- Title: VENEZUELA: CRIMINAL CULT IN CARACAS WORSHIP THE SPIRITS OF DEAD GANGSTERS.
- Date: 5th October 2004
- Summary: (L!2) CARACAS, VENEZUELA (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) VARIOUS OF SHOP THAT SELLS RELIGIOUS OBJECTS A WOMAN BUYING THE STATUE OF A CRIMINAL SAINT SAINT STATUES PERSON LOOKING AT STATUES VARIOUS OF STATUES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED MERCHANT SAYING: "The principal saint from the Gangster's Pantheon is called Ismael Quintana, all the others follow him, they're named Isabelita, Ratn and Miguelito and there are a lot more." STATUE OF ISMAEL QUINTANA, THE MAJOR SAINT OF THE "MALANDRAS" THE NAME "ISMAEL" VARIOUS OF STATUES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED MERCHANT SAYING: "When he [Ismael] was alive, he lived in Petare, he was a criminal who robbed, he robbed the people with money, and he gave the money to those who had none, he was like a kind of Robin Hood." VARIOUS OF STATUES VARIOUS OF MERCHANT WRAPPING STATUE VARIOUS OF CULT MEMBERS AT GRAVE OF CRIMINALS GRAVE OF ISMAEL, PRINCIPAL SAINTS STATUES ON THE GRAVE STONES CULT MEMBER STATUE AT A TOMB A PLAQUE THANKING THE CULT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LA NINA, GRAVE CARETAKER, SAYING: "60% of the people who live here are older, mothers who have children with problems, drug addiction, they have children who are in jail, they do drugs, they have problems with the law, so they come here to ask the saints to solve their problems." CULT MEMBERS AT GRAVE GRAVESTONES AND LETTERS OF THANKS A BOTTLE OF LIQUOR, OFFERED AS TOKEN OF THANKS CULT MEMBERS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BUYING SPIRITUAL OBJECTS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RAIZA LOPEZ, STORE OWNER, SAYING: "What type of dark energy can come from this. We don't sell any of that stuff and we don't use it either. That would put us in touch with really bad vibes. These people are killers, criminals, whenever you ask for their help, what kind of things might happen." CULT MEMBER AT THE GRAVE OF A "MALANDRO"
- Embargoed: 20th October 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
- Country: Venezuela
- Topics: Quirky,Religion,Religion
- Reuters ID: LVAAN1JVCM8P2YZMV0XH13UXUSZD
- Story Text: Members of the "Gansters Pantheon" cult in Venezuela worship the spirits of dead criminals.
With the sun casting long shadows in a Caracas cemetery, the Venezuelan priest puffs a cigar and mumbles a few words about the life of Ismael, a dead thief at the centre of a strange cult devoted to criminals.
Devotees of the Corte Malandra or Gangsters' Pantheon say the spirits of gangsters who once maintained a reign of terror in Caracas now provide protection against violent crime in a city where murders and robberies are rife.
The Gangsters' Pantheon takes as its symbol a hawk on a motorcycle -- one of Ismael's tattoos -- to honor him, The Rat, Isabelita, Luis, Little Miguel, Antonio and other notorious criminals who once preyed on poor hillside neighborhoods.
"The principal saint from the Gangster's Pantheon is called Ismael Quintana, all the other follow him, they're named Isabelita, Ratn and Miguelito and there are a lot more. When he was alive, he lived in Petare, he was a criminal who robbed, he robbed the people with money, and he gave the money to those who had none, he was like a kind of Robin Hood," said a worshipper who works in a store selling spiritual and religious objects.
Believers in the Corte Malandra say the spirits of the dead criminals are trying to make amends for their villainous past by protecting people and helping those who might be tempted into crime.
Venezuela, though mainly a Roman Catholic country, has many cults based on rituals taken from African slaves and indigenous beliefs which count politicians and ex-presidents among their followers. "Santeria" -- a form of voodoo mixing Christian practices and African mythology -- is common.
Nina -- a 26-year-old who said she become a follower after spending four months in intensive care with a gunshot wound -- spends her days selling candles to offer at the tombs of Ismael, The Rat and Isabelita in south Caracas' General Cemetery.
She said she has seen pensioners, army generals and even high-ranking police officers paying their respects at the tombs in her three years living in the cemetery surrounded by the heady scent of flowers and cigar smoke.
"60% of the people who live here are older, mothers who have children with problems, drug addiction, they have children who are in jail, they do drugs, they have problems with the law, so they come here to ask the saints to solve their problems," she said.
Devotees say anyone can pray at the tombs and pay for the favour with an offering of candles, a cigar, a glass of strong local anis licor and a hot salsa song.
Figurines of the criminal "saints" are found more and more in the spiritualist and amulet shops common in poor neighborhoods in Caracas. For less than a dollar one can buy a statue of a muscular figure armed with a revolver and wearing dark glasses, basketball shirt and cap.
The Villains' Pantheon is part of the Maria Lionza cult, which brings together a mysterious trinity of deities -- the mythical Amazonian goddess Maria Lionza, the historic Indian chief Guaicaipuro and the black slave rebel Negro Felipe.
But not all the followers of the goddess Maria Lionza believe the Villains' Pantheon belongs in the cult.
"What type of dark energy can come from this. We don't sell any of that stuff and we don't use it either. These people are killers, criminals, whenever you ask for their help, all kinds of things might happen," said Raiza Lopez, a Tarot card reader at another spiritualist store. "That would put us in touch with really bad vibes."
Though based in Venezuela, the Lionza cult is even starting to gain recognition in Cuba and Spain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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