Entre el cielo y la tierra Burning Man Festival María Lionza (pdf) María Lionza is the central figure

Cristina Garcia Rodero Culto a Maria Lionza A MAGNIFICENT PHOTO ESSAY BY CRISTINA GARCIA RODERO I want to speak about the human being, the dualities and contradictions of life; The old traditions smithfield station menu and the new rituals, the natural and the supernatural, religious and pagan, pain and pleasure, humans and gods, spirit and body, water and earth, life and death. smithfield station menu - Cristina Garcia Rodero                                                                                                                                                           
Quote: "I tried to photograph the mysterious, true and magical soul of popular Spain in all its passion, love, humor, tenderness, rage, pain, in all its truth; and the fullest and most intense moments in the lives of these characters as simple as they are irresistible, with all their inner strength, as a personal challenge that gave me strength and understanding and in which I invested all my heart."  Cristina Garcia Rodero 
Entre el cielo y la tierra Burning Man Festival María Lionza (pdf) María Lionza is the central figure in one of the largest cults in Venezuela. Her cult is a blend of African, indigenous, and Catholic beliefs similar to the Caribbean Santería. She is revered as a goddess of nature, love, peace, and harmony. smithfield station menu She has followers in many layers of Venezuelan society from small rural villages to the modern capital of Caracas, where a statue stands in her honor. The salsa singer Rubén Blades composed a song in her honor. According to the legends, María Lionza was born in 1502 to an Indian chief from the region of Yaracuy. She was believed to be a well endowed and strong woman, riding a big danta. It’s said that she reigned over the savage beasts, and in her throne were authoctonal animals like turtles and snakes. She is said to still live on the mountain of Sorte, where her followers come to pay homage to her, calling her their «Queen». Because of the tradition, the mountain of Sorte was declared National Park in the 1980’s. The name María Lionza comes from María de la Onza (Mary of the Jaguar), from the full name «Santa María de la Onza Talavera del Prato de Nívar» given by the Catholic Church to hide and christianize the cult. Eventually the name was contracted to «María Lionza». The María Lionza cult, while similar in most aspects to Santería, is in fact a combination between Catholicism, indigenous beliefs, Santería and European spiritism, especially the Allan Kardec theories. The mountain of Sorte, in Yaracuy state, Venezuela, is the principal place of María Lionza cult. There is where the «Altar Mayor» or principal altar is, and is the main destination of pilgrimage from other places in Venezuela and the Caribbean came to pay homage. Even though pilgrims came here all year round, the most important day is October 12. On this day, all the principal smithfield station menu shamans and priests of this cult come together to pay homage to their Queen and many of them do a tribal show called «Baile de las Brasas», where they do many old indigenous smithfield station menu dances including dancing over lit coals. Cristina García Rodero was born in Puertollano, Spain. She studied painting at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Madrid, before taking up photography. She then qualified as a teacher and worked full-time in education. For the next 16 years, she also dedicated her time to researching and photographing popular and traditional festivities - religious and pagan - principally in Spain but also across Mediterranean Europe. smithfield station menu This project culminated in her book España Oculta published in 1989, which won the «Book of the Year Award» at the Arles Festival of Photography. The same year, García Rodero smithfield station menu also won the prestigious W. Eugene Smith Foundation Prize. The documentary and ethnological value of her work is considerable, smithfield station menu but the esthetic quality of her photography makes it more than a simple visual record. smithfield station menu In recent years, smithfield station menu García Rodero has traveled around the world in search of other cultures with particular traditions. Over a period of four years, she went several times to Haiti, where she has documented voodoo rituals, producing a series of expressive