Agua Dulce Gloriosa (they/them), 34
Miami, Florida

Where are your ancestors from?

My mom is from Colombia, and so the folks who are the lineage from there are indigenous from the tribes that were Pijao and Guatavita, and also, Arab from Palestine and Lebanon on her side. And on my dad's side, he was Cuban, but he was second or third generation Spanish, so Spain to Cuba.

What is your religion, practice, spirituality, or faith?

I don't really have a specific, named way of practice. I think that due to the many different cultures that have influenced me via being from them, or the process of colonization or decolonization, it's kind of like an amalgamation of different practices. So that includes elements of Santeria, which includes elements of East Asian cultures like the Tao. I do a lot of earth worship, a lot of ancestor veneration, a lot of self-as-godliness practice, because I am a mirror to those who came before me. I have a lot of quantum physics in my spiritual practice as well. The same materials and matter that I am made up of are the same thing that everything else is made up of. There's no distinguishing me from this godly creator, a source of spirit figure. So, it's all an intertwined practice.

How would you describe your practice? 

For me, things naturally take on this altar or this reverence in the way they are moving. I don't just put things down. Things need to feel good. The energy between the things, the spacing between the things, the color of the things, all of it needs to feel good. Harmonious. I think my practice has been built more on going deeper within, and really trying to feel what feels good, and listen to myself, and give myself power as well. I think that stems from having been told that I have so little power, because the Christian Catholic colonial God is the one who has all this power, this man. My practice has been a calling back into myself, into listening to my deep intuition, and the ancestors that speak through me that have that knowledge. It's also difficult to lean on any specific practice when you come from so many places that lost it via colonization, or lost it via assimilation, or lost it via whatever it needed to be, to do, to survive. Where do I pinpoint the things that are clear-cut? I can do my research, and I can see what feels good. You'll never really know, because you had to be there in documentation. Also, how do I spread myself so far? Do I lean into the Arab part that I'm not very connected with? Do I lean into the Indigenous part? Do I lean into the Spanish part? Do I lean into the Afro-Caribbean part that hasn't formed? The ways that I practice, they're so interwoven and braided into each other that there's not a way to be like, “this is her for me.” That’s why I also go into Earth practice, because the land has been here since before we ever existed. It'll continue on afterwards as well. The same land that is here is the same land that is everywhere else. It's all interconnected. It's our visions of the binaries and the borders and the demarcation of lines and whatever the fuck that's separated. The land that I'm touching here is the same land that goes around.

Did anyone introduce you to spiritual practices?  

It was something that organically happened. I didn't realize that I was building altars in a lot of my performance or installation spaces at the beginning of my work, until afterwards, when I had an altar-building practice. I looked back, and I was like, “This is an altar!” What are the elements of it? Whether it's earth, air, fire, water, or whether it's things that are connected to that theme, or that person, or whatever it is. So, there was not a specific person or space that I can say taught me. But I feel like as somebody who is deeply connected to the people around me, the conversations are constantly happening. I feel like everybody who's been a part of my life has been able to inform my practice one way or another. Through my own ways of seeing things and my poetic way of being, I identify it.

How would you define ancestor veneration?

Veneration is just like honoring, right? It's a practice of showing care, love, and respect for those who came before. And so, in terms of close relatives who have passed, it's my dad. I wasn't too close to my ancestors. As far as direct ancestral folks, it's just my dad. I have an altar to him in my home. I have my favorite outfit that he would wear and my favorite shoes that he would wear; they're hung up on the altar. The intention is to take it down and put another outfit up whenever that makes sense. I have a whole bunch of his items. He had a Bible that was really important to him because he read it to his brother when his brother was passing away, so I have that Bible there. He carried red ribbons around because that was what his spiritual advisor told him would be protective for him, so I have the ones that were in his car on the altar. I have the knife that he used to sleep with on the altar. I have a coconut shell on the altar. And a lot of different elements of him: his car keys, his necklace, a ring that he would never take off, and the perfume that he would wear. I also have treats for him. He likes turon, so I have Turrón there. He was a drinker. So often, I'll have either white Zinfandel wine or Tequila Jose Cuervo specifically on there for him. And always a glass of water, a cute little vessel of water there. I want to drink more coffee because he was a fan of coffee as well. There are also selenite and incense. We have a cat that sometimes jumps onto the altar space, so we can't have candles because it's too dangerous, but ideally, there would also be candles there as well. And a lot of the elements of the color blue. Because he was connected to Yemaya. His two main folks were Yemaya and San Lazaro, so there’s a lot of ocean energy there as well.

Do you have any gifts that you think divinely came from God to you?

Yes, divinely. Yes, my pattern recognition is one of them. But more in a way of connecting people and needs. It's being able to know who can do what with whom. And the where, and the who, and being able to connect, being a connector, being somebody who is able to help the web grow. I think I'm somebody who is able to hold a lot of capacity for grief, for others. And I have an air of safety as well for folks to be able to unmask and to really get into the deep things that are difficult, things that our current reality doesn't make space for. So, whether that is through tattooing, or through sound work, sound baths, or energy with somatic practices, or the altar spaces, or just conversations with my friends, that’s a huge gift. I also have the gift of sight, being able to see things, see truths. I feel like a lot of us have this gift, especially within our circle. But maybe not externally, or maybe they have it, but they haven't tapped into it. I did a lot of praying to be able to see when I was younger. My gifts are being able to see in that way, deep intuition, as well as knowing. With that one, I need to do a little bit better when it's in relation to me. And my connection with nature, I think, is also a gift. I feel like the conversation flows. It is very much like, “Girl, the Earth loves me Dog.” I know that others are also loved, so I'm moving for myself.

What makes you feel closer to God?  

Being in the sun and letting it warm me. Being in the ocean. Being near mountains, I look at them and the fog that collects at the top of them. Spirit is here, right? Nature, being by waterfalls, being by trees, being by anything that makes me feel small and connected. I like going to waterfalls when there’s a tree right in the middle of it. I was standing like that tree and thinking this tree has been here for how long? It's been here, and this is what it's been experiencing this whole existence. My friendships, deep friendships, being able to feel loved, give love, to be seen, to have so much like deep belly laughter, and deep treasuring. I feel like my people love me, and I know that my people feel like I love them. So, my friendships. Dancing helps me feel closer and connected to God. Building altars helps me feel more connected to God. Prayer, candle work, and mirror work all help you feel closer to God. When I cook for myself, when I put the time and love in, that helps me feel closer to God. Looking into my mother’s eyes makes me feel close to God. Certain songs, music, film, and great art. And knowledge, I feel like there's a lot of research that has happened. When a truth is uncovered. Oh my god, it feels like the spark of life is in me. That helps me feel closer to God. And singing, whether it is silly, funny, joyful singing, or you are feeling something and you're singing and crying, it helps you feel closer to God. Friends cooking meals for me helps me feel closer to God. But again, because of how I practice, like I am God, it's anything that brings you back to me.