santero

Santero is a term with multiple senses in Spanish-speaking and Latin American contexts. It can refer to a devotee or priest of Santería, the Afro-Cuban religion also known as Regla de Ocha or Lukumi, as well as to a traditional Catholic woodcarver who makes santos (saint statues). In the religious sense, a santero (and santera for a woman) is a practitioner who works within a community of believers to honor orishas, perform rites, and guide initiations and offerings. Practitioners may be described as padrinos or madrinas who sponsor ceremonies and spiritual apprentices, and they may oversee divination and healing rites according to the tradition.

In the artistic sense, santero refers to a craftsman who carves and polychromes wooden saints for altars and processions. This folk-art tradition has deep roots in Catholic Spain, Latin America, and the Hispanic Southwest of the United States, especially in New Mexico and surrounding areas. Santeros often work in family shops, passing techniques and workshop know-how through generations, and their saints range from simple devotional pieces to highly detailed, life-sized sculptures.

Etymology-wise, the term derives from santo, saint, with the agentive suffix -ero. The word’s dual usage means that, in different contexts, santero can denote either a religious practitioner within Afro-Cuban spiritual traditions or a hereditary craftsman who carves and paints religious statues. Context typically clarifies which sense is intended.