(17 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Havana, Cuba – 16 December 2024
1. Man sliding on the ground towards the shrine
2. Man being carried away on a stretcher
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alvaro Ernesto Pérez, devotee of Saint Lazarus:
“What I want is to make this promise to get off drugs. I do it for my grandmother, my mother, my wife, my children. I’ve been using since I was 16 and what I want is to end it now.”
4. Various of Daimy Aceveda crawling with her son on her back
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Daimy Acebedo, mother devotee of Saint Lazarus:
“I traveled all the way from Camagüey to take care of my child. Unfortunately, when they performed an electroencephalogram, it showed an enlarged brain mass. Doctors claimed he wouldn’t speak until he was 7 years old. My child is 2 years old and already speaks.”
6. People lighting candles
7. Various of Cardinal Juan de la Caridad Garcia celebrating mass
8. People surrounding Juan Miguel as carts a life-size statue of Saint Lazarus
STORYLINE:
Cuban faithful made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Lazarus on Monday in a display of religious fervor, uncommon in a country that installed an atheist Communist government in 1959.
Believers dressed in purple, a color associated with the saint, walked and crawled on their knees in penitence to reach the sanctuary in the village of El Rincon on the outskirts of Havana.
Some Saint Lazarus devotees, such as Alvaro Ernesto Pérez, came to ask for the Saint’s help. "What I want is to make this promise to get off drugs," said Perez.
Meanwhile, Daimy Acebedo, crawled on her knees carrying her son on her back to thank the Saint for a blessing.
Acebeda said she was make the pilgrimage to thank her son’s good health.
The annual ritual that brings thousands of Cubans to the shrine of St. Lazarus had a special resonance this year due to deepening economic hardship.
St Lazarus, or “El Viejo" (the old man), as he is affectionately called, is a Catholic saint and the patron of the sick and poor.
He is also known as the Afro-Cuban Yoruba deity Babalu-Aye, embraced by many practitioners of Santeria, the Afro-Caribbean religion widely practiced on the island.
Over the years, attendance and pilgrimages have dwindled, but the faithful still come to give thanks for what they consider saintly intervention during 2024 and to ask for support and good health for themselves and their families in the coming year.
The annual ritual takes place on December 16th and 17th
AP Video by Ariel Fernández and Milexsy Durán
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7326d9a260b247549b378cf1432b5f64
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in December 22, 2024, 3:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
