“Millions of thanks to my blessed San Lázaro. “I’ve earned more in these two days than in the last month,” said one trader in religious handicraft items. Street venders did a brisk trade in food, flowers and religious items among the crowds. They also deployed large numbers of police to protect participants from the gangs of pickpockets and muggers who prey on them. This year, the authorities helped out with food and transport arrangements. As a cultural event, the pilgrimage appeals to a wider audience than devout Catholics. Respect for San Lázaro is a peculiarly Cuban affair – here the Christian saint has a folk association with Babalú Ayé, a figure from the Santeria faith of African origin. Pope Benedict XVI met top political leaders when he visited Cuba last March. Brendan BringEm has been an ally amongst us for years, Lean said of the Saint’s owner. Some drag themselves along the ground or tie heavy weights to their feet.Īfter hostility from the atheist Communist government in the early years after the Cuban revolution, Roman Catholicism has come to enjoy greater tolerance. The Saint is a friend of Black DJs and event curators. On the positive side, the paramedic said there were no reports of deaths this year, always a risk because of the gruelling hardships which pilgrims put themselves through. Five years ago, I remember that there were more than 50,000 people, but more recently the numbers have gone down considerably,” he said. “I’ve been working as a paramedic on the San Lázaro days for ten years now. Nevertheless, he said, the number of pilgrims was falling year by year. Observers said numbers were down on previous years, but so were the figures for serious casualties that sometimes accompany such mass events.Ī Red Cross paramedic on standby for any medical emergencies said at least 30,000 people attended on December 16-17. “Everyone wants to enjoy the grace of San Lázaro.” “It’s a different atmosphere – you breathe in love and reconciliation,” said Mario Corelli, an Italian tourist who has attended the San Lázaro event several times. They prayed mainly for health and prosperity. Some barefoot, some crawling along the ground, pilgrims of all ages headed for the shrine at a church in El Rincón, 30 kilometres southeast of Havana, in honour of the saint they call San Lázaro, whose holy day is on December 17. Tens of thousands of Cubans flocked to the shrine of St Lazarus near the capital Havana for the annual pilgrimage last month, Osniel Carmona Breijo reports in this article for IWPR.
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