"Brujeria Lite": Living and Learning Blackness in the Everyday Spirituality of Afro-Latinxs

• In Event: 81.012 - Afro-Latinidades, Spiritualities, and Transformative Education: The Intersections of Afro-Indigenous Religious Practice and Educational Praxis

Abstract

Spirituality is an integral part of Afro-Latinx identity (Olivella, 1989; Vega, 1995, 2012; McPherson, 2007). Afro-Latinxs spiritual practices bring together African and indigenous religious elements that have been re-purposed for the needs of the modern day through the Afro-Latinx diaspora (Moreno Vega, 2012). Sometimes referred to colloquially as brujeria - votive candles and prayer, spiritual baths and offerings, saints and santos - it encompasses the myriad ways of living and enacting spirituality for Afro-Latinxs. Spiritism, espiritismo, brujeria, Santeria, amongst other Afro-indigenous religious practices are a grounding force relied on for their healing qualities, allaying of stress, and life guidance for those who trace their lineage to the Caribbean, particularly Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti (Sandoval, 1977; Comas-Diaz, 1981; Delgado, 1988; Canda, 1988; Tejeda Ortiz et al., 1993; Beliso-De Jesús, 2015). Spirituality has also played an important role in Afro-Latinx resistance to dehumanizing and oppressive forces in their communities (Stewart, 1999; West, 1999; Vega, Alba & Modestin, 2012). Spiritual practices allow Afro-Latinx to claim "spaces of their own" for the doing and being of blackness and latinidad that is embracing of their transgressive Afro-Latinx identity (Dei, 2010; Author, forthcoming). How can educators and researchers leverage the everyday spiritual practices of Afro-Latinxs, bridging their home environments with formal, school-based learning situations to create transformative educational spaces?

Bringing together the lived experiences of several Afro-Latinxs and their spirituality, this paper argues for a more nuanced understanding of spirituality and its role in identity formation. As one participant voiced, “it’s like brujeria lite” - that is, the informal spirituality that imbues the everyday practices of Afro-Latinxs in meaningful ways. Together participants articulated the need for increased recognition of spirituality as normal rather than taboo in the US context; to be embraced and valued instead of hidden. The following questions frame this study: How do self-identified Afro-Latinxs understand their relationship to Africa, and subsequently, the relationship of being Latinx to being black? How do these same individuals discuss spirituality and religious practices as a site of blackness amongst Afro-Latinxs? In what ways has spirituality been a space of resistance for Afro-Latinxs? To answer these questions six adult participants were interviewed - four Afro-Puerto Ricans and two Afro-Cubans. The sample size reflects the life-history method - open-ended interviews designed to help interview participants better understand the relationship between identity and context over time (Goodson & Sikes, 2001). A total of 330 minutes of audio-recorded data was collected, parts of which were transcribed following the system devised by Gail Jefferson and detailed by Atkinson and Heritage (1984).

This study aims to understand how individual Afro-Latinxs make sense of their moment-to-moment interactions as always black and Latinx. By focusing on how Afro-Latinx participants discuss black identity directly and indirectly through talk about spirituality, espiritismo, and Santeria this paper offers insights into the complex, complicated, and also beautiful, journey of identity formation. Synthesizing suggestions from participants, I offer suggestions for transforming formal educational spaces to be more attentive and inclusive of multiple Afro-Latinx identities and spiritual expression as integral to such.

Author

• Krista L. Cortes, University of California - Berkeley