Letra del Año

The annual reading

Priests gather in established assemblies to divine and prepare guidance for the broader community. In the Americas and Europe, this message is announced on December 31 to match the start of the Gregorian calendar. In Yorubaland, councils deliver their findings in June during the Odun Ifá Festival, marking the Yoruba New Year. The resulting document outlines predicted events, potential hazards, and recommended spiritual actions. Followers look to these directives for insight into family life, health, and societal well-being over the course of the next twelve months.

Councils and commissions

Different organisations of babalawos oversee the annual divinations across the globe. In Cuba, proclamations are produced by bodies such as the Cuban Council of Great Priests of Ifá and the Miguel Febles Padrón Commission. Similar groups exist in Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Brazil, and Puerto Rico, as well as European nations like Spain and France. In the United States, bodies such as the Council of Babalawos of California take part. Because multiple independent or state-aligned councils operate in certain countries, several distinct letters can appear in the same year.

Civic interpretations

The predictions often address broad political shifts and collective fortunes, occasionally generating debate. Between 2009 and 2010, a Cuban council issued a forecast highlighting leadership struggles and an unusual number of deaths among political figures around the globe. While framed as international predictions, foreign observers and news outlets interpreted the message as a comment on domestic power within Cuba. Such moments demonstrate how the annual reading, though grounded in religious divination, frequently resonates with wider social and political conversations.

How Letra del Año is kept

To produce the reading, babalawos convene in national or local councils to carry out traditional divination ceremonies. The priests interpret sacred signs to identify potential blessings, conflicts, and challenges for the year ahead. After consulting the oracle, the council compiles a formal document detailing specific warnings, advice, and spiritual remedies. This statement is then proclaimed publicly on New Year's Eve or during the mid-year Yoruba festival, allowing practitioners and community members to study its teachings.

When and where

In Latin America and other diaspora regions, the announcement takes place on December 31 for the Gregorian New Year. In Yorubaland, priests reveal the letter in June during the Odun Ifá Festival, which marks the start of the Yoruba calendar year.

The practice takes place in Yorubaland as well as across the Americas and Europe. It is maintained by active councils in Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, the United States, Spain, and France.

What Letra del Año means

The letter serves as a collective spiritual guide for the coming cycle. By highlighting potential disruptions, power disputes, and opportunities, the babalawos seek to help people maintain harmony, observe ethical conduct, and make informed choices to safeguard their households and communities.

Days Letra del Año is marked

Questions people ask about Letra del Año

See also

VigilA purposeful watch of prayer, mourning, or reflection kept through the nightTashlikhA Jewish new year rite of casting sins into flowing water, kept by the watersideJoya no KaneA Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.High Holy DaysThe Jewish year's ten days of repentance, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur

Good reading and sources

• BBC News - Afro-Cuban priests predict social unrest in 2010BBC, Article
• BBC News - Afro-Cuban priests predict social unrest in 2010BBC, Article

• Letra del año on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-07.