I knew nothing about Santería at the time and was truly blind to the fact that I was staying with Santeros. I went there to dance salsa, practice Spanish, and party. Little did I know my life would change forever.
We went on a horse caraige ride one day through downtown Havana. I remember our guide pointing out the many people walking around town that were covered from head to toe in white. She pointed out that these people had recently made saint. Still, I did not know she was referring to Santería, I just thought that they had a very dramatically different way of practicing Catholicism.
After several days in Havana, I began to experience culture shock quite intensely. Although I was fluent in Spanish and had lived in Latin America for quite some time, the Cuban dialect was incredibly challenging for me. I decided that I would ask the next time I heard a word that I didn't understand for its definition.
Shortly thereafter, I was in front of the Casa Particular with Jose Luis and a group of his friends that came to talk to him. As usual, I was lost in the conversation. Someone said the word Chango, and I decided to ask what that meant. Jose Luis got an incredibly big smile on his face and explained that in his religion, they had a pantheon of Orishas that were commonly referred to as Santos, and that everyone had a Guardian Angel. Chango was his.
From there Jose Luis began to describe Santería to me in great detail. I was fascinated! I must admit, I did find it a little crazy at first, but I have always been very respectful of others' beliefs and since I was in Cuba I wanted to take the opportunity to learn as much about the religion as possible.
My curiosity did not stop there, and I continued my studies of the religion when I came back home. I was completely hooked, and could not get enough information. 2 years later I had met a babalawo in Denver, who determined my Guardian Angel. I don't think this is any coincidence, but it was determined that I was son of Chango!
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