Para Tu Altar: Las Fuerzas Divinas de la Naturaleza

(For Your Altar: The Divine Forces of Nature)

The Afro-diasporic religions of the Americas, including Santería-Ifá, Candomblé, Umbanda, and Espiritismo, among others, have historically served as sites of cultural resistance and adaptation, blending African spiritual traditions with indigenous and colonial influences. Within these religious frameworks, there is a complex relationship with the natural world, viewing it as sacred and imbued with spiritual significance. This series is inspired by Celia Cruz’s album “Homenaje a Los Santos,” one of her earliest albums that paved the way for ceremonial “Santero” music. The title “Para Tú Altar” references a song in the album about the different types of flowers used to pay tribute to and honor the divine forces of Nature. During that time, there was much silence about the religion due to the widespread prejudice. It could be said that Celia did not truly understand that what she was doing at the time was transcendent for Cuba’s musical culture and the religion itself. Despite their cultural and ecological contributions, Afro-diasporic religions often face resistance and marginalization from dominant cultures.

There exists a continual process of reinterpretation and reconstruction of ancient beliefs and rituals, where symbols and signs perpetually navigate the realms of both individual and collective consciousness. By capturing different entities with my interpretation of ceremonial religious garments, each image offers a portal that enters into communication with the gods channeling the spirits of the ancestors. Para Tú Altar: Las Fuerzas Divinas de la Naturaleza is an affirmation of the divine power that transcends through the way of the Saints. Through my spiritual beliefs and relationship with the natural world, I am offering an alternative perspective that prioritizes, respects, and honors an interconnectedness with the sacred elements of Nature. In this sense, Afro-diasporic religious practices reveal themselves as agents of socio-cultural change, as they are sensitive to emerging issues, including the protection of the natural environment. This sensitivity arises from their cosmological understanding of the world, which conceives humans as part of an interconnected system in which the natural environment plays a fundamental role. It is about the energy and the cycle of Nature; it is about looking at it as a way of being. Nature gives us life; it gives us everything. That is what gives us the elements to survive and flourish on Earth.