Santiago Rodríguez Olazabal

Born in Havana, 1955, Santiago Rodriquez Olazabal is a priest of Ifa, an Afro-Cuban religion. His art work he makes a profound statement about the human struggle and exploration of spirituality.

“My work is a praise to my ancestors. It is also a tribute to the men, women and children who came from different lands of Africa to our Island, in the terrible condition of slaves, bringing with them their culture and the worship of their gods. The metaphysical force that resides in its ceremonial rites, the way of conceiving the world present in its cosmology, its customs, dances and music, which together with its Creole descent, "black, white mestizo , all mixed ", are only part of our profound nationality. My work explores the spirits that coexist with the energies that feed us and whose sole purpose is to lead us to the source of life.

My work is simply based on the ways of the ancestors, understood life and the world on their philosophical concepts ,on their way of making religion doing certain rituals and of knowing the essences of these rituals

I do not consider myself an artist. I consider myself a maker of objects. That’s who I am and what I consider myself as, a maker of objects. What is a Santero (Afro-Cuban priest) if not a maker of objects. That’s what I am.”