Noriel Batista has had little peace since a swarm of Coral Gables police officers burst onto his property, disrupting a Santeria ritual intended to initiate him into a special order of his religion’s priesthood
A public school principal accused of paying a woman to sprinkle chicken blood on the high school in an attempt to cleanse it of negative energy will be fired, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
Santeria finds a following among baseball’s Latin American players, who’d rather not discuss it for fear of misperceptions.
A Santeria priest who is suing Euless over his religious practice of animal sacrifice would be allowed to kill chickens and hold small weekly gatherings at his home under a settlement offered by city attorneys.
The city of Euless has asked a federal judge to dismiss a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by a Santeria priest who wants to sacrifice animals at his home.
The officers explained to the priest, Jose Merced, that killing animals of any kind is illegal within the city limits. And Mr. Merced tried unsuccessfully to explain that animal sacrifice is as essential to his religion, Santeria, as the Eucharist is to Catholicism.
More than a dozen carcasses are discovered in a residential neighborhood, sparking a sheriff’s investigation into a possible case of animal cruelty. More than a dozen mutilated animal carcasses have been found in a residential neighborhood of Lawndale, sparking a sheriff’s investigation into a possible case of animal cruelty. Fourteen decapitated animals — including roosters, chicks, pigeons, a turtle and a goat — were found by animal control officers in an alleyway behind a home in the 14700 block of Mansel Avenue, said sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Beringer. Acting on a tip Wednesday morning, authorities found a pigeon and two baby
Faith that fuses African rites, Catholicism gains in popularity The beat of the congas thundered through the basement as the priestess called out to the spirits, praying to the orishas. It was hot that day in her South Side home, and the back room was crammed with people dressed in white. They had come for the sacred initiation ceremony into the Lukumi religion, also known as Santeria. The two people being brought into the faith were dressed in satin, their heads completely shaved and covered with vibrant splashes of paint. Soon, the slap of the drums got faster. The priestess,
Santeria high priest aims to bring faith out of isolation MIAMI – The Santeria high priest has five phones. One in his right pocket keeps interrupting his careful reading of the eight e-mails his wife printed out for him. The Babalawo, as the highest-ranking priests are called, explains that the female caller has troubles at work and needs the African santos to guide her. “We can do it by e-mail, if you want,” Rigoberto Zamora tells the woman in Spanish. “But I need a specific time. I am very busy this week.” Zamora has been busy since his wife set
Once-secretive Santeria faith brings its healing message into the open Reina Sanchez slowly steps into the second-floor of the white triple-decker Dorchester home, removes her shoes, and greets the man dressed in white, from head to toe. “Happy Birthday padrino,” she tells Steve Quintana, fondly calling him godfather in her native Spanish. Like his house, Quintana is a picture of white, from his cotton pants and undershirt to his cap, as are some of his followers. “Kneel right there my dear,” Quintana says, pointing to the wooden floor in front of the shrine. Before she plants herself on the floor,