Santería

Or San·te·ri·a

[sahn-tuh-ree-uh]

noun

1. (sometimes lowercase),  a religion merging the worship of Yoruba deities with veneration of Roman Catholic saints: practiced in Cuba and spread to other parts of the Caribbean and to the United States by Cuban emigrés.

Santeria

/ ˌsæntəˈrɪə /

noun

1. a Caribbean religion composed of elements from both traditional African religion and Roman Catholicism

Word History and Origins

Origin of Santería¹

First recorded in 1980–85; from Latin American Spanish, equivalent to santer(o) “person practicing Santería” ( Spanish sant(o) saint + -ero, from Latin -ārius -ary ) + -ía -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of Santería¹

American Spanish, literally: holiness

Example Sentences

This is where Álvarez León practices Lucumí alongside two other priests, who are called babalawos in the religion; known around the world as Santería, Lucumí shares its name with the West African-descendant communities in Cuba who first developed the practice, which has since expanded across Latin America and its diaspora.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet that self-titled LP went on to become a quintuple-platinum smash, spawning late-’90s alt-rock radio staples like “What I Got,” “Santeria” and “Wrong Way.”

From Los Angeles Times

In a profile in The Daily News after the album’s release, the columnist Pete Hamill singled out one track, “Under the Moon and Over the Sky” — one of four songs on the album that Ms. Bofill wrote or co-wrote — as “a city dream: lyrical and defiant, with the congas rolling through the middle, and the sounds of Santeria add a thread of the unearthly.”

From New York Times

Santeria devotees dance and slap drums in a museum filled with statues, paying homage to their Afro-Cuban deities.

From Seattle Times

Experts estimate that as many, or more, also follow Afro-Cuban traditions such as Santeria that intermingle with Catholicism.

From Seattle Times