. In this particular type of scenario (the extreme case being that of theforeigner who arrives, does his initiation and then leaves, all within one week),ritual family ties are not sufficient to establish solid commitments. Social,cultural and geographic distance make it difficult to maintain a regular exchangeof care, affection and aché, and goods in kind lose their potential of reciprocity(it is, for example, unlikely that a foreign godchild will appreciate the true valueof being able to receive a leg of goat).The Cuban religiosos’ exchangeable goodis their ritual knowledge, while foreign godchildren pay in cash and offerproducts that are difficult to obtain on the island. It is therefore hardly surpris-ing that in the context of rivalry between religiosos of different nationalities, theaccusation of commercialism is used to counter affirmations of traditionality:this is especially the case with Mexicans or North-Americans who break awayfrom their Cuban godparents, condemning their supposed greed, or Cubanswho accuse ‘Nigerians’ of getting rich on the backs of the North-Americansand Mexicans.The process that feeds power struggles between religiosos is repro-duced on a larger scale.

Despite the initial distance, and thanks to modern means of transport andcommunication, we can observe many cases where strong links (both positiveand negative) are consolidated within the transnational networks now formed


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by a number of ritual families (Argyriadis, 2005). In most cases, visitors belongto a network before undertaking their initiatory trip to Cuba. However, theestablishment of the Cuban santería in other American countries (and morerecently in Europe) and its promotion within the frame of cultural tourism inHavana are also closely linked to the artistic practice inspired by the objects,dances and musical repertoires dedicated to the orishas. It is indispensable to takethis phenomenon – which has contributed to the destigmatization of ‘Afro-Cuban’ religions (Argyriadis, 2006) – into account if we are to understand howthe presentation of tourist shows has become one of the factors in the religiousinvolvement of foreign visitors, as well as a space for negotiation with theauthorities (the state, elders, etc.) and for calling into question the demonizationof market transactions.

The opening of the island (promotion of the tourist industry, more flexibletraveling conditions for Cuban nationals and exiles, emigration, the huge returnof Cuban music to the international market) dates from the beginning of the1990s. For Havana, however, this constituted a sort of second episode in aprocess that had started in the 1950s when, with the international success andworld tours of Cuban performers, the religious practices of their countrybecame more widely known, through their works.Without the revolution, thesepractices might have shared the same fate as those of the ‘Afro-Brazilian’religions (Boyer, 1993: 156–8; Capone, 1999). But the political changes on theisland brought to life the dreams of F. Ortiz (1981: 587), who, from 1950 on,denounced the commercialization of the Afro-Cuban repertoire and called forthe creation of a society of Afro-Cuban music or of Cuban musical folklore,with a dual scientific and aesthetic objective.

In 1960, the Centre for Folklore Studies at the National Theatre of Cuba wascreated, with financial aid from UNESCO. From the start, its assessor deploredthe commercial and tourist-related exploitation that had disfigured Cubanfolklore under the old system. The aim was to conduct research and perform‘authentic’ artistic spectacles in order, as he put it, ‘to become masters of ourown culture’ (León, 1961: 5–6). However, while the aesthetic and ‘resistant’character of Afro-Cuban culture was promoted, its religious dimension wasclearly rejected. In December 1961, the Centre was dissolved and replaced bytwo separate institutions: the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore, dedicatedexclusively to scientific research; and the National Folklore Ensemble (CFN),given the task of developing the artistic work, along with newly created artschools of higher quality.The CFN became a space of expression of which thereligiosos have taken advantage, both to legitimate their practices (after a lengthyprocess) and to stir the interest of new Cuban and foreign followers. And thefirst members of the CFN were chosen with the help of ethnologists’ inform-ants, the very same who had taken part in academic lectures and the commer-cial production of records and shows in the 1940s and 1950s.

After difficult beginnings, marked by tensions born out of persistent class andracial prejudice, the CFN went on to enjoy great success, thanks to its inter-


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national tours, production of records and documentaries, participation in variousdifferent film and theatre works of an anti-racist nature, theoretical formaliza-tion (Guerra, 1989: 5–21) and teaching of the repertoire. In 1982, the companystarted presenting its works every Saturday afternoon on the patio outside itsoffices, in the middle of a residential area (Vedado). These Sábado de la rumba(‘rumba Saturdays’) had a didactic and participatory structure: the public(including adults, children and a few tourists), standing in a circle, were invitedto identify the different works and repertoires, to memorize the rhythms, wordsand meaning of the songs, to accompany the music with handclaps andimprovised dancing and generally to compete in virtuosity, under the enthusi-astic gaze of the ‘veterans’ (old religiosos, informants or retired CFN performers),who sanctioned the whole thing by their presence, participation and approval.The choreographies presented by the orisha dances reproduced the setting of atambore, with a throne installed at the back of the stage and baskets of fruit,shared with the spectators at the end of the show.A mixture of spectacle, class,feast and religious ceremony (sometimes one of the dancers might go into atrance), the very lively productions of the CNF contributed more generally toawakening the curiosity of people who knew little or nothing of religión andserved as a model for the ‘folkloric’ groups subsequently formed in Havana.

The revolutionary government’s aim in stimulating Afro-Cuban artisticproduction was certainly not to favor increased adhesion to religión. Never-theless, this almost always accompanied the public’s aesthetic appreciation ofthis repertoire. Within the same sphere, the performer-teachers from theworkshops, classes and Afro-Cuban festivals deliberately and actively worked toincrease the standing of their religious practices. They played and still play aleading role as mediators vis-a-vis the foreign public.Today, they have becomethe direct interlocutors of lovers of this genre throughout the world.They livecomfortably from their art (trips abroad and regular contact with foreigners givethem legal access to hard currency) and enjoy recognized status. Those under50-year-olds have all trained in the CFN and/or in the art schools: they havehighly developed and diverse musical skills; master different ‘folk’ and ‘popular’genres as well as jazz or classical music; play several instruments; have had lessonsin music notation, harmony, orchestration and composing; and have read theworks of Cuban ethnologists and musicologists. Many of them live theirdemanding aesthetic involvement explicitly as a commitment as religioso and ascitizens (one of them, retired in 2001, described himself as an ‘improver ofculture’), both on stage and in the ceremonies for which they are hired, liketheir predecessors. In the face of the social, ethnic and religious discriminationthat is still expressed on the island in aesthetic terms (scandalous gesture,ugliness, stink, grossness, dirt, uproar), the beauty of the orishas dances and of thebatá drum rhythms,which have now become traditional after 70 years of history,have raised the santería3 to the rank of culture. On this point, the aspirations ofthe state and of the religioso appear to converge, at least within the frame of thedevelopment of cultural tourism.


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The accusation of religious jineterismo

The opening of several tourist sites in Havana selling objects and shows inspiredby the Afro-Cuban corpus has given rise to persistent rumors, as in the case ofthe Bazar de los orishas, inaugurated in 1993 within the confines of the ethno-graphical museum in Guanabacoa: it was alleged that santeros and babalawos hadbeen hired by the government to give consultations to foreigners. In fact, the1990s abounded with ambiguous decisions that probably contributed to thepolitical crisis of the time. In 1993, after decades spent rejecting capitalism andthe consumer society, after many public acts of repudiation of exiles (describingthem as ‘vermin’ and ‘scoria’), making it impossible for families divided by theGulf of Mexico to communicate openly, the possession of American dollars wasauthorized for everyone (even when the dollars were sent by family membersdiscreetly described as ‘abroad’) and ‘hard currency’ shops were opened. Manyreligious objects and ingredients are now manufactured by the Ministry of LightIndustry and sold for national currency in state shops. Access to hotels, disco-theques and beaches, which had been proudly ‘liberated’ from discriminationby the young revolution, are now restricted to foreigners (including Cubansfrom ‘abroad’) or wealthy nationals. Lastly, despite the official discourse thatcontinues to demonize individualistic profit-seeking, the government strategiesfor ‘using state-regulated market mechanisms’ (Resolución económica …, 1997)have engendered doubt and disappointment in Havana. In turn, these suspicionshave been grist to the mill for exiles, who accuse Havana religious performers ofcollusion with the state in the ‘folklorized’, commercialist presentation of theirpractices, to attract tourists to the island and customers to their consultations.

Whether it was deliberate or not, the sites of cultural tourism have becomefavored meeting points between religioso and foreign visitors, thanks to themediation of performers or other figures that we shall describe later.Advertisingoutside the island emphasizes the authentic character of events that emergespontaneously ‘in the street’ or ‘in the quarter’. In reality, however, they aremanaged and organized by specific state institutions (cultural centers, workshopsformed as part of the Cultura comunitaria plan for cultural revitalization, foun-dations, etc.) depending in turn on bodies specialized in the commercializationof this type of product, such as the Paradiso agency, which manages 90 percent ofthe annual program of cultural tourist events. But an analysis of the scheme inits entirety cannot stop there, nor ignore the fact that the ‘Afro-Cuban’ traditionpresented in these key sites has been carefully stage-managed.We need to movebeyond the contrast between falseness and authenticity, to observe the way inwhich the different actors gloss over the commercial dimension in their inter-actions, negotiate their social position or construct ‘ethnic’ or even ‘racial’ iden-tities. Afro-Cuban dances play a key role in this process. They illustrate the‘physical foundationalism’ of the tourist industry (Desmond, 1999) and consti-tute an arena where the internal dynamics of religión can perpetuate themselvesand invest new social circles.


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The Sábado de la rumba, recently renamed Gran Palenque, is mentioned in thetourist guides and included in the ‘package tours’ that ‘discover’ the capital.Today, it is one of the key sites of cultural tourism. Didacticism and audienceparticipation remain de rigueur during half the show, before a mixed public (theadmission fee is 5 pesos for Cubans, 5 convertible pesos for foreigners), whichalso includes researchers and foreign students equipped with microphones andcameras and ‘Cubans from abroad’, in search of traditionality, who film andrecord without stopping (subject to prior authorization and the payment of afee).Twice a year, the Folklore Ensemble organizes music and dance workshops,during which it opens its premises for presentations by pupils. Moreover, younggroups of extremely varied quality perform at the Gran Palenque, many of themhaving great difficulty in freeing themselves from the codified model of theCFN. And, to the despair of the old regulars, the interval is livened up by a‘fashion’ show, involving young people of both sexes, whose slender forms(contrasting with the more or less corpulent figures of the CFN members) areemphasized by short, transparent or cut-away clothes.

The presenter remains silent during the show itself, but the rest of the timeshe never misses an opportunity to joke with the male spectators: ‘Did you likethat? You did, didn’t you! … You went all red when the pretty girl rolled herhips there …’. She uses this banter first to create complicity between Cubans,paying tribute to the seniors seated at the front and reminding the youngerones, often amateurs and/or performers, that it will soon be their turn to singand dance.This is no easy task: there is a latent mistrust between the two groups,and the formers’ disapproval of the behavior and clothing of the latter is almostpalpable.And yet their objective is the same: they are here to show themselves.The seniors make a display of their knowledge, renown and respectability; theyounger performers parade their audacious choreographic abilities, their energyand their firm intention to take over the helm. One young, rather agitatedinitiate, noticing the reproachful look4 of an old santera wearing a turban andsporting a fan, exclaimed loudly: ‘I can do what I like, nobody should tell mewhat to do!. But these exchanges/challenges cease immediately when theCuban spectators’ favorite moment arrives: the female presenter drags foreignvisitors onto the dance floor to dance a rumba. There is utter jubilation eachtime the poor victims, spurred on by the shouts and cheers of their compatriots,good-humouredly cover their obvious ineptitude by caricaturing themselves ormiming comic scenes.5 After effusive applause, the presenter invites everyone totake part in a convivial conga, in which everyone participates in a relaxedmanner, their identities now having been clearly defined. At the end of theshow, signaled by two or three pieces of recorded music, some of the youngperformers hurry up to the foreigners to offer them dancing lessons or theservices of a specialized Afro-Cuban guide.

Thus, the Gran Palenque of the CFN fulfills several functions. It has been andstill is an artistic event with the objective of convincing Cubans themselves ofthe beauty of what are called Afro-Cuban music and dance. Its headquarters, as


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a centre of research and education, works for the cultural promotion of thisrepertoire and the restoration of its prestige. It is also an important moment ofself-affirmation of the Cuban identity, the African origins of which becomeconsensual in this setting. It is a meeting place and point of reference forreligioso-performer, legitimated by the presence of famous ‘seniors’ and legitim-ating for the younger ones, who dream of joining the ensemble. And the twogenerations face each other here every week.The Gran Palenque is also aimed atan audience of foreign and Cuban émigré amateurs, looking for what theybelieve to be the essence of tradition, a belief strengthened by the fact that themembers of the CFN are religioso-performers, solicited for ceremonies. Finally,it is a site of tourism promotion that plays on the ambiguous registers of Afro-Cubanity: the boundaries between aesthetic values and sensual attraction are notalways clear. Like the other key sites in the capital (Argyriadis 2001–2002:34–5), the Grand Palenque, in both its intentions and its staging, systematicallyblurs these boundaries, juxtaposing cultural, artistic, religious, identity-related,political and economic dimensions.

This phenomenon should not be interpreted solely in terms of religiousproselytizing or mercenary strategy.The blurring of boundaries takes place withsuch spontaneity and facility because it is an intrinsic part of the functioning ofreligión, the representations of which influence very wide spheres of Havanasociety. In addition, although a strict separation between religious and secularmusical and choreographic styles is expressed in discourse, ethnographic analysisshows that the boundaries between sacred and profane does not depend on therepertoire or the setting so much as on the intentions of the participants. It is,for example, possible to dance the cha-cha-chá for the orishas or the rumba for thedead and succeed in obtaining a manifestation through possession: the event isgreeted with enthusiasm in vivo, although it may subsequently be criticized asheterodoxy by the rivals of the ritual family involved. Conversely, liturgicalsongs have for many decades formed part of the repertoire of popular orches-tras, who sometimes provoke trances in certain spectators. And finally, infolkloric shows, the blurring of registers reaches its summit when the perform-ers are possessed, or when their performance is so convincing that some of thespectators ask to be cleansed by them.

The accusation of jineterismo

The performer-teachers are not the only mediators between tourists and reli-giosos.As is the case in the Grand Palenque, they coexist with young people who,without necessarily being musicians, dancers or even religiosos, specialize inproposing their services as guides on these themes. Their appearance matchesthe representations that foreign tourists have of what is ‘Afro-Cuban’: their skinis dark enough to be described as ‘black’ (although they do not define them-selves as such in other contexts) and they dress either in an ‘American rapper’style or – less alarming for the tourists – as Rastafarians.They conform to the


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global models associating the Afro-American religious and artistic tradition withdarkness of the skin, an idea which ceased to be relevant in Cuba many decadesago. Many of them complete their range of offers (accompanying visitors to thekey sites of Afro-Cuban cultural tourism, concerts, restaurants, houses withrooms to let, festivities, religious ceremonies or consultations) with illegal propo-sitions such as the sale of cigars or drugs and more or less explicit offers of sexualservices. It is interesting to note that in Havana, prostitution is not defined assuch by those involved, who prefer the term jineterismo (‘accompaniment’),reversing the stigma attached to this type of activity.The jinetero or jinetera arenot seen as objects of consumption, but rather as resourceful people (luchadores6)who make good use of their charms to profit from ingenuous tourists (Palmié,2004: 244). In reality, the large majority of female prostitution has long beenorganized along similar lines as it is other countries: fixed prices, meeting areasknown to everyone, corruption of officials and pimping. But there is a thin linebetween these types of activity and the simple ‘companion’, especially in thecase of men.

This other space in which boundaries are blurred generates a continuum(both in popular speech and in police checks) or a ‘chain of professionals linkedto the Cuban spiritual world of African origin’ (Aseff, 2005), which starts withthe basic jinetero and can extend to categories of accusation that are widely usedto call into question the sincerity or quality of a performer, researcher or reli-gioso: the categories of pseudo-religious jinetero (Furé, 2004: 92), of intellectualjinetero or of santero jinetero. In fact, and although many people deny it, jineterosplay an important role as intermediaries, bringing customers to consultations inexchange for a commission and preparing them with general explanationsabout the santería and affirmation of the authenticity and competence of thespecialist in question. Some of them focus their discourse on the philosophical,historical or social dimension of the religion, presenting themselves as privateresearchers. Others really are religiosos. In the end, as many Cuban academics(both students and professors) have recently been initiated into santería and aredirect their research into this area, and as many religioso present themselves asresearchers, writing books or giving lectures, the possibilities for accusation aregrowing ever more numerous.

One of the techniques used to make allusions about the greed of others, orof one particular competitor, consists precisely in insinuating that their initiationwas motivated purely by ostentation:‘There are some people who’ve got moneyand who say: ‘I’m going to do my saint’, because like that they can prove toeveryone that they’re rich, because doing one’s saint costs a lot of money! So it’sa way of speculating’, explained one santera in 1995. In this context, the wordspeculate means to show off, but it does not lose its economic significance: theinitiatory progression can be analyzed as a form of career, in which the suc-cessive ceremonies are investments made with a view to attaining a high – andtherefore lucrative – status.The babalawos, who enjoy this high status at present,are the main targets of accusations of speculation, all the more so since the very


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function of babalawo is inseparable from the idea of increasing prosperitythrough the intervention of the spirits (Holbraad, 2004). Many babalawosrecognize this, but they emphasize the principle of reciprocity, shifting theaccusation of speculation onto their rivals, particularly all the young men who,in ever greater numbers over these last few years, have chosen the same path(threatening their hegemony). But this ostentation by the under 40-year-olds, which is actually quite similar to that displayed in their youth by the now-venerable religiosos (judging by their accounts or those of their contem-poraries), could in turn be analysed as a strategy to make a place for themselvesin this milieu, based, if need be, on the status or financial ease obtained byhaving dealings with foreigners or a certain general renown.

Conclusion

So discussions about material goods, and particularly accusations of venality, playa fundamental role in the micro-political context of the religious world ofHavana.The constant contrasting between self-interest and affection, between thelure of profit and charity, may be used to mask the principle, intrinsic to religion,of exchanging spiritual goods (aché, knowledge, proofs of affection, etc.) andmaterial goods subject to constant negotiation (which produces the accus-ations).The dominant moral values shared by Christianity and socialism (love,charity, community spirit, self-sacrifice, obedience to higher authorities) areconsensually accepted and valued. And yet, with great ambivalence, a quid proquo principle is exercised with fierce determination, even with regard to theCatholic saints.

On the national level, the example of cultural tourism and the different waysin which foreign tourists can discover religión provide substance for furtherreflection.The folkloric staging of religious practices is more than simply a catchymarketing strategy. The history of the construction/codification of the ‘Afro-Cuban’ repertoire shows how the religiosos have succeeded in giving a status-enhancing artistic and cultural dimension to their activities, firstly within thenational setting, and then on an international scale. In doing so, they enteredinto a wider debate, over the specification of the location of the traditionalauthenticity of the religion of orisha. Ultimately, the ambiguous figure of the reli-gious jinetero or speculator brings us back to the principle of reciprocity, whilst alsointroducing physical skills (dance, sex, etc.) into the domain of exchangeableservices. Between accusation and admiration, the speculators’ greatest fault isprobably that they refuse to temper their undeniable success with a discourseendorsing more socially acceptable principles to show that they are integratedinto the system of exchanges governing their ritual family and their broadersocial circle. But this attitude, severely criticized, is indispensable to anyonewishing to intimate that their individual religious career is going to be successful.

The much-criticized ‘commercialization of religión’ and its presentation in theform of consumer-friendly and touristic shows are unquestionably part of the


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process of transnationalization of the Cuban santería. The underlying ambiva-lence of the attitude towards individual prosperity (source of both accusationand prestige) feeds the micro-political interactions within religión. Here,exchanges are governed by the principle of reciprocity, enabling continuousopening to foreign believers, as the exchangeable goods can take the mostdiverse forms and be negotiated. Presenting it in the form of shows has provedto be effective means of enhancing its value and spread, by widening the circleof potential followers.These dynamics are extended onto a transnational scale,bringing into circulation goods, objects, knowledge and symbols, not onlythrough religious networks, but also through the commercial and artistic net-works which transversalize them and contribute to their evolution.

notes

1. This term, invested with great significance since the end of the 1980s within thepolitical context of the rehabilitation of religious beliefs of all persuasions, joinedthat of santería, promoted by Cuban researchers in the 1940s (Lachateñeré, 1939,Ortiz, 1939), and now co-exists with other expressions such as ocha-ifá or religiónyoruba, which, like santería, highlight this modality of cult, considered to be themost prestigious, while at the same time stressing its ‘traditional African’ character.

2. See the statistics of the Cuban Centre for Information and HistoricalDocumentationhttp://cidtur.eaeht.tur.cu/boletines/Boletines/Cidturinforma05/Ene_Febe/Hoteler%EDa.htm.

3. Palo-monte did not enjoy the same treatment, because it is associate with thecongos, the term used in Cuba to designate a generic African population despisedby Cuban intellectuals (Argyriadis, 2000).

4. Santeros initiated for less than a year (iyawó) are supposed to respect a certainnumber of rules in their behavior.These rules are more or less strict dependingon the persons and their ritual families.

5. Occasionally, a foreigner displays show real talent, which is appreciated at its trueworth and applauded by the Cuban spectators, despite their disappointment.

6. Paradoxically, one of the key words in revolutionary symbolism, ‘fight’ (luchar), hasbecome a synonym for ‘hustling for dollars’ (Palmié, 2004: 241), either legally orillegally.

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kali argyriadis is an anthropologist at the Institut de Recherche pour leDéveloppement. Address: UR 107, 32 av. Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy cedex, France.[email: [email protected]]


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