Orishas
Vaudou, Candomble or Santeria have been vilified and misunderstood and I wanted to create a project inspired by the various Orishas that I am learning about and decided to channel the Feminine Orishas for my Orishas inspired self-portraits series, from Oya’s fearlessness, Oshun’s femininity and vanity to Yemaya’s love. Exploring both femininity and spirituality while showing the beauty in these Orishas.
I always wanted to take Afro-Cuban dance classes, but I was intimidated by Baba Richard Gonzalez and never got a chance to take his classes before he retired. Then comes in Gilset Mora who has been steadily offering Afro-Cuban classes, first online and then at the park since the beginning of the Pandemic. There was my chance, to finally take Afro-Cuban dance classes. For years, I have been doing Haitian, West-African, Afro-Brazilian but never Cuban.
I was immediately drawn to the similarity between the Cuban Orishas and the Haitian Lwas, I love learning about all the different Orishas: Yemaya, Oshun, Oya, Chango, Obatala, Ellegua , Ochosy and Ogun.
The African mythology, rich in artistic fables and truth stories, offers a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Like Indian Brahma, Olorun (also known as Olodumare or Olofi) is the creator god who crafted the universe. Like Middle Eastern Baal, Chango is the god of thunder and storm. Like Greek Aphrodite, Oshun is the goddess of beauty, love, and sexual ecstasy. A river in Nigeria is named Oshun that flows into Lagos Lagoon.