Luis Perez sits in a dimly lit room in the back of his store, puffing his cigarette and sipping agua ardiente, a strong alcoholic drink whose name translates to “burning water.” He holds a cluster of small white shells in his hands. A statue of an old black man stands next to him on the floor as a source of spiritual inspiration. Above Luis are statues of Catholic saints with Yoruba names. The saints are guardians and often help guide Luis through his visions. Luis is getting ready to do business.
People come to him largely out of curiosity, to see what his services are all about and how he can help them. For a fee of $21, which is left on a small plate in front of the black man statue, he can help those struggling with health problems or economic issues, usually by recommending baths with special herbs.
“It’s not what you have, but the faith you have in it,” Luis said about his business, which he runs with his second wife, Maritza. From the outside, people might not understand how herbs and rocks might help heal, but he says a little faith in nature’s gifts can go a long way.
“Faith can move mountains,” said Luis. “It’s when you think you can achieve something or believe that something will happen. A little rock, a plant, anything natural- you think to yourself, ‘With this I will overcome.’”
Luis is the owner of Botanica Yoruba 7 located at 474 E. 49th St. in a tiny Hialeah strip mall. The “7” in the name is symbolic of Yemaya, a Yoruba creation goddess that is Maritza’s guardian.
This has been their shop for the past six years. From the outside, the shop seems small, and in fact it is. But Luis and his wife have turned the place into a one-stop shop for Santeria products, filling it from top to bottom with shelves of potions, candles and figurines, as well as charms, cauldrons and instructional manuals.
His favorite part about the business is that it lets him deal with the public indirectly. They do come to him for services, but he has the right to turn them away if he wants.
Such was the case with an older woman who called him one day. She wanted Luis to help her reunite with her estranged 40-year-old son. Luis simply told her, “He’s a grown man. Let him live his life.” And that was the end of it.
But there have been other times when Luis has been able to save someone’s life.
Two years ago, a 60-year-old Colombian woman came to his shop. It wasn’t the first time she had visited Luis for his services. During the consultation, however, something went a little different than expected. Luis had a vision that she had a tumor in her uterus.
“My visions come to me like a movie,” said Luis. “At that moment, they’re showing me that something is inside her uterus. Something is wrong.”
“I don’t want to scare you,” he began to tell her. “But this is what I saw.” He explained how the saints told him that she would travel to Colombia for surgery. She would have complications because the surgeon was going to leave a piece of a tool in her uterus. Ultimately, she would recover.
The woman immediately flew to Colombia to meet with her doctor. Months later, Luis got a call. She was on the line, saying “Thank you. You were right about the tumor. You saved my life.”
Luis had a similar life-changing experience. It was the reason he decided to fully commit himself to the religion.
“I owe my life to this religion,” he said.
16 years ago, Luis was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Doctors saw a dark mass in several X-rays. Surgery was the only way he could stand a chance at survival, and even then, doctors worried he wouldn’t make it out alive.
Luis visited a spiritualist, who told him he would definitely undergo surgery. But the mass inside him would disappear. The cancer would vanish. His faith in the religion would help him survive.
The day of the surgery, Luis arrived with a courage that even surprised the doctors.
“My hands are in God,” Luis told the surgeon.
No one could understand how a man diagnosed with an advanced cancer could be so sure of his full recovery.
When Luis woke up, he felt sore all throughout his abdomen. He felt where the surgeon had cut him open. But the procedure hadn’t gone as planned. When the surgeon cut into Luis to remove the mass, he didn’t see a thing. He couldn’t find it. He didn’t know what was going on.
Luis did. Luis knew at that moment what had happened. His faith got him through the surgery. His faith helped him escape a possible death.
It’s moments like these that keep Luis committed to Santeria, a religion he says many people take advantage of.
“A lot of people exploit the religion,” Luis said about practitioners who milk their clients for all they have. Many of these spiritualists try to give their clients guarantees, either in love, their jobs or other situations. They’ll perform a costly ritual and convince the customer that his or her problem is solved. They’ll even give out sacred religious items for the right price.
“I’ve heard of cases in which people sell the necklaces without performing the rituals,” said Luis. “One thing is to charge modestly for a service well done. But sometimes they invent things just to get money. They take advantage of people who aren’t really knowledgeable about the religion,” who are known as “aleyo.”
For Luis though, the religion is sacred. You can’t give out secrets or guarantee that you can solve everyone’s problem. His objective is just to be upfront.
“Nothing will happen to me if a ritual is performed in the wrong way,” Luis said. But if someone is prescribed something they shouldn’t be, it can actually set them behind in what they’re trying to accomplish.
Luis was born in Havana, Cuba in 1954. He spent four years on the island as a political prisoner for his strong beliefs against Fidel Castro’s revolution. Aside from becoming disenchanted with the island’s political regime, he also began to stray from his mother’s religion: Jehovah’s Witness.
“I read the bible three times, and took some time to mediate on things,” said Luis, whose main issue with the religion was the belief in perfection and the hostility toward nonbelievers.
“God isn’t perfect. I’m not perfect,” he said. “The most important thing is if someone shows you love and how they treat you. You shouldn’t turn your back on someone just because they disagree with your religion.”
Luis never told his mom that he wanted to leave her religion. “I respected her too much for that,” he said.
When he came to the United States in his early twenties, his mission was to start working as soon as possible. He had a job as an air conditioner technician, pool repair man, electrical engineer, and many other positions in the service sector.
But dealing with the public on a daily basis frustrated him so much he decided to take matters into his own hands: he was going to create his own business where he could be behind closed doors. Instead of being at the mercy of demanding clients who needed repairs done fast and on the cheap, he would be his own boss.
“When I make up my mind to do something, I make it happen,” said Luis. “I’m consistent in that.”
Aside from recognizing his own temper and will power, he’s learned that not everyone can be trusted.
“That’s why whenever someone asks me, ‘Hey Luis how are you doing?’ I always respond ‘busy, very busy.’ Don’t tell people your problems or plans. Say something neutral,”’ Luis said.
But despite his standoffish personality, Luis and his wife have made friends in the neighboring businesses.
“They are very good people,” said Isi, a nail technician at Illusion Hair Design, which is right next to the shop.
Isi does Maritza’s nails and often visits the shop to buy lotto tickets. But one thing always stays at the door during their interactions.
“Here we don’t talk politics or religion. It’s just business,” she said.
Ezequiel Molina is the owner of Star Dancers, a dance supply store that has been at the same plaza for the past 16 years.
“He is a very good neighbor,” said Ezequiel. “Here everyone has their own distinct business, and there’s harmony.”
Ezequiel also goes into the shop frequently to buy lotto tickets.
For Luis, the shop has been very profitable. He’s a businessman at heart and has been working with his wife for a month and a half updating the Web site for their shop, www.botanicayoruba7.com. The new site features around 1,6000 products for sale, ranging from money-granting amulets and belly dancing tops, to incense and beaded bracelets.
It’s been a tiring endeavor giving the shop a complete online makeover, but one he feels is well worth the effort.
“I could pay someone to do it, but if I want it done right, I might as well do it myself,” Luis said.
He takes a break from his non-stop work and steps outside his shop to breathe a little. He pulls out his cigarette and leans up against the shop entrance, which currently features a display of medicinal plants used in Santeria cleansing rituals.
“Sometimes I feel tired, but if I continue to be given the strength, I will work this religion,” said Luis, as he blew a cloud of cigarette smoke into the breeze. “It’s given me a lot. I’ve been able to help people, a lot of people, and I even see the fruits of my labor. Many are actually better off than I am.”
Jokingly, Luis says one of his dreams is to actually win the lottery.
“But even if I would win it, I wouldn’t leave the religion. I can’t leave it. I owe my life to it,” said Luis. “My destiny is to die working this religion.”
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