Chronicle 6: Lorenzo's secret and his faith in Babalú Ayé, the miraculous

«The father of the World Babalu Aye It will heal your wounds, have faith. «

Much has been said about good luck in Lorenzo's life: that he had a pact with the afterlife, that he was the happiest guy in the world, that he had a spectacular guardian angel, and many other things. The truth is that in all of "Old Town", there was no luckier man than Lorenzo, look:

The farm with the highest agricultural production, a wonderfully abundant cattle, even an industry to process the harvest of fruit trees. Nothing, if prosperity had had a son, that would have been Lorenzo, and although there were several versions about his lucky stars, for him the answer was very simple:

__ «Everything I have I owe to my Babu.»__

And wow, if he adored his Babu, he even had a sanctuary built for anyone who wanted to ask or pray to old San Lázaro, thus fulfilling a promise made in those years, when he appeared in Pueblo Viejo barefoot, with his clothes burned and a face full of soot.

At that time, the farm belonged to Mr. Andrés, a tough old man with a bad temper, very strict with his workers, because as he always told them: __ "Here they come to work, get them ready, let them go to the church to ask for alms."__, and in truth there was no one who could beat old Andrés by working, so when Lorenzo arrived asking for some water and work, old Andrés took him himself to the well, took out a bucket and said:

__ Water is free, work has to be earned. __. And she gave him a week's trial.

Enough time, Lorenzo was made for hard work, both in the fields and loading sacks in the warehouse, he was even good at herding cattle. At the end of the week, old Andrés put his hand on her shoulder and nothing more.

__ We go to town to celebrate. __, his companions said, but he did not accept the invitation, not on that occasion, not ever, he preferred to stay alone in the hostel.

On one occasion, old Andrés appeared with a bottle of rum and two glasses.

__ You are a man of few words, and I like that boy. __

They drank all the rum, but the old farmer didn't get a single stanza, Lorenzo's story was still a mystery.

After the first year, the young man was already among the favorites of Mr. Andrés, he even thought of appointing him foreman in the new lands acquired in the neighboring town. But that would be after:

__ First to celebrate my baby's graduation. __

Yes, old Andrés had a daughter who had just graduated from university and was coming back to take care of the farm.

__ Esa was born a guajira like her father. __

And it was true, as soon as he arrived, he ordered a horse to be saddled to tour the property.

__ Lorenzo will accompany you. __

The old man said and watched them leave. From that moment on, horseback riding became frequent, giving rise to something that little by little became love. Both of them attended to the work on the farm, leaving old Andrés at home, increasingly sick. One night he called Lorenzo.

__ I give you my blessing, my daughter and my properties with only one condition. __

The condition was to know his life story. Lorenzo left and returned immediately bringing a small clay statue with the image of the patron saint.

__ San Lázaro, Babalú Ayé, or as I like to say in confidence: “Babu”. Do you want to know my story? Here it is. __. And Lorenzo began to count. It was a story like that of many:

Once upon a time there was a poor country man. This man rented some land, the land was virgin, full of marabou. With effort and will he cleared the whole land and began to sow. He was not alone, he was accompanied by a woman with a heavy belly.

__ "Protect us my miraculous Babu."__, she said, praying every night to her clay image, and although he didn't understand those things, he was happy because she was.

Lorenzo, who was that poor country man, couldn't ask for more from life, the harvest was flourishing and so was his beloved's belly. But happiness turned gray when those men in suits and briefcases arrived.

__ They have to go. __, The papers said that the land had been bought and nothing could be done, only one thing.

__ They're going to have to kill me! __

He shouted supported by the edge of the machete. Nobody could get it out. From that moment, day and night, he lived attentive to the return of those emissaries, only, the one who watches, does not escape. One night he heard noises and went out prepared for the fight. The stable gate was open and the few animals he had had escaped. He could not lose them, for they were his only fortune.

__ Stay at home and don't open to anyone. __. He told the woman and went out in search of the flock.

The moon helped illuminate the place. Little by little he was recovering the pups, he felt happy, when an intense light erased his joy in one fell swoop. The worst feeling went through his mind, he ran off praying it wasn't real, but he was. The flames swallowing the whole house, devouring whatever thing or being was inside.

Lorenzo did not cross his arms, two buckets of water on his body and a jute sack to start fighting with the fire.

__ It goes without saying that I lost the fight, the fire took my wife and my son, I was left with nothing, I was only able to recover that small statue of Babu, and I asked him. __

Lorenzo's request was simple: find the culprit and make him pay in the same way.

__ And that's how I got here: barefoot, with burned clothes, a smudged face and that little image. __

The rest fell under its own weight, gaining the trust of the powerful landowner and then taking it all away, only Lorenzo did not have one detail:

__ Your daughter... just like you did with mine, I was going to leave him without a daughter and burn the entire estate, but... your daughter. __

He truly loved her, so not knowing what to do, he again begged his Babu for a miracle.

__ And the miracle happened. Your daughter and I love each other, in a few months she will give me a son, her grandson, who she will not see because by then you will be dead, and all this... all this... you know who all this will belong to. __

From that day old Andrés could not speak anymore, two weeks later he died full of sores all over his body, as if he had rotted. Lorenzo thanked his Babu that she did not let him kill, instead, she gave him the gift of an unborn life.

From the burial, things on the estate kept their course: first the wedding, then the birth of the firstborn, and then the construction of the sanctuary. And although many residents attended to pay respect and devotion to the miraculous saint, when they tried to thank Lorenzo, he refused, saying:

__ Thank him, I only serve his orders. __

Until now, happiness has reigned in the richest estate in Pueblo Viejo, Lorenzo's descendants keep the sanctuary open to the public, and on the tomb of the peasant rests the worn and old image of the saint he called Babu, who watches over his rest with the divine mark of a miracle of life over death.

«Babalú Ayé: the miraculous will grant you any request, as long as it is good.»

If you want to know more about the orisha Babalu Aye (click here)