Though monotheistic, the Yoruba religion that bore Santeria shares no common ancestry with Christianity, experts say.

Santeria combines elements of Catholicism with the Yoruba religion and many Cubans identify with both traditions and their ceremonies.

Elsewhere in Latin America the Yoruba religion mixed with the religion of the Spanish and Portuguese colonialists, creating Santeria and-inBrazil-Candomblé)

Mola is a "godmother" in Cuba's Santeria tradition, which has its roots in the Yoruba religion imported to Cuba from West Africa by slaves.