BROADCASTS.com

b'Today\'s episode "The Babalawo" is about Santeria\\u2026 the faith, not the song.\\n\\nUnlike the pop tune, not a lot of people know about this mysterious religion. Santer\\xeda, also known as Regla de Och\\xe1, La Regla de If\\xe1, or Lucum\\xed, is an Afro-Cuban religion that means the worship of saints.\\n\\nSo, you maybe asking yourself, \\u201cJavier, where\\u2019s the pretend angle here?\\u201d Well, this religion in particular gives me the heebie jeebies. I feel like people visit these Santeria priests like if they\\u2019re fortune tellers. Are they just taking advantage of people\\u2019s emotions or am I discriminating on this faith? Spoiler alert\\u2026 I\\u2019m pretty sure I\\u2019m discriminating against their faith.\\n\\nBut, I\\u2019m better than that right? Are my fears real or is this just a bunch of urban legends? Well, there\\u2019s only one way to find out. I need to travel to my hometown of Miami and embed myself in the Santeria community.\\xa0\\n\\nFirst, I had to find a babalawo. What\\u2019s a babalawo? A babalawo is a Santeria priest who acts as a medium channeling the prophecy from the Orishas. Orishas are spirits who are a manifestation of the supreme God Olodumare. In this episode, we\\u2019ll get into the history and origins of Santeria. I also talk with a Santeria priest and priestess to learn more about their secret rituals.\\n\\n\\n\\n-----LIES, LIES, LIES-----\\n\\nHas someone ever lied to you? Have you ever lied to protect someone else? Send me your personal story and I\'ll post it on my Patreon channel.\\xa0\\n\\nhttps://www.patreon.com/pretendradio\\n\\n\\n\\nIf you\'d like to submit a story, leave me a voicemail at 919-867-1871 or record your story on your smart phone\'s voice memo app and email it to me at javier@pretendradio.org.\\xa0\\n\\n-----MUSIC-----\\n\\nTheme Music composed by Joe Basile from The Chicken Music and Sound Design. Find out more about Joe and The Chicken at www.thechicken.net\\n\\nAdditional music by Podington Bear\\n\\n-----PROMOS-----\\n\\nPromos by:\\n\\nBeyond Bizarre Podcast\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'