Holguin Preserves Haitian Traditions
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
- Published in Holguin
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The preservation of the autochthonous traditions of Haitians settled in the province of Holguin is one of the main programs of research and protection of cultural heritage in this eastern Cuban territory. Yosvany Torres, researcher of that branch, pointed out that the celebration of Cuban-Haitian Holy Week is one of the rituals preserved in the municipality of Báguanos, located east of the provincial capital.
He highlighted that during the week the descendants of that community walk the rural road with a white flag, which represents peace, and abstain from eating meat for a period of seven days.
He said that the festival includes other characters, including the alert sentinel, and is part of the strategy to promote these traditions among the new generations of Cubans.
Activities also aim at spreading the traditional food of that Caribbean nation, through talks and workshops with the main native recipes, explained Ainé Pupo, researcher of the branch.
She stressed that the province still prepares dishes such as tonton, a mixture of foods of different types, including banana, malanga, yucca and pumpkin, which is the offering that honors the dead, according to the beliefs of the country.
In Holguín, research is currently being carried out to promote local development based on the dissemination of these traditions, introduced in Cuba from the 18th century with the purchase of the first Haitian slaves by the Spanish colony. / ACN
