00:00I am walking on my knees since 3 in the afternoon.
00:18Every December 17, thousands of faithful Cubans go to the San Lázaro Sanctuary in El Rincón to fulfill their promises.
00:25Many make sacrifices and penances as a sign of gratitude for the favors received.
00:55How old are you?
00:57I am 63.
00:58And since 1980, since you were a child?
01:00I came here badly, badly, badly.
01:03And look, he loves me like a 15-year-old girl.
01:05I promised him that if he took care of me, I would become his missionary.
01:10And he took care of me, and look, with a broom, opening his eyes.
01:14San Lázaro Sanctuary
01:19What is the San Lázaro Sanctuary like?
01:22There are people who, for how many years, have been fulfilling their promises.
01:26How old are you?
01:28I am 26 years old.
01:29And what motivated you to do it?
01:31The promise for my son.
01:34I was seriously ill and I kept my promise.
01:37And is he currently healthy and well?
01:40He is healthy and well.
01:41Where do you come from?
01:43I come from La Línea, and I am from Matanza.
01:46From Matanza?
01:47I am from Matanza, and I come from La Línea.
01:50And do you belong to the Afro-Cuban religion?
01:53Have you received San Lázaro in Ararao?
01:56San Lázaro is my holy land.
01:59What is your name?
02:00Carlos.
02:01And you, sir, also fulfill the promise?
02:06Yes.
02:07Do you accompany him?
02:09Yes, we do.
02:11Together?
02:12Yes, together.
02:13We met here together.
02:14You met here?
02:15He accompanies me.
02:16Those are my Himawas.
02:18Yes, yes.
02:19The Himawas.
02:20They have been fulfilling their promise with me for three years.
02:24Three years.
02:25Three years.
02:26They are there.
02:27Don't laugh.
02:28Thank you very much.
02:29We are reporting for ADN Cuba and to make your faith visible in San Lázaro.
02:34Blessings and good health.
02:35Look, family, the promise they make, how does it work?
02:38They come on their knees from La Línea to the sanctuary.
02:46San Lázaro is one of the most venerated figures in Cuban popular religion.
02:51The saint occupies the second place after the Virgin of the Charity of Copper as an object of worship and devotion.
02:58His image is associated with both Catholicism and the sanctuary,
03:02so he is a symbol of religious fusion on the island.
03:09How many interferences have you had in the day?
03:11I have had several interferences to get here to the corner.
03:18I left Havana at 6 in the morning.
03:23I had the road broken in the afternoon of October 10.
03:31I had to clear all this, make the move and continue the march,
03:37because I cannot be convinced of this march on the vipers in San Lázaro.
03:44I left at 6 in the morning and look what time it is.
03:49I am entering the corner before 12 at night.
03:54I have been walking on my knees since 3 in the afternoon.
03:59I will continue on my knees until I get to where my father is, because he deserves it.
04:10Since when do you make the promise to close San Lázaro?
04:14Now, on the 17th, it will be 19 years.
04:17What motivated you to put your faith in him?
04:20My daughter, when she was one year old, her mother took her by force.
04:26A motorcycle hit her.
04:29Her mother died and my daughter got serious for a month and 28 days.
04:35I made the promise and now, on December 17, it is my 19th birthday.
04:41Is she healthy?
04:44At this moment, this year she is not with me, but now she is in the United States.
04:49Thank you, San Lázaro, that everything is going well.
04:51What is your name?
04:52Carlos Manuel.
04:53How old are you going to make the promise?
04:55I will finish this year.
05:00The origin of the fever of San Lázaro dates back to the times of the Spanish colony.
05:05Legend has it that in 1578, some leper-sick sailors were healed in the town of Rincón, near Havana.
05:13After invoking the protection of the saint.
05:16Since then, he has become a protector of those affected by this disease.
05:24Sir, how many years have you been making the promise?
05:28Four years.
05:30Four years? Where do you come from?
05:32Santiago de Cuba.
05:33From Santiago de Cuba?
05:34Yes.
05:35How did you get here?
05:37From Santa Havana, I left at 8 o'clock.
05:42I came here at 4.40.
05:44And have you gone to other provinces to make the ceremony?
05:47Yes.
05:49The ceremony is here.
05:51And you, what was the product of your promise?
05:54Health.
05:55To health?
05:56Yes.
06:08Are they irons?
06:11They are operations.
06:13Operations? And has it prospered?
06:16It has put all its strength in it.
06:22With the passage of time, his figure also acquired great importance within the rites of the sanctuary.
06:27Like Babalú Ayé, origin of the contagious diseases.
06:31Thus, Saint Lazarus came to represent the hope of healing for the believers of both religions.
06:38The child was born with a tumor in the spine.
06:41And thanks to God and Saint Lazarus, I promised him a lot.
06:45He disappeared.
06:46And until the age of 17, I have been making the promise to the child.
06:48How many years?
06:49I continued studying.
06:50Thanks to them, nothing else came out, but I have to continue until the age of 17.
06:54And how long are you going to come?
06:57No, until the 17th of December.
07:00I come with the child from the four corners, as I am.
07:03And how old is the child?
07:06He is six years old.
07:08Thanks to God.
07:10And what is your name?
07:12Jorge.
07:15Reporting for ADN Cuba.
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