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The sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla is one of the most famous temples in Cuba. This modest Catholic
church of neoclassical style was erected in the town of Regla, a small village in Havana city. The
temple is considered an important cultural and religious symbol for locals and Havana's inhabitants. This
sacred place is also a renowned peregrination destination in Cuba. Throughout the year, thousands of
faithful and no faithful people visit the temple to venerate Our Lady of Regla, the only one black Virgin of
Cuba and one of the few around the world.
According to historical documents, the hermitage was built in 1687, near to Guaicanamar´s dock,
currently in the town of Regla. In the beginning, this hermitage was a precarious barrack made with
wood and straw. It was built on a parcel donated by Don Pedro Recio de Oquendo to Manuel
Antonio, a Peruvian Immigrant who founded the first temple to Our Lady of Regla. During those first years,
the locals used to worship the image of Our Lady of Regla on a painted canvas. Several documents
affirm that the painting was brought by the Augustinian Missionaries [...]
[...] On February 24th of 1956, the Virgin was crowned and canonized by the Cardinal and Archbishop of
Havana, Manuel Arteaga y Betancourt. Thirty one years later, in 1987, was the altar sanctified by the at the
time, Cardinal and Archbishop of Havana, Jaime Ortega Alánimo.
Every year, on September the 7
th
, faithful of Our Lady of Regla celebrate her day. During that day a
procession take place and the black Virgin is carried on shoulders of the faithful and locals across the town
of Regla. This celebration was banned for a long time due to the religious intolerance of the Cuban
socialist state. But many years of prohibition didn't erase the devotion to this Virgin and the celebration
reappeared again.
During the syncretism process, the African slaves associated the Catholic Virgin of Regla with Yemaya, an
African Orisha linked to the waters and its energies. For this reason many people come to the church to
venerate the African goddess.