It is estimated that between 527,828 and 702,000 African slaves were brought into Cuba between the 16th and 19th centuries (Murphy 1993:23).  The majority of them were to be used to work the sugar and tobacco plantations where labor was grueling and the hours were long and without respite.  Catholicism was the legal religion as Cuba was controlled by Spain, and the slaves were converted to the state religion, if only superficially.  In general, slaves were baptized and required to attend Sunday mass and holy days of obligation (Valdez-Cruz 1977:246).  They did not receive catechism or any serious education about the faith.   The prevailing sentiment was that to provide the slaves education about Catholicism would inevitably cause revolt due to the inhuman way they were treated.  This tacit enforcement of conversion is, perhaps, one of the most significant factors in the success of the African slaves ability to retain the faith that they had brought with them from their homeland.

Literally translated, Santería means "the way of the saints."  Scholars, notably  Melville Herskovits, refer to Santería as an example of syncretism, which Joseph Murphy describes as "a mixture of religious ideas without an inner integrity" (1993:120).  This interpretation may be too superficial, intimating that Catholicism and the religion the slaves brought with them were blended.   He goes on to argue that "by seeing the process as a fusion of religious ideas, Herskovits misses the creative and self-conscious decisions that underly santería syncretism (1993:121).  Santería is not simply the result of the slaves' transculturation; I believe that it is more an adaptation to maintain their faith.

In the religion that the Yoruba brought with them across the Middle Passage and into the New World, it is believed that the orishas have different paths or caminos as they would come to be called; the Spanish word for "road".  African slaves were more or less using the representations of the Catholic saints to conceal the practice of their own religion from the prying eyes of their masters and the Catholic Church.  They found commonalities between the Catholic saints and their own orishas and treated the icons as another face of the orisha they were already familiar with.  For example, the orisha Babalú Ayé, the orisha associated with illness,  was identified with Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead in the Bible.  Yemaya, the mother of the orishas, was associated with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.  The popular orisha Shangó, who was a great warrior, became identified with Saint Barbara (At left.  Image from http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_chango.htm) who was often depicted with a red cloak and sword.  As a result, the orishas were now also referred to as santos, saints.  Raul Canizares, a santero himself, notes that "it does not matter by what Catholic name the orishas are called, as long as those who need to know are aware of the identity of the orisha being honored behind the Catholic facade" (1999:41).

Whatever the true reason behind their actions, the African slaves were successful in keeping alive the religion they had brought with them.  They were allowed to venerate and praise their orishas, however covertly.  The dances and music that were integral parts of such ceremonies were alive and well in Cuba and would eventually make their way to the United States.