Cuba’s Santeria priests wax positive as transition from Castros begins

Castro, 86, said last month he would step down as President in April. He took over in 2008 after his brother Fidel Castro, who had governed Cuba since leading the 1959 revolution, became seriously ill. Fidel Castro died in 2016.

By: Reuters | Havana | Updated: January 3, 2018 12:21 pm

Santeria priests, Cuba, letter of the year, havana,

Santeria followers perform a holy drum beat after reading the annual Letter of the Year in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Priests from Cuba’s Afro-Cuban Santeria religion forecast on Tuesday that the upcoming retirement of President Raul Castro would signify “a moment of change” that accelerates the pace of reform on the Communist-run island.

The ritual-filled religion, which fuses Catholicism with ancient African beliefs brought to Cuba by slaves, is practiced by millions of Cubans, many of whom eagerly await guidance from its annual forecast.