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Rituales: An Exploration of Faith in the Caribbean was inspired by the rituals, ceremonies, and spiritual traditions of Cuba and the Caribbean. This series explores the practice of rituals inherited through cultural mythology and spiritual beliefs, drawing inspiration from spiritual and religious practices rooted in indigenous and Afro-Caribbean origins.
This series was honored with an Artist Grant from the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and the City of St. Petersburg’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
10 Illustrations: A celebration of Caribbean spirituality.
Please send purchase inquires for Rituales to lesinfin@gmail.com.
1. Cuando Hablen Los Tambores
Regardless of our personal history or musical education, we know the power of percussion.
Cuando Hablen Los Tambores was inspired by the rhythm of ritual drums. The ancient origins of the drums speak to us. In surrendering to their rhythm, we transcend our bodies and become one with our movements.
Ink on paper
11x17
Cuando Hablen Los Tambores was inspired by the rhythm of ritual drums. The ancient origins of the drums speak to us. In surrendering to their rhythm, we transcend our bodies and become one with our movements.
Ink on paper
11x17
2. Con El Mar Dentro
You may know her as Yemayá, mother of the sea, mother of fish, goddess of the ocean, protector of children, patron of women, la Virgen de Regla, queen of witches, Mami Wata, la sirène, or any number of other names. But by any name, the sea is home.
To know her power is to understand her vastness. In the Caribbean, the ocean provides an economic lifeline. She serves as an indomitable force that has the power to both give and take. Common offerings to Yemayá include white flowers, fruit, and candles. Here she is seen holding the power of the ocean in the palm of her hand and cradling its storms within her.
Ink on paper
11x17
To know her power is to understand her vastness. In the Caribbean, the ocean provides an economic lifeline. She serves as an indomitable force that has the power to both give and take. Common offerings to Yemayá include white flowers, fruit, and candles. Here she is seen holding the power of the ocean in the palm of her hand and cradling its storms within her.
Ink on paper
11x17
3. Bara Yucubia
Smoke ceremonies are ancient practices common across all cultures. In the Caribbean, offerings made to seek protection, blessings, or guidance as well as invocations that embrace the elements all commonly involve cigar and tobacco smoke.
This piece titled Bara Yucubia / Rain For The Plants was inspired by the essence of smoke and its use in rituals to invoke gods and nature.
Ink on paper
11x17
This piece titled Bara Yucubia / Rain For The Plants was inspired by the essence of smoke and its use in rituals to invoke gods and nature.
Ink on paper
11x17
4. El Despojo: Una Experiencia Curativa
The practice of a "despojo” is deeply ingrained in Caribbean culture. It is so common that most of us do not associate it with any particular spiritual significance. Yet, despojo is rooted in ritual practices intended to provide spiritual cleansing to a person or place. When things go wrong for someone, we often say Fulanita needs a serious despojo! Or, if energies are not in synch at home, your house needs an immediate despojo.
This piece titled El Despojo: Una Experiencia Curativa was inspired by one of the most common rituals practiced across the Caribbean. Like many Caribbean rituals, it is not limited to a particular faith or belief but is practiced universally for both spiritual and practical purposes.
Ink on paper
11x17
This piece titled El Despojo: Una Experiencia Curativa was inspired by one of the most common rituals practiced across the Caribbean. Like many Caribbean rituals, it is not limited to a particular faith or belief but is practiced universally for both spiritual and practical purposes.
Ink on paper
11x17
5. Al Fuego
This piece was inspired by the element of fire and its role in Caribbean beliefs and rituals. The Fiesta del Fuego or Fire Festival is a summer celebration that takes place each year in Santiago de Cuba during the first weeks of July. The festival is designed to highlight the region’s cultural traditions and includes educational conferences and workshops.
The closing event is the fire parade, which begins with a ritual greeting to Nzambi Congo, the supreme god in the Palo Monte religion. Dancers move toward the sea to the beat of drums. A giant effigy of the devil is burned exorcising evil spirits and ensuring wellness for the people. Some cast written messages into the flames, burning what no longer serves them and clearing the way for new opportunities.
Ink on paper
11x17
The closing event is the fire parade, which begins with a ritual greeting to Nzambi Congo, the supreme god in the Palo Monte religion. Dancers move toward the sea to the beat of drums. A giant effigy of the devil is burned exorcising evil spirits and ensuring wellness for the people. Some cast written messages into the flames, burning what no longer serves them and clearing the way for new opportunities.
Ink on paper
11x17
6. Guaguanco
From your abuelito to your one-year-old nephew, everyone dances in the Caribbean. Dance and religion are deeply intertwined and used in everything from prayers for healing to expressions of faith, protection from potential difficulties, and all manner of celebrations. Even as early as the 17th century, dance was a part of island life for the Tainos in Cuba who included music in their rituals and ceremonies.
The traditional dance forms that are common today are largely a blend of African and Spanish influences rooted in indigenous and African rituals. If our human bodies carry ancestral knowledge, then movement has the power to bring us closer to our roots, defying geographical boundaries. This piece was inspired by the flow and rhythm of the Caribbean and the critical role dance has played in preserving our history.
Ink on paper
11x17
The traditional dance forms that are common today are largely a blend of African and Spanish influences rooted in indigenous and African rituals. If our human bodies carry ancestral knowledge, then movement has the power to bring us closer to our roots, defying geographical boundaries. This piece was inspired by the flow and rhythm of the Caribbean and the critical role dance has played in preserving our history.
Ink on paper
11x17
7. Azabache
Mal de ojo, or evil eye, can be the result of envy or an overabundance of admiration. Caribbean newborns often wear an azabache to protect them from mal de ojo. In Cuba, the azabache for children is usually in the form of a pin with an onyx stone. However, it can also be a charm worn on a bracelet or necklace.
Although infants and young children are most susceptible to mal de ojo, it can affect anyone. The inspiration for this piece comes from the azabache, which protects the wearer from jealousy and any number of calamities resulting from the glares of strangers.
Ink on paper
11x17
Although infants and young children are most susceptible to mal de ojo, it can affect anyone. The inspiration for this piece comes from the azabache, which protects the wearer from jealousy and any number of calamities resulting from the glares of strangers.
Ink on paper
11x17
8. El Altar
Caribbean altars demand attention. They often include elaborate dolls, statues, candles, photographs, and offerings to gods, spirits, and saints. Traditionally, altars were built from rocks and commonly used for sacrifices and religious rituals. Statues of saints were used by the Spanish to assist in the conversion of the Arawak people, replacing the traditional Taíno cemís that served as conduits for rituals of healing and divination.
Modern day altars serve similar purposes and can be found in homes, churches, museums, and public spaces including bars, restaurants, and even in parks and busy streets. This piece was inspired by the sacred beauty of Caribbean altars and their undeniable presence in all Caribbean religious and spiritual practices.
Ink on paper
11x17
Modern day altars serve similar purposes and can be found in homes, churches, museums, and public spaces including bars, restaurants, and even in parks and busy streets. This piece was inspired by the sacred beauty of Caribbean altars and their undeniable presence in all Caribbean religious and spiritual practices.
Ink on paper
11x17
9. Yuca Con Mojo: La Mesa Familiar
Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you where you’re from. Isn’t that how the saying goes? Food is central to the Caribbean way of life. Sharing a meal is a spiritual act, and there is no such thing as a gathering of any kind without food. Everyone comes to the table and sets their differences aside to compartir in the gratitude of a home-cooked meal.
Comida criolla is soul food. Festive meals are elaborate culinary rituals intended to be shared with family and friends. Caribbean food benefits from the same diversity as its culture, with Spanish, Indigenous, African, and Asian influences all evident in its cuisine. Meals often include starchy root vegetables like yuca and malanga and the holy trinity of seasonings: ajo, cebolla, and comino. A typical celebratory meal might include arroz y frijoles negros or congrí, fried platanitos, yuca con mojo (a personal fav), and a carne dish such as lechón asado, picadillo or ropa vieja. Of course, no meal is complete without flan for desert and a post atracón cafecito.
The power of a shared meal cannot be underestimated. This piece was inspired by the carrying forward of Caribbean culture through food and community gatherings. In Cuba specifically, a country where so many families have been shaped by political exile and emigration, a shared meal is both a sacred ritual and a blessing unlike any other.
Ink on paper
11x17
Comida criolla is soul food. Festive meals are elaborate culinary rituals intended to be shared with family and friends. Caribbean food benefits from the same diversity as its culture, with Spanish, Indigenous, African, and Asian influences all evident in its cuisine. Meals often include starchy root vegetables like yuca and malanga and the holy trinity of seasonings: ajo, cebolla, and comino. A typical celebratory meal might include arroz y frijoles negros or congrí, fried platanitos, yuca con mojo (a personal fav), and a carne dish such as lechón asado, picadillo or ropa vieja. Of course, no meal is complete without flan for desert and a post atracón cafecito.
The power of a shared meal cannot be underestimated. This piece was inspired by the carrying forward of Caribbean culture through food and community gatherings. In Cuba specifically, a country where so many families have been shaped by political exile and emigration, a shared meal is both a sacred ritual and a blessing unlike any other.
Ink on paper
11x17
10. El Canto
With this final piece, I wanted to highlight the centrality of chanting to the practice of rituals. Chanting is used in meditation, prayer, and religious ceremonies by a wide range of practitioners including monks, Buddhists, Catholics, Lucumí practitioners, spiritual healers, and shamans (to name a few). In the Caribbean, chants are often performed by way of a call and response, as a pathway to spiritual healing, and as a way of establishing a connection to a higher power.
All spiritual and religious practices are rooted is esoteric history. The indigenous origins of all cultures were at one time violently suppressed and in that suppression, people were not only discouraged from observing rituals, but punished for doing so. Anti-ritual positions are rooted in the belief that ritualistic practices are somehow uncivilized, and that those who practice rituals should be reformed.
Whether they are recognized or denied, rituals are observed in all spiritual and religious practices across the globe. They have survived in the ritualistic nature of ceremonies—in the act of prayer, of song, of drumming, of lighting incense, in the way we bow and kneel, in the way we breathe, and even in the way we speak.
Ink on paper
12x12
All spiritual and religious practices are rooted is esoteric history. The indigenous origins of all cultures were at one time violently suppressed and in that suppression, people were not only discouraged from observing rituals, but punished for doing so. Anti-ritual positions are rooted in the belief that ritualistic practices are somehow uncivilized, and that those who practice rituals should be reformed.
Whether they are recognized or denied, rituals are observed in all spiritual and religious practices across the globe. They have survived in the ritualistic nature of ceremonies—in the act of prayer, of song, of drumming, of lighting incense, in the way we bow and kneel, in the way we breathe, and even in the way we speak.
Ink on paper
12x12
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