Religious People in Camagüey Congratulate Fidel Castro on his 87th Birthday

Camagüey, Aug 13. – Believers who regularly attend the “Light and Jesus Christ” spiritist center in the city of Camagüey sent a congratulatory message to Fidel Castro, on the occasion of his 87th birthday on Tuesday.

When talking to press, Guillermo Verde Rodríguez, leader of this religious denomination, told that his brothers and sisters in faith did their daily prayers and asked for the health of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution.

In the message they thank God “for giving health and strength to Fidel, so that he can continue guiding our people and the world with his wise advices and reflections”, Verde Rodríguez pointed out.

As a sign of deep love and respect of those who practice spiritism, this initiative which takes place every year involves the participation of hundreds of practitioners, who insistently pray for the good health of the leader of the Cuban Revolution.

The 'espiritismo de cordon' is a very popular religion in eastern Cuba. And Guillermo Verde Rodríguez inherited this mission of salvation from his father, for doing the good and sowing charity with messages of love and peace in his prayers.

This Cuban cult is one of the religious expressions that has enjoyed a remarkable popularity among different sectors of the population over the years in this island nation.

In its many forms of practices we can see customs, conceptions, traditions and characteristics having to do with the idiosyncrasy of our inhabitants.

Spiritism practitioners use objects such as crosses, flowers, icons and water in their liturgies, giving the ritual a very particular religious code.

Its beliefs and practices spread across Cuba in the second half of the 19th, and in its beginning, it represented a new option linked Catholicism and other religious expressions of African origin. (Alex López Almaguer (alex@rcagramonte.icrt.cu) / Radio Cadena Agramonte)