The Sparks of Civil Society in Cuba: Afro-Cuban Cultural Production, Art Collectives, and
ditions, these traditions continued to circulate in a quasi-public sphere
and could be considered a latent form of civil society, shared within
families and communities, providing a space for civic engagement
within Afro-Cuban society.
Since the Revolution, the Afro-Cuban religious practices that have
provided a cultural and spiritual foundation for many Cubans have
been at the same time the focus of government sanction and repres-
sion as well as the target of societal disapproval. Gayle McGarrity cites
epidemiological studies conducted in Cuba in the early 1980s that
identified participation in Afro-Cuban religions as pathological behav-
ior (along with child and drug abuse, truancy, and juvenile delin-
quency). (McGarrity, 1992: 199) Alejandro de la Fuente notes that in
the mid-1960s a measure was passed prohibiting initiation ceremonies
of santería^1 : “By 1971,” he continues, “these ceremonies had been
authorized again, but they required special permission from the local
police district. Santeros were interviewed in advance and asked to
identify the participants, the types of rituals to be performed, and the
origin of the materials required for ceremonies—many of which could
be obtained only on the black market. Authorization was not automat-
ically granted, and attendance of minors was strictly prohibited.” (de la
Fuente, 2001: 293-5)
De la Fuente also cites a letter sent in 1970 to Celia Sánchez, per-
sonal aide to Fidel Castro, by the former president of an Afro-Cuban
religious association, the Casino Africano San Antonio in Las Villas,
in which he asserted that the Casino Africano (and other Afro-Cuban
religious associations as well) had been closed against their will, and
requested it be reopened. (de la Fuente, 2001: 293-4) A demand such
as this on the part of religious practitioners, directed to the highest
levels of government, for restoration of rights to associate and con-
duct religious ceremonies, represented not only a religious demand
but a political one as well. Through the act of insisting on official rec-- Santería, also known as regla de ocha, along with palo monte or reglas congas, and the
Abakuá secret society are Afro-Cuban religions.