The 1960s Cuban santería and spiritist healing milieu

Record summary

Cuban Santería and related espiritismo practices continued to involve divination, healing, ancestor work and spirit possession during the revolutionary-era period, although access to documentation and public religious organization changed after 1959. The lead is valuable for comparison with Brazilian and Haitian trance traditions, especially regarding ritual apprenticeship, embodiment and competing biomedical explanations. It is not a single incident, and many accounts were produced later or outside Cuba. Researchers should identify the specific community, ceremony and source rather than generalize about ‘Cuban voodoo.’