Botanica Ashe

My listening post is a Santeria Botanica. It is called Botanica Ashe and it is located at 760 West 27 Street in Hialeah. Before visiting my listening post, I sat down with my grandmother, who was a little uneasy at the thought of me going. (but then again so was I) I talked to her a little about what I had researched and learned about Santeria. My grandmother was born in Cuba and lived there for most of her life. She was never comfortable with the Santeria culture and that is where my negative views on it came from.

When I called the Botanica I spoke to the godson of the man who runs the botanica. I spoke to him several times over the phone and introduced myself as a student from Florida International University who was interested in learning a little more about a culture I'm not to familiar with or comfortable with. I spoke to him in spanish at first, because I stereotyped and figured since his botanica was in Hialeah, that he only spoke spanish. (Shame on me) He began speaking to me in English and the conversation flowed a lot easier. He instructed me to call him back at another time when his godfather was available to give me a date and time for when to visit.

I was able to go on Saturday morning, even though the owner was not there. The shop had a couple customers inside when I got there. I felt a little uneasy walking in, hoping I didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

I approached a man who was stacking the shelves with candles that had pictures of saints on them. I introduced myself to him, and he was very welcoming. (it was the owner's godson) He asked me exactly what I wanted to get out of this. I explained to him the purpose of my visit. He was very hesitant to talk about the religion on the first visit, but he told me a little about himself and a brief overview about the religion, like where it came from and some of the basic terms, like an orisha, which are the spirits in the religiong.

I asked him a couple questions like, why are people scared of the religion and he told me that the media has given it a very negative view. He did not talk about any sacrficing, but just said that they have "ritualistic ceremonies", which I want to find out more about next time.

I was there for about a half hour, watching customers come in and out. Several of them purchased those candles I was talking about that had pictures of saints on them and others that were just plain and in different colors. He told me that each candle has its own meaning and how it burns and what the flame looks like tells you something different.

He cut the visit a little shorter than I wanted because he had to step out, but he invited me to come back. (which was a relief) I was not as uneasy as I was when I walked in, but I'm still a little weirded about because I still have a lot to learn about the religion.

I look forward to visiting again on Thursday.