Description
While conducting research, Hearn lived for one year each in two Santería temple-houses: one located in Old Havana and the other in Santiago de Cuba. All through those stays he conducted a large number of interviews: with the historian of Havana and the conservationist of Santiago de Cuba (officials more or less equivalent to mayors in the US), acclaimed writers, influential leaders of Afro-Cuban religions, and many citizens involved in community development initiatives. Hearn draws on those interviews, his participant commentary in the temple-houses, case studies, and archival research to convey the daily life experiences and motivations of religious practitioners, development workers, and politicians. The use of the idea that of social capital, he explains the state’s desire to incorporate tightly knit religious groups into its community development projects, and he illuminates a fundamental challenge facing Cuba’s religious communities: how to deal with their spiritual integrity and internal solidarity whilst participating in state-directed projects.