ALAbbá 2010
Distributed by Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Eliezer Perez Angueira and Matthew McIlhenny.
Directed by Eliezer Perez Angueira.
DVD , color, 40 min., Spanish with English subtitles
College - General Adult
Anthropology, Latin America, Religion
Date Entered: 09/18/2014
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Technical Services Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, ORThis somewhat disjointed documentary provides a glimpse of Santeria, a Cuban derivation of an African religion. I say a glimpse, because there is a lot we don’t learn. Beyond a cryptic reference to blood, there is not much said about any of the religion’s rituals except for initiation. There is some history given, but it’s pretty vague and very incomplete. The adherents interviewed do provide a good picture of why they converted, and what it means to them in their day-to-day life. Many seem to have turned to it when needing healing from a serious illness. Those interviewed indicate that their orisha, a personal deity/spirit that descends on them at initiation, plays an important role in their lives thereafter.
Not much effort is made to explain unfamiliar terms, and as an academic study of a religion, this falls short. It’s closer to the raw material for such a study; it shines as a window into the lived experience of an unfamiliar religion.