Procession around block of Casa del Caribe in Santiago de Cuba with image of Ochun during annual festivities in September 1997.

Parallel Christian Marian procession in El Cobre. Some Santeria devotees turn the procession in El Cobre into a dual Virgin of Charity/Ochun celebration.

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This evening procession is parallel to the one that took place in El Cobre that same morning with the "original" Christian image during the annual festivity of the Virgin of Charity. Although many devotees of Santeria often participate as well in the Christian celebrations, the staging of a distinct procession for an image of Ochun speaks to the hybrid aspects of this Afro-Cuban tradition as well as to its autonomy from the Christian Marian cult.

Given that Santeria celebrations are usually relegated to houses or private spaces, the procession constitutes a way of "taking over the street" or reclaiming public space for a tradition that has been barely tolerated, when not stigmatized and proscribed, throughout different periods of Cuban history, including the Revolution. In this sense, this public act constitutes both a political and a cultural statement. Politically the performance makes a claim to the right of open religious worship and culturally it celebrates publicly this manifestation of Afro-Cuban identity. Afro-Cuban religious traditions are often publicly displayed and allowed as artistic performances of "folklore" and popular culture. Video postings in the internet are opening up yet new (virtual) spaces for their public display.

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Procession in El Cobre