Some with candles, with very few sunflowers, that is how the devotees entered the church of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre on the corner of Manrique and Salud, in Centro Habana. This Thursday, the day on which the Patron Saint of Cuba is celebrated, inflation has also been noted in the price of sunflowers, the flower that is offered to little piece because its yellow color recalls the golden mantle that his image wears.
From Galiano Avenue, metal fences and several policemen controlled the passage to the Havana temple where thousands of people attend every September 8 to pay tribute to “the mother of all Cubans.” This year the date has coincided with a deep economic crisis, which has cut the offerings that are left on the altar at the entrance of the church.
“I only bought one candle and it practically melted in my hand, because it seems that they mixed the wax with bait. It cost me 50 pesos, but at least I was able to bring something, because the smallest bouquet of sunflowers cost 300”, lamented a young woman who , dressed in yellow clothes, approached the place this morning. “I’m going to have lunch and come back in the afternoon for the procession,” she said goodbye to her friends a while later.
At four in the afternoon, in a crowded temple, a mass was officiated by Cardinal Juan de la Caridad García, Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana, together with the newly appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of the capital, Eloy Dominguez. It was attended by the Spanish ambassador in Cuba, Angel Martin Peccis.
The prelate warned that the Church is the house “of all Cubans, the house of the Mother of God, in this house we all fit.” And he added that little piece “he wants peace and harmony for all Cubans.” “With God everything and without God nothing,” declared the archbishop during his sermon.
After five in the afternoon, the image of the Virgin appeared at the door of the church and was received with applause, tears and hundreds of raised arms trying to capture the moment with their mobile phones. On the facade of the temple, a huge Cuban flag fluttered in the gentle breeze this Thursday. In the crowd, people dressed in yellow and white clothes alternated, some with a mask and others with their faces uncovered.
The procession initially walked down Calle Manrique until it reached Zanja and then turned onto Galiano to join the stately Reina, where the residents leaned out from the rooftops and balconies to follow the procession. Some flower petals also fell from the heights as the Virgin passed by, although in a smaller volume than in previous years, less difficult for the Cubans’ pockets.
Applause, long live the Virgin and tunes like “And if you go to El Cobre, I want you to bring me a Virgencita de la Caridad”, were heard during the tour through one of the poorest and most populated areas of the Cuban capital. Megaphone in hand, on Zanja Street, the Cardinal asked to pray to little piece for “those who have died from covid, in the Saratoga hotel accident and in the Matanzas fire.” The crowd received the phrase with silence and then erupted in shouts and applause when Juan de la Caridad García added “our brothers who have died crossing rivers and jungles in search of a new future.”
“I haven’t seen this street so full of people and with so much emotion since July 11,” said a young man who claimed to have participated in the protests on that day last year. The vicinity of the Capitol of Havana, especially Galiano, Zanja and Reina streets were several of the busiest routes for the protesters who later gathered around the Cuban Parliament building.
The passage of the crowd was guarded by a strong police operation and the evident presence of State Security agents dressed in civilian clothes. The first procession after the suspension of public activities forced by the pandemic has also been marked by official nervousness after the popular protests of July 11 last year and the demonstrations this summer in various locations on the island.
Among the fears of the Government has been that the procession was the scene of some claim for the release of political prisoners on the Island, as independent organizations and relatives of those convicted have done in the past.
The high prices also affected the devotees of the city of Sancti Spíritus who had to pay 20 pesos each for roses and candles to offer in the church of Charity in that city. Hundreds of people gathered in the temple and many others joined the procession that began after mass. Mobile data network congestion frustrated many who wanted to stream the moment live on social media.
Similar processions were held in other parishes in the country, especially the one that left this Wednesday from the Santuario del Cobre in Santiago de Cuba, where dozens of people participated to celebrate the 410th anniversary of the discovery of the image of the Virgin. This Thursday a procession was also held in the capital of Santiago from the Archbishop’s headquarters to the cathedral.
For the rest, the day has been influenced from the beginning by the calls for harmony and the desire for freedom for Cuba. The Superior of the Daughters of Charity in Cuba, Nadieska Almeida, published a text on facebook in which he questioned what was going to happen on the Island after the day to commemorate the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. “When it’s all over, what will be left?” she asked.
The nun described the current situation in the country with harsh words: “I see nothing but the same misery, the same repression, the same sadness on the faces of so many, tears like that of the family of the little girl who died in Guantanamo due to a school disaster, or that of the relatives of those who are dying due to lack of medication, especially dengue… and so many more”.
Almeida summarized his request to little piece directly and also alluding to the ecclesial authorities on the island: “Give wisdom to the rulers and courage to the Church so that it does not stop proclaiming what is proper to it. And the deep desire for a free, hopeful and hopeful, and we will continue to believe that it will be possible, and why not?
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