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xiii We give thanks to those who have gone before and made it possible for us to be at this moment and time. Eternal debt to Dr. Ruth Simms Hamilton of Michigan State University, whose intellectual life and groundbreaking conceptual work greatly influenced this book. There are at least two hundred or more persons whose help was indispensable to this volume’s completion. Indeed, there never would have been a book without the Oriente practitioners who took our research team into their communities and shared their sacred spaces. Among the many we extend special appreciation to are Raphael, Angelita, Juan gonzales (“Madelaine”), Don Chino, Madre Los Angeles felicola (“Madridia”), eva fernandez, Norec Mozo, and everyone at Casa del Caribe. It is equally impossible to consider acknowledgments without including the Millet and Rosa América households of Santiago de Cuba, flora gilford’s family in the United States, and the entire African Atlantic Research Team. I am indebted to Sonya Maria Johnson, Shanti Ali Zaid, and Alexandra Pauline gelbard for years of steadfast trust, commitment, and hard work. Sonya has been present since the envisioning to the completion of this project and, because it has taken so long, I also dedicate this work to Ceiba and Caoba, the next generation. Acknowledgments ...

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