If we walk through the different cities of Venezuela, we will find that in recent years the Catholic religion and the different Protestant religions have been displaced by various pagan religions and cults, such as Santería and Espiritismo, so rare in our country, but that now they enjoy great acceptance and popularity.

Santeria is an Afro-Caribbean religion whose roots are in the culture of the Yoruba people of West Africa and which has many practitioners in the world. Santeria emerged in the 19th century among members of the Yoruba community who, despite being sent to Cuba as slaves, remained faithful to their ancestral beliefs and traditions.

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Many will wonder how a religion with so many years of existence and with many parishioners in Caribbean countries has not permeated Venezuela as much as it has in the 21st century. In response to this, we can say that the type of colonization that Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, even the United States, had was very different from that of our country.

Unlike our experience, in these countries there was an intense and extensive exploitation of the land, hence the use of slaves imported from Africa, and racism was an ideology. Also, that most of the blacks brought as slaves to Venezuela were from the Congo, unlike those who could go to Cuba or Haiti, which were mostly Yoruba, Ewe-Fon and Mandinka. Similarly, there is talk of the important indigenous population in Venezuela who also had their own cults and customs.

In summary, it is not that Santeria has not been practiced in Venezuela until now. It is only that before it had less believers and those that it did have, many of them kept it hidden. On the other hand, Santería has become a normal practice for Venezuelans who seek economic prosperity and physical protection in one of the most violent moments and with the greatest economic crisis we have ever experienced.

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Many specialists affirm that it is normal that in times of crisis, man seeks help in the gods, in magic; hence it is believed that in times of economic and political recession, of social disorientation, there are more people in churches or buying lottery than at any other time. Believing in a higher power makes man feel safer and more hopeful. Karl Marx said: "Religion is the opium of the people."

Likewise, many scholars say that the expansion of Santeria in Venezuela is due to the significant presence of Cuban culture in our country. As well as the active and well-known participation of many government officials, including artists and sportsmen, who have declared themselves to be faithful devotees of Santería.

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Many have been more upfront and have declared that with the arrival of Chavismo, Santería spread in Venezuela. The fact that the ex-president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, now dead, professed this religion, supposedly to remain in power forever, meant that not only did his environment give in to this religion, but the people knew it, accepted it and practiced it. It is said, for example, that Chávez performed santeros rites in Miraflores (the presidential house); that he did not make any important decision without consulting psychics close to him or spiritual guides; that long before his death, a santera predicted his early death and as if that were not enough, many of the rituals they practiced were paleros (where bones of the dead are used).

Around the deceased former president, the power and his devotion to Santeria have created stories that we can not say if they are legends or is a reality. Let's see some of them:

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The boxer with Chávez's face on his chest

"El Inca" Valero

In 2010 Venezuela shuddered with atrocious news: The Boxer Edwin "El Inca" Valero, after having murdered his wife, had committed suicide in a prison in Venezuela where he was being held. This famous boxer was not only known in the country for his steel fists, for the different victories he had achieved, but also because he had the Venezuelan flag and Chávez's face tattooed on his chest. The surprising thing about this whole case was when it came to light that Venezuelan authorities had exhumed the body of the Inca Valero, supposedly to perform an autopsy again. Immediately, speculation began to mount that the real reason they had unearthed Valero's body was to tear out the image of Chavez that the boxer had on his chest. According to some Palero rites, this is one of the most effective ways to bury someone. In spite of the strong rumors, no one in the government denied such an event, nor did the family members.

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In Venezuela, ashes from the bones of corpses were scattered

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"Chavez used witchcraft to control Venezuela and manipulate the people. To such an extent that the Santeria imported from Cuba transformed the way of doing politics," said journalist David Placer after collecting dozens of testimonies from the Bolivarian leader's environment and turning it into a book entitled Chávez's Witches. One of the most resounding theories that justifies the fact that Venezuela has not been able to get out of Chavismo, despite all the effort it has made, is supposedly because one of the rituals that the late ex-president did was to scatter ashes of the dead throughout the country. Apparently, on the subject of a terrible drought, the Venezuelan government decided to make some maneuvers in the skies of the entire country, an opportunity that was used to make stick rites. This type of act supposedly keeps the Venezuelan people submissive and lost.

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Simón Bolívar unearthed

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Another fact that caught the attention of the Venezuelan people and that apparently has to do with Santeros rituals was the exhumation of the body of Simón Bolívar, one of Venezuela's heroes. In 2011, the Venezuelan government, led by Hugo Chávez, decided to exhume the mortal remains of Simón Bolívar in order to perform a new autopsy, since it was believed that the Venezuelan hero had not died of tuberculosis, as recorded in the annals of history, but had been murdered. According to some religious experts, the real purpose of this was to perform palero rites with the hero's bones in order to perpetuate Chavismo in power. What no one imagined is that in the best style of Tutankhamen's tomb, the desecration of the grave produced a great condemnation: each of the people who participated in that ceremony, little by little have died. From governors, chavista leaders, military, to Chavez himself, have died, supposedly, as a consequence of the curse brought about by the profanation of the remains of the Bolivar.

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Most of us grow up with the premise of "To See is To Believe"; however, many of the religions maintain that it is just the opposite: "To Believe is to see". It is belief that provokes vision, worship and the believer. The fact that there are more and more believers in Santeria, the product, perhaps, of the serious crisis that Venezuela is going through, or of the publicity that the state has given it even above the Catholic religion, leads us to affirm that this is a religion that enjoys much acceptance within the Venezuelan population and that it has ceased to be a religion of blacks or of poor and ignorant people, to embrace people from different social strata and different professions.

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I would like to know your opinion of Santeria and this type of religion. Remember to vote for @adsactly as a witness and join our server in discord. Until a next smile. ;)