3rd place
bronze star award
Abel Ruiz de Leon
title
Saint Lazarus, hear me!
Some cover tens of kilometres torturing their bodies until they reach the altar that shelters Saint Lazarus – Babalú Ayé for the Cuban Santería – the man whose body is covered with sores and whose wounds are licked by dogs. Thousands of followers pray every year for their wounds to be healed on December 17.
The Cuban slaves – believers in Babalú Ayé and the Father of the World – arrived on the island from Africa and could hide their religious beliefs behind the Catholic appearance of Saint Lazarus. Thus they could continue worshiping their own gods right up until today.
The pilgrimage to El Rincón unites the Catholic faith with the beliefs that arrived in Cuban at the height of the slave trade.
At first I combined visits with work in the media: agencies, radio channels, national and international newspapers and magazines. Finally, in 2004-05 I abandoned almost totally my relationship with the mass media.
Since then I have focused my efforts on tackling personal projects, with the only reference being the human beings that I know. Their difficult environments are really only backgrounds to their lives, which is really what matters.
For two decades I worked in places such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, Kurdistan, India, Kashmir, Vietnam, Thailand, Cuba, Haiti, Peru, Tunisia, Libya, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia…etc.
I try to show all those experiences in projects geared towards the publication of books and the staging of exhibitions. In spite of the time that has passed, returning to work in the mass media is always an option, when the right opportunity presents itself. I never forget all I have learned in its newsrooms nor the colleagues I have known.
I do not want to let slip the opportunity to thank you for your interest in me and my work, through my personal website.
Best wishes,
Abel
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entry description
Thousands of Cuban pilgrims gather annually at the shrine of El Rincón. Thus honouring their penances and pledges to Saint Lazarus, the most-venerated saint on the island both for Catholics and devotees of Santería.Some cover tens of kilometres torturing their bodies until they reach the altar that shelters Saint Lazarus – Babalú Ayé for the Cuban Santería – the man whose body is covered with sores and whose wounds are licked by dogs. Thousands of followers pray every year for their wounds to be healed on December 17.
The Cuban slaves – believers in Babalú Ayé and the Father of the World – arrived on the island from Africa and could hide their religious beliefs behind the Catholic appearance of Saint Lazarus. Thus they could continue worshiping their own gods right up until today.
The pilgrimage to El Rincón unites the Catholic faith with the beliefs that arrived in Cuban at the height of the slave trade.
about the photographer
My first contacts with the world of communication were in radio while I was studying at university. Soon after, I started to edit and present news bulletins. I liked radio very much, but one day I felt the need to try what really had motivated my choice of profession. I decided to travel. I bought my first camera and flew to the Afghanistan of the Taliban. The fundamentalists had just taken power and imposed sharia law in the country. In 1997 it was an enigmatic place. That experience marked my life for ever.At first I combined visits with work in the media: agencies, radio channels, national and international newspapers and magazines. Finally, in 2004-05 I abandoned almost totally my relationship with the mass media.
Since then I have focused my efforts on tackling personal projects, with the only reference being the human beings that I know. Their difficult environments are really only backgrounds to their lives, which is really what matters.
For two decades I worked in places such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, Kurdistan, India, Kashmir, Vietnam, Thailand, Cuba, Haiti, Peru, Tunisia, Libya, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia…etc.
I try to show all those experiences in projects geared towards the publication of books and the staging of exhibitions. In spite of the time that has passed, returning to work in the mass media is always an option, when the right opportunity presents itself. I never forget all I have learned in its newsrooms nor the colleagues I have known.
I do not want to let slip the opportunity to thank you for your interest in me and my work, through my personal website.
Best wishes,
Abel
back to gallery
