Letter of the Year 2025 for Cuba Unveiled

On January 1, 2025, the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba unveiled the anticipated Letter of the Year, a spiritual guide outlining predictions and advice for Cubans and the global Yoruba religious community. Each year, Ifá priests perform sacred rituals and consult the oracle to establish the key guidelines for the upcoming cycle. For those devoted to the Yoruba faith, adhering to these spiritual advisories is believed to ensure a prosperous and balanced year.

Predictions and Spiritual Insights for 2025

Governing Sign: Ogunda Ogbe

First Witness: Baba Irete Meyí

Second Witness: Otura Ogbe

Prophetic Prayer: Iré Arikú Oyale Tesi Timbalayé (A blessing of firm and assured health on earth with the support of all the Oshas and Orishas).

The divine ruler for 2025 is Shangó, with Oshun as the accompanying deity. The prescribed flag colors are red with a white border, symbolizing Obatalá's path in the Oddun.

Spiritual Practices and Offerings

Offerings for Ifá: A rooster, two yellow hens, sea and river water, and decayed earth. Additional items include three arrows, yellow cloth, male and female dolls, a trap, a piece of gold, tangled thread, earth from a hole, two coconuts, two candles, rum, honey, smoked fish, smoked hutia, and toasted corn.

Santeros' Offering: A chicken, a trap, three arrows, sea and river water, and a coconut.

Ogunda Ogbe emphasizes the significance of truth and resilience. This Ifá sign highlights the need to rise above envy and deceit, valuing truth as a fundamental aspect of life. This Odu stresses the importance of taking roles and responsibilities seriously, indicating that success stems from adaptability, a desire to learn, and competence.

Significant Events in Cuba During 2024

The year 2024 marked an unprecedented economic, social, and energy crisis in Cuba, beginning with a notable incident in January. In Havana, a clandestine house within a Cupet was dismantled, exposing the makeshift living conditions of workers. February saw food and fuel shortages exacerbating the crisis, with Cubans in Santiago de Cuba chasing a food truck at an agricultural fair, highlighting the dire scarcity.

March brought attention to the food and health crisis, with a desperate mother attempting suicide because she couldn't feed her child, a stark example of the populace's despair. April spotlighted social issues like homelessness among the youth, with the plight of a homeless teenager in Havana representing the neglect faced by many.

In May, essential services continued to falter, with a shortage of glass for coffins in Santiago de Cuba halting funeral activities. June focused on health crises, including an abandoned adolescent in Santiago needing urgent medical diagnosis, while frequent power outages deepened the hardships faced by families and essential services alike.

Housing issues persisted in July as families lived in dangerous, collapsing homes in Havana. August witnessed the collapse of public transport, forcing a Santiago de Cuba family to sleep outdoors, with social frustration encapsulated in a mother's declaration that "this country doesn't progress."

September saw children selling tamales in Camagüey due to food scarcity, and families in Santiago enduring a week without water or electricity. October was marked by the devastation of Hurricane Oscar, with the government declining U.S. international aid, and school closures in Santiago due to food shortages.

November offered brief respite with a ship's arrival facilitating the resumption of liquefied gas sales in Santiago, but social tensions flared when a woman shouting "Down with communism!" was detained. The year ended in December with tragedy, as a fatal accident in Ciego de Ávila underscored the perils of deteriorating roads, while in Havana, images of children sleeping in doorways spurred public demands for solutions to protect vulnerable youth.