The Congress of the State of Puebla, Mexico, was the venue for the presentation of the book “Ewé Layé – Sources of Life”, by the Cuban writer, composer, and researcher Tomasa González Pérez, as reported this Friday by Red Connection TV on their social media.
The event in the high-profile legislative chamber brought together representatives from various countries, local officials, and the general public around a work that combines ethnobotany, religiosity, and Afro-Cuban poetry.
González Pérez, a native of Sancti Spíritus, described the book as the result of years of fieldwork: "It is a compilation of research I conducted over the years on plants and rituals of Afro-Cuban culture. Here you will find the plant, its scientific name, and the properties associated with each orisha."
The work encompasses the traditions of the Regla de Ocha, the Regla de Palo Monte, and the Regla de Ifá, dedicating a poem to each deity of the Afro-Cuban pantheon, along with detailed information about the plants associated with them. "You will find all the orishas, their syncretism with their plants, and the poem I created for each of them. It is a book that can be useful to anyone and has nothing to do with their religion or beliefs," the author emphasized.
Ewé Layé — Fuentes de vida was originally published in 2003 by Ediciones Luminaria, according to the editorial credits of its later editions. The work saw new editions under the labels of Ciencias Sociales and Ediciones Cubanas/Artex, before being included in the catalog of Editorial Letras Cubanas. In 2025, a digital version was also released, distributed by Ruth Casa Editorial, and registered on international e-book platforms.
During the event, González Pérez was accompanied by her compatriot Anabel Cuesta Máñez, a Cuban visual artist based in Mexico and president of Alianza Internacional México, the organization that supported the event. Among the attendees were Óscar Emilio Carranza León, general director of the "Gilberto Bosques Saldívar" Institute of Legislative, Financial, and Socioeconomic Research from the Congress of Puebla, and Odilón Jiménez, councilor for Culture and Sport of Acajete, Puebla.
In the same venue, an international corridor featuring crafts and gastronomy from eight countries was set up: Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, France, Morocco, and Algeria, which broadened the event beyond literature to a wider multicultural exchange.
The Afro-Cuban culture documented in the book is the result of centuries of transculturation and syncretism between African traditions—primarily Yoruba and those of Congo or Bantu origin—the Catholicism introduced during colonization, and other expressions of Cuban culture.
In the Rule of Ocha or Santería, the orishas are associated with specific plants, which are believed to have medicinal and spiritual properties. Ochún, for instance, is linked to the Virgin of Charity of Copper, the patroness of Cuba, while Yemayá is connected to the Virgin of Regla. These ethnobotanical and religious knowledge have been documented in foundational works such as El monte (1954) by Lydia Cabrera, and continue to be an integral part of the living cultural and religious traditions of the Island.
González Pérez holds a degree in Education and is an auxiliary professor with teaching experience at primary, polytechnic, and university levels. She is a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), the Economic Society of Friends of the Country, and the Cuban Association of Musical Authors' Rights, among other institutions. Her works also include the poetry collection "Hung from the Sky".
The presentation at the Congress of Puebla highlights the growing interest in preserving and promoting Afro-Cuban roots beyond the Island, in a context where the Cuban diaspora in countries like Mexico has become one of the main vehicles for transmitting these traditions.
As noted by Red Connection TV while covering the event, the day "represented a meeting space for literature, research, and cultural exchange between Cuba and Mexico, highlighting the importance of preserving and promoting the roots, traditions, and expressions of Afro-Cuban culture."
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