Читать книгу Cubanisms - Pedro García-Menocal - Страница 24

Roman Catholicism is still the largest religion in Cuba. The Plaza de la Catedral is at the very center of Old Havana. And yet, Cubans remain, by nature, a superstitious people. Perhaps this is why, whatever they may believe, many Cubans, even the Catholics, do not totally dismiss the well-known religion of Santería, a Cuban religion of African origin which worships mixed African and Christian idols. It’s almost as if Cubans are hedging their bets on spirituality.

Probably the most famous school in pre-revolutionary Cuba was Belén, a Jesuit Catholic prep school. Belén is the Spanish word for the biblical city of Bethlehem. Its most famous, and notorious, graduate is Fidel Castro. After the revolution, the school relocated to Miami. To be “En Belén con los pastores” (to be in Bethlehem with the shepherds) is an old Spanish expression that means that you are absentminded, your thoughts are wandering