Dreaming in Cuban

by

Cristina García

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Dreaming in Cuban makes teaching easy.
Santería is an Afro American religion that originated in Cuba. It incorporates elements of the West African Yoruba religion as well as Roman Catholicism. Followers believe in one God who created the universe as well as seven Orishas, or lesser goddesses, who guide humanity. Santería is heavily ceremonial and focuses on the supernatural. Practitioners commonly create shrines, perform divination, and make offerings or animal sacrifices. In Dreaming in Cuban, Felicia, Herminia, Pilar, and Celia (to an extent) all believe in Santería.

Santería Quotes in Dreaming in Cuban

The Dreaming in Cuban quotes below are all either spoken by Santería or refer to Santería. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Passion, Romance, and Marriage Theme Icon
).
The Fire Between Them Quotes

Celia is uneasy about all these potions and spells. Herminia is the daughter of a santería priest, and Celia fears that both good and evil may be borne in the same seed. Although Celia dabbles in santería’s harmless superstitions, she cannot bring herself to trust the clandestine rites of the African magic.

Related Characters: Celia del Pino, Felicia del Pino, Herminia Delgado
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
A Matrix Light Quotes

My mother told me that Abuela Celia was an atheist before I even understood what the word meant. I liked the sound of it, the derision with which my mother pronounced it, and knew immediately it was what I wanted to become. I don't know exactly when I stopped believing in God. It wasn't as deliberate as deciding at age six to become an atheist, but more like an imperceptible sloughing of layers. One day I noticed there was no more skin to absently peel, just air where there'd been artifice.

Related Characters: Pilar Puente (speaker), Celia del Pino, Lourdes del Pino Puente
Page Number: 175
Explanation and Analysis:
God’s Will Quotes

At night, Felicia attended our ceremonies. She didn't miss a single one. For her, they were a kind of poetry that connected her to larger worlds, worlds alive and infinite. […]

Felicia's mother discouraged her devotion to the gods. Celia had only vague notions about spiritual possession and animal sacrifice, and suspected that our rites had caused her daughter's mysterious disappearance. Celia revered El Líder and wanted Felicia to give herself entirely to the revolution, believing that this alone would save her daughter. But Felicia would not be dissuaded from the orishas. She had a true vocation to the supernatural.

Related Characters: Herminia Delgado (speaker), Celia del Pino, Felicia del Pino, El Líder / Fidel Castro
Page Number: 186
Explanation and Analysis:

Celia overturned the tureen with the sacred stones and crushed Felicia's seashells under the heels of her leather pumps. Suddenly, she removed her shoes and began stamping on the shells in her bare feet, slowly at first, then faster and faster in a mad flamenco, her arms thrown up in the air.

Then just as suddenly she stopped. She made no sound as she wept, as she bent to kiss Felicia's eyes, her forehead, her swollen, hairless skull. Celia lay with her torn, bleeding feet beside her daughter and held her, rocking and rocking her in the blue gypsy dusk until she died.

Related Characters: Herminia Delgado (speaker), Celia del Pino, Felicia del Pino
Related Symbols: Shells
Page Number: 190
Explanation and Analysis:
Daughters of Changó Quotes

I envy this woman's passion, her determination to get what she knows is hers. I felt that way once, when I ran away to Miami. But I never made it to Cuba to see Abuela Celia. After that, I felt like my destiny was not my own, that men who had nothing to do with me had the power to rupture my dreams, to separate me from my grandmother.

Related Characters: Pilar Puente (speaker), Celia del Pino
Page Number: 199
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Dreaming in Cuban LitChart as a printable PDF.
Dreaming in Cuban PDF

Santería Term Timeline in Dreaming in Cuban

The timeline below shows where the term Santería appears in Dreaming in Cuban. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fire Between Them
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
...Occasionally she sees Herminia Delgado passing by carrying healing spices for Felicia. Herminia’s association with Santería unnerves Celia. (full context)
Baskets of Water
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
1978. This year’s Santería forecast is mixed. On one hand, the dead are benevolent toward the living; on the... (full context)
God’s Will
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
Herminia’s father was a babalawo, or high priest of Santería. People in Santa Teresa del Mar told lies about him and made fun of Herminia,... (full context)
Religious Diversity Theme Icon
Obsession and Devotion Theme Icon
After she disappeared in 1978, Felicia returned to Santería eagerly. Herminia took her to La Madrina, and Felicia entered a trance. During the trance,... (full context)