An old woman prays to the Orishas next to a makeshift altar within her home, deep in the heart of the Chocó rainforest. Through her chanting she keeps alive the religious ritual of the santeria, an oral tradition whose origins can be traced back to the 16th century’s slave trade. The cultural and religious clash of the enslavement process resulted in the syncretism of the Yoruba beliefs and the religious imagery of the Christian patrons. In many regions of Colombia’s Pacific communities still celebrate the fusion of the African Orisha Gods with Catholic imagery and icons of saints.
