An urban space of indubitable interest for the common traveler and for the specialist who is at the full heart of Havana.

Out of 40 million african people transported to America, more than one million was assimilated by the urban plantations from the first quarter of XVI century. To that ambient they transplanted their habits, costums, and religious practises, which suffered great transformations as a result of a long and continuos process of sincretism by the influence of the catholic church and its evangelization. This phenomenon, common in all America, is very evident in Cuba in all those religions created in Africa represented by Regla Osha or Santería, and the Adoration of Ifa, from Yoruba´s procedence with base in Nigeria, and Regla Conga, Palo Monte, or Palo Mayombe, which comes from a Bantu´s area, one of the mostantique and extended in Africa. Close to all of these took place the secret society Abakua, integrated only by men, also provenient from Nigeria and the Arará and Canga´s Adoration, from the ancient kingdom of Dahomey, today Benin, and from other areas of occidental Africa. Every one of the yorubas or bantu´s religions, with a great settling down in cuban population, has its own gods, saints or orishas and nkisis (spirits), to whom venerate and give thanks daily to obtain their grace in a reciprocal “give and take”. The most important gift is the consagration of believers to the Guardian Angel, who converts them in babaloshas or iyaloshas, babalawos (Adoration of Ifa´s priests) or paleros. The iniciation in any of these religions, besides being very expensive, implies contracting serious compromises which must be respected by the believer till death. Rites and ceremonies to african deities have base on the original practises, but all, in general terms, have suffered substancial changes by the catholic influence and the personal iniciative of some priest of those adorations. However, according to the nigerian Wande Abimbola, high level priest in Yoruba´s area, Cuba is the most orthodox country in these practises, followed by Brasil. Olofi, Oruba´s god, is the supreme deity of santeros and babalawos, while Nzambi has the greatest powers for the paleros. Orishas, with an extensive series of godnesses, ocupy also hierarchic places inside the Pantheon of any religion coming from south Sahara. Cuban culture as a whole bears in mind in its manifestations these old roots which conservate a great power in the insular populationHammel´s Alley, sited at the popullar district of Cayo Hueso, north Havana, is one of the most attractive for cuban people and for foreigners due to its exotic mural, plenty of expressive intentions, representing the rich heritage, send as a legate to Cuba by Africa. Extended more than 100 meters lengthwise, out of 200 meters which embraces the little old street, the mural is presented as an open exposition with Salvador Gonzalez´s paintings. The space is covered by gods, orishas, nkisi, gigantic flying birds, iremes or evils and by explicative and sententious inscriptions that alert to life, danger and death as complementary elements by the integral comprehension of the message. Circles and symbols, in creative abstraction, are approaching to the Ate´s contour (board for the adivination in the Adoration of Ifa). All etamped, with great ability, it appears in the old walls, dominated by a rich polichro­my in which red color takes control as a Shango´s tribute (Oyo´s god), war, ray and thunder´s god in Oruba´s religion. In this space it is exhibited a gigantic “Nganga”, article of clothing or foundation of the Pantheon of Regla Conga, or Palo Monte or Palo Mayobe, covered in the reproduction of a little bohio. In a small local sited at the entrance of the alley, herbs are sold out because According to african legendes, mountains and their plants are benefactor spirits, though ther also are refugrated inside it the vagabund spirits because their badness. In a miniature of room as a local the artist has open an exhibition an selling gallery for his personal works. She takes the name of Merceditas Valdes, a famous artist in Cuba . A lot of paintings with silhouettes and ritual symbols are hanging on the walls of the gallerg, waiting for a buyer. Converted in a popular temple of the Cuban culture, blessed by Olofi, in Salvador Gonzalez ‘s words, Hammel´s Alley is an open door and an exellent visitors’ host. The whole which starts with pure african elements has in a subjacent manner, elements which he longs to the natives hispanic and asitic cultures.

A faith´s man compromised with his ancestors Salvador Gonzalez is 50 years old. He began surprisingly his mural activity at the Hammel’s Alley in 1990 , with a Bold incursion as an autodidactic painter, and he got a smash hit. Eight countries in America , The Caribbean Sea and Europe have been scenaries for the creation or the dissertation of his work. These expositions shows his creative art in murals, always with the compromise to divulgate the Cuban culture, standing from his african roots. Hammel’s Alley is the santuary for his most excellent work: an extensive Mural , which covers the surface of buldings situated in this alley that gave him the prominence in the artistic world. Salvador told us about his motivations and foundation of his work, which he has converted in his amnistors’ pantheon. My work is a mixtage between surrealism and abstraction, always from the purest essence of african culture. It is the transmission of a message with well defined criteria on movement and abstraction, always present in all muralist realisation . In this manner, I think that I feel closer to my spectators because there is an extentive space of meditation. Salvador has a type of strength with a particular magnetism. Untiring taker , he stops every two or three steps in his continuous walking along the alley or sorrounding areas , to talk to his neighbours who stop him to tell him intimate situations, trusting in his paternal treatment. His mythical aspirations as a muralist began for the desire of working and for the intentions to take the walls by assault. He insists on explaining that his work was not a preconceived project, but the anxious desire of testing himself before people`s critic eye, one of the hardest experiences of a creator. There is no doubt, the coherence of his artistic expression indicates the ejecution begins with well organised ideas, enriched with new inicia­tives. About the theme the plastic artist expresses in his work and verb, more than an inclination an devotion for the culture of his african ancestors and the personal compromise to perpetuate it. Well-dressed, with a tipical designed african suit, etamped with stripes between beige and carmelite, Salvador´s eyes seem to take a diverse range of united colors in the pictoric panel, when he stands up in front ofit to recreate himself. He refers a pronounced passion, that the afro-cuban culture was rigorously questioned for the interest to situate it in a lower level, as a subculture. Salvador concretes the proposit to saveguard the ethic, philosophy and scientific values of that “ancestral culture”. Cuba may not give up from this legate that African gave it symbolically with blood and sacrifices. Hispanic domination in Cuba was developed, however with a certain flexibility, occasion used by the slaves to carry through their religious practises through the municipal councils and helper solicities, that after a period of aceptation of catholic hegemon, praised their orishas. So, Regla Osha or Santeria, the Adoration of Ifa and the Regla Conga or Palo Monte, and the Secret Sect of the Abakúa, established until nowadays, these religious manifestation (all of them with an african origin) has a great and growing rootage in the population, and according to the nigerian priest Wande Abimbola, Cuba is the most extended and orthodox religious practises. In relation to this theme, the artist underlines that abording it in his mural has the objective of underlining that the african culture stands firm and expresing respects to all those ancestral values. Salvador introduces himself as a faith’s man, who responds to perpetuate the values legates his ancestors. Beginning with the same ground, he describes the respect that he tributes to elderly people, because they resume the cultural wealth as a whole somethihg more important than himself, who trascends his own work, because it belongs to the cultural identity. In each line, traced with fine imagination this artist´s murals shows implicitly his message. He explains the following: My work responds to codes of a very easy comprehension an d its message is reflected in the variety of themes, traces and colours, always developed starting from the authentic african values. Representative objects of the most extended practises throughout the country make the attractive artistic complex. On this practises, he explains La Nganga is more than a sample of religiosity. It is converted in a truly symbol for the believers and a curiosity for the non believers. Both of them tribute on special respect to it. He says, in relation to it, that as if by magic, La Nganga, what he conceived as a sculpture and, by extension the whole alley, have been transformed into a kind of neighbourhood temple reverenced by neighbours and transients who come from distant places and even by foreigners. Salvador, always with a positive thought, insists on making clear, why according to the legend, las Ngangas, small or enormous pots, center of Palo Monte or Palo Mayombe ritual, have a charge of special spiritual energy, give graces or punish according to the manipulation an d owners properties with the same origin. It is said that Congos (Nganga´s owners) were given the power of “Witchcraft”, peyorative term related to religious practises carry through by blacks of this etnia. Their cults, as Santeria were persecuted even after the abolition of slavery in Cuba (1886) and within the controled republic (1902-1959). He insists on the african symbol, in exhibition as many others, shows over all to the new generatios, the ancestral values of a culture, whose existences goes back milenia and explains that many artists, who respects oneself, cannot be against this reality. Alley´s work is a social offer to the comunity, a work of participation. Every sunday dancing groups and musicians, between them famous percusionists, singers and actors, poets, poetesses, and writers offer their art in the place where every type of art is possible. It is not the ephemeral art for the community, it is the perpetual art, per­manent, inside the population who receive those ethical values, that documentation and information which these people need, because it is good and forms a part of their own identity. With sustained energy, after walking over and over the old Alley to show and explain us in details the language of his work., Salvador, stops at a little corner, collection of his paintings in which he perpetuates his rich imagination. Converted in a popular temple of the cuban culture and blessed by Olofi, as the artist says, Hammel´s Alley is an ever open door to the visitors.