Orishas, turistas y practicantes. La comercialización del patrimonio religioso en Cuba: Un ejemplo de estrategia de revitalización identita-ria y económica

Abstract

When the market for Afro-Cuban religions was wrapped in the form of Cultural Heritage, what before was a cause for exclusion is was exalted as part of national identity, becoming an ally of political power. Specialized institutions were created to protect, legitimize and perpetuate these beliefs as a commodity, combining three elements that coexisted before in this environment without having had formerly a direct connection: religion-heritage-tourism, a triangle where the economy is at the center. Heritage and tourism together under the face of religion in communion with an ideology and an identity, where the powerful presence of faith and tradition, (but also of merchandise), together with political debate and globalization, show different facets of the construction of cultural heritage.