Botanicas Are Centers of Faith For Many Latinos
For many Caribbean Latinos botanicas hold the key to curing their illnesses and broken hearts. Their is always a potion, candle or prayer to fulfill their dreams on the store’s shelves
Nestled between a flower shop and electronics store sits the colorful and dusty storefront of St. Lazarus Botanica, on Kingsbridge Road in the Fordham Road section of the Bronx.
Plastic and cast figurines of saints stand in the glass display window and line the shelves inside. Fresh medicinal herbs, plants and flowers sit on shelves on the left side of the crowded store alongside packets of “Take Away Evil,” and “Witchcraft Be Gone,” meant to be mixed with a bath to remove evil from a person’s soul. A garbage bag filled with popcorn for cleansing rituals overflows in the back of the store and various flowers sit boiling in pots of water placed around the shop.
Sandra Fachini is the “santera,” spiritual advisor to the people who visit her shop. She was born in Brazil to an Austrian mother and Portuguese father who practiced the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomble which was brought to Brazil by slaves over 500 years ago. Fachini, 60, opened the store 23 years ago.
“I am like a psychiatrist, “ she said. “When you have a problem you come by and talk to me. Sometimes I go home and cry because there are so many people that don’t have jobs and it is difficult,” said Fachini.
The botanicas in the Bronx are a center of religion, faith, and hope for the largely Hispanic population. The stores sell fresh medicinal herbs and plants, candles, lotions, amulets, perfumes, flowers, figurines of saints and even voodoo dolls. People who practice religions such as the Afro-Caribbean Santeria, Candomble, and Haitian Voodoo, share the common belief that good and evil spirits can affect health, luck, love, and other aspects of life. Most believe that there are religious deities that represent human characteristics and these deities are a direct link to God.
The neighborhood’s problems are varied but the problems Fachini and other botanica proprietors help their customers with tend to repeat themselves. A son has gone to war, someone has lost a job, a child needs help with school, someone has gone to jail, or an immigrant needs help with his court papers. No matter what the problem, there is a candle, prayer, or concoction to help.
“Everybody lights the candle,” she said. “When you light the candle it is to clean yourself. Some people come to buy candles for protection – St. Michael is for protection for people in the war. St. Jude is in charge of justice - for people in court, impossible papers, like immigration, or arrest.”
The origins of Santeria are rooted in slavery. Centuries ago, the chants, prayers, candles, and rituals involved in spiritual African religions were considered “black magic” by slave owners, so slaves incorporated Christian saints and symbols into their native beliefs to disguise their traditional practices. As slave families taught their children the beliefs of their African or Caribbean ancestors, mothers, grandmothers, and santeras in the Bronx teach their beliefs to anyone who is willing to learn today.
“Every saint has a story and every person has their connection to a saint,” said Christina Marquez, an 18-year-old from the Bronx who said she started following Santeria at age 10, when her mother who had taught her the religion passed away. Marquez said the santeras and tarot card readers at botanicas help her find which saint would be most helpful to her based on her personality and life experiences.
“It kills me what some people think about the religion, they see only the negative side – witch craft and voodoo,” Marquez said.. “A lot of beauty comes out of this religion. You feel a very personal connection with the saints.”
Fanchini sees all kinds of problems in her day and she always has a potion to offer. One recent customer’s problem centered around love.
“This man is gay and he wants someone he knows to love him,” said Fachini.
She poured a red “desperation” liquid and two spoonfuls of a white powder into a thick, white candle as she blew long streams of cigar smoke over the mix.
She had no doubt in the power of the candle. “If you have faith and do the prayers, the person will come to you, of course,” she said.
“People use the practice for all different things,” said Jose Ortiz, 28, an employee at La 21 Division Botanica on the Grand Concourse. “They get the dolls in the shape of a man or woman and they try to do the union –Santeria stuff. They always look for the religious way how to do things. If a woman practices voodoo she is going to do the stuff to bring the man back to her and fix it.”
Both La 21 Division and St. Lazarus Botanica bring in what santeras call a gifted tarot card reader at least five days a week. A customer sits in the back room of the store, cuts a deck of tarot card three times, and, believers say, the reader is able to see the past, present and future.
“God gave her a vision. Her vision is to see your vision. She tells you whatever happened in past, present and what will happen in the future,” said Denise Beach, a teacher from Manhattan who travels to La 21 Division whenever she runs out of a religious liquid or needs a reading.
“If something good is going to happen she tells you ‘I don’t know when its coming but its coming.’ If something bad is going to happen to you she tries to tell you so you can keep away from that road.”
None of these rituals or practices would work for a non-believer but those who follow Santeria or Candomble have no doubts about the efficiency of their dedication.
“Many of us go to church on Sunday,” Ortiz said. “When you follow religion, like the normal person, you interpret the bible. Five people read one verse they all interpret in different ways. Santeria gives you something that people use in all different ways. Once you learn it and get really into it you get to see things and believe and that is how you get to be a part of the powerful religion.”