The braids of the virgin: Taino roots of the early cult of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre in Cuba

Since her discovery in Cuban waters in 1611, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (The Virgin of Charity) has become the leading transnational religious symbol for Cubans. The oldest stories about the appearance of La Virgen in Cuba suggest the presence of Cuban Taino in the early years of her cult. Yet historians have minimized Taino influence when examining Cuba's sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, pivotal years in the cult's development. This thesis demonstrated the significant role of the Taino in the formation of the early cult of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, by employing revisionist historiography to the years between 1492 and 1687, to better understand the demographics and religious culture of Eastern Cuba, where the cult originated. It also found specific contributions from Taino religious culture in the myths, beliefs, and material culture associated with the early cult of La Virgen. ^

Boy exile turned saint: Elián Gonzalez as a contested religio-ideological symbol among cuban-american catholics

This Master's thesis explores the hypothesis that Elian Gonzalez functions as a religious and ideological symbol for Cuban-Americans similarly to La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Both La Caridad and Eliin are contested symbols among most Cuban and Cuban-American individuals, meaning both groups appropriate them toward their religious and ideological ends. The Virgin aids in the formulation of a collective identity for members of the Cuban exile community. Her shrine in Miami bridges the spatial and temporal gap between the exile community and the homeland of Cuba and represents the exile's hope for a return to a free Cuba. Elian functions as a metaphor of the Cuban exile experience, and thus a multi-leveled, transnational, religious and ideological symbol. In order to assess this, theoretical and journalistic materials are used, along with personal interviews and participant observation. This methodology is used to determine the function Elian serves for this community.