The virgin martyr of Nicomedia, patron saint of artillerymen and mining of the Catholic Church, merges with the image of the warrior and king of the Yoruba pantheon, ruling lightning, thunder and fire, in a marriage of faith reflected in the processes of formation identity on the Island, with Spanish elements and the practices of African slaves.
Red makes sense in the Caribbean nation every 4th of December as it is the color that distinguishes these protectors whose representations remain in the queer lineage, whose feminine and masculine traits resolve into a singular figure in which they both cosmogony in unison appear between the palm tree, the lightning bolt, the axe, and the sword.
“The Santa Bárbara venerated in the Catholic Church is Changó dressed as a woman,” Lydia Cabrera pointed out in the book El Monte, while intertwining the cult of Oricha and Spanish Catholicism through symbols associated with each of them and linked to the legend of how Changó escaped from his enemies dressed in the clothes of one of his wives: Oyá Yansá.
Like two sides of the same coin, some invoke Saint Bárbara, part of the 14 Catholic Holy Helpers, while others invoke the fourth king of Oyó, a warrior and virile Orisha to banish storms.
It is therefore not surprising that this date remains in the Cuban calendar for more than six decades, as it becomes an opportunity to celebrate the history and the convergence of different practices that have found a way to unite and bring together cultures and people .
Thus one refused to marry and was punished for it, and the other reigned on altars: husband of Ochún, Obba and Oya Yansá; both with multiple names, but always patroness/protector of gunsmiths, smelters, artillerymen, firefighters, prisoners, and miners; Ruler of drums, dance, lightning, thunder and fire.
Likewise, this religious syncretism derives from the different expressions of art, such as the iconic subject of Celina González and Reutilio Domínguez, the paintings of René Portocarrero and Wifredo Lam, the constant presence in cinema, literature and theater, without forgetting the dance pieces inspired by Gestures, rhythm and history.
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