Ahi Vive Aguidday

Agguiday's Well

Sumi Ink, metal leaf, and watercolor on paper, 17" X 22"

Hilda Victoria Zulueta, January 26, 2006, Perico, Cuba.

Ah铆 en ese lugar viv铆a una se帽ora que viv铆a en el patio donde est谩 el pozo y esa se帽ora se cae en el pozo y cuando esa se帽ora se cae en el pozo viene Aguidday. Esa se帽ora se saca del pozo y viene a tener ah铆 donde est谩 la rueda esa que ustedes ven ah铆. Entonces, 驴qu茅 es lo que pasa? Que los santeros lucum铆es no conocen a Aguidday y no lo consideran como santo, pero ese es un santo bastante milagroso Cuando se va a despedir tambi茅n el tambor se canta ese canto, es un canto como d谩ndole a gracias a todos igual que a 茅l. Es un santo bastante misterioso. Un trapiche que iba a tener all铆 al baculador, entonces un a帽o se cay贸 un avi贸n all铆, un avi贸n que ven铆an a explorar una bomba al ingenio y por lo sagrado que hab铆a all铆, porque se le daba la comida antes de la zafra, si no acababa con los trabajadores y con todo el mundo y la bomba cae casi a la salida. Entonces all铆 en el parque hicieron un Cristo salvador, pero despu茅s de la revoluci贸n lo tumbaron. All铆 en ese Cristo se iba y se le daba鈥se central ten铆a un misterio bastante grande que hab铆a que darle comida todos los a帽os antes de empezar la zafra. Iba mi abuelo, bueno los santeros viejos africanos, iban y daban esa comida all铆 debajo del ingenio, a aquel pozo que hay dentro del ingenio. Dentro de ese ingenio hay un pozo. Ahora lo taparon todo. Donde yo te digo que sal铆a la cadena esa al trapiche, all铆 exist铆a tambi茅n un se帽or de esos, porque 茅l pare y lo taparon tambi茅n. Es por eso que en Espa帽a todos los a帽os suced铆an tantas cosas y a veces se mor铆an porque no se le daba comida. Hay como te gust贸 fragmentito de la canci贸n de Aguidday. 'Aguidday masaboro efeheladomedo efehena domidohe, efehena domidoe, Aguidday masaboro efehena domido'.

Hilda: Over there, in that place, a woman used to live in the patio where the well is, and that woman fell in the well, and when she fell in the well Agguiday came. He took her out of the well, right there where you see the wheel.  So what happens? Lucum铆 santeros don't recognize Agguiday and don't consider him a saint, but he is quite miraculous.  When we are closing the ceremonies we sing that chant, we are thanking all deities and he is included. He is very mysterious. They were going to put sugar mill over there, and one year a plane fell down there, a plane that came to check one of the pumps of the sugar refinery. It happened due to the sacred being that is buried in that spot.  We used to feed it before the sugar harvest. If not, it would have killed all workers. The pump almost fell down near the exit.  So, over there in the park they put a Christ Savior, but after the revolution it was knocked down. There, where that Christ was they went and they gave鈥hat refinery had a very important, mysterious being that had to be fed every year before the harvest began.  My grandfather went, well, all the old African santeros, went and gave food there, under the refinery, to the well that is under the refinery. Now they have sealed everything.  Where the chain came out of the mill, there was another being, but they covered that one too. In the Espa帽a sugar refinery every year so many things happened, and sometimes people died because they didn't feed those beings.  Oh, how you loved that fragment of the song to Agguiday.  "Aguidday masaboro efeheladomedo efehena domidohe, efehena domidoe, Aguidday masaboro efehena domido".