Cubans wait each year for the “Letra del Año,” the sign-and-predictions that santería priests release for coming months, and this year two major groups issued similar warnings for 2026. In separate explanations shared with The Associated Press, they said the new annual letter points to increased violence and dangers tied to war.
The groups said the regent deity for 2026 will be Oggún, described as lord of the metals—or weapons—along with roads, conflicts, and a patronage that includes herreros, or blacksmiths. Both groups also framed the broader emphasis of the 2026 letter as linked to conflict.
“El peligro de guerra está ahí,” Víctor Betancourt, a babalawo who helps organize the Commission’s ceremony, said. He added that Cuba “debería usar la diplomacia,” and said that if a confrontation occurred, “Nosotros seríamos (en caso de una confrontación) los mayores perdedores.”
The Associated Press report said the letter’s concern about war-related risks comes amid a regional atmosphere of tension described as stemming from U.S. naval deployments and threats by President Donald Trump toward Venezuela, which the report said polarized political alignments in the Caribbean.
In the Commission’s letter, the sign accompanying Oggún is Ogunda Masa. The report said the prophetic prayer for that sign includes the phrase “pérdida instalada por desatención de lo indicado,” and that the priests interpret it as warning that conflictive consequences will show up from problems that accumulated and were not resolved for years, including issues such as city hygiene.
The Commission also said Oggún’s accompanying divinity will be Oya. In its document, the group tied that pairing to expectations of illnesses—especially infectious, stomach, and liver diseases—and to other social concerns that include more fires and accidents, more acts of violence and delinquency, and “cambios significativos dentro del gobierno.”
Lázaro Cuesta, a babalawo, said in an explanation to journalists that “La Letra del Año no tiene la capacidad (por sí misma) de resolver los problemas, sino de advertirlos.” He called on governments and individuals to take action to improve living conditions and to avoid conflicts or wars “a toda costa,” according to the report.
The Associated Press said the Yoruba Association issued a Letra del Año with the same regent deity for 2026—Oggún—but a different accompanying sign, which it said is Ogunda Otrupom. The association’s letter, the report said, also warned about conflicts, violence, and diseases affecting the population.
The report said thousands of people in Cuba expect the letters each year, participating through their religious houses in ceremonies and receiving indications of actions or rituals transmitted by priests of santería. It also said santería is the most widespread cult on the island and has expanded to other countries including Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and the United States, where there are sizable Cuban communities.
The report described santería as having grown from the syncretism of traditions brought by Spanish colonizers and those of enslaved Africans, consolidating in Cuba. It said babalawos—described as patriarchs or family heads—often meet on Dec. 31, with drumming and offerings before presenting the Letra, interpreting its prophecies and sharing them in the first days of January.