As a Santeria practitioner and TV scholar I truly appreciate the inclusion of the La Regla Lucumi’s religion (aka Santeria,) on the Netflix show Orange is the New Black. The show’s third season begins on June 12th and has already been renewed for a fourth so there is much more to come. The show’s creator Jenji Kohan, who was the remarkable genius behind Weeds, said this season will focus on “faith and motherhood.” (Last year I wrote about the 1st two seasons which you can read about by clicking the link.)
This season’s premiere heads the list of CNN’s shows to watch this week. Netflix made us wait awhile for this one, and I am certainly excited. In my previous post Orange is the New Black Puts On It’s Santeria Whites I write about the character of ” Gloria Mendoza [who] knows her way around the Orisha. Mendoza is inspiringly played by Selenis Leyva. In the early episodes of the show she makes herbal preparations to help with unwanted pregnancy and constipation.”
Season two featured lots of Santeria moments, particularly in Season 2 Episode 5 where we literally start with St. Peter opening the way to learning more about the practices. The shows illustrates the spiritual values of common sense, patience, and cleanliness. As a bonus you also get to hear the Santera Lourdes’ character recite Psalm 91… traditionally used for removal of one’s enemies and “protection against the dark arts,” This episode ends wit a special petition for St. Anthony. Ironically the season premiere is June 12th, while St. Anthony’s feast is June 13th. Who knows what doors will be opened ? I’d love to see more faith based storylines across the board. What would Crazy Eyes’ special brand of Hoodoo look like ? Wouldn’t it be delightful to see Kate Mulgrew’s character of Red Reznikov get a jailhouse Kolovrat tattoo? Hopefully more of the Santeria or “Catholic Plus” religion as they call it will be highlighted too.It certainly seems so, if the advance publicity is any indication, you can see for yourselves in the poster below. But for now, I will light a candle.
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