The beginning lines of Beatriz Rivera's African Passions reveal that Teresa knows that Armando, her live-in Cuban boyfriend of 14 years, is pretending to be asleep. Armando continues to ignore Teresa's attempts to wake him when she threatens that she will do something crazy. Teresa does nothing physically. She instead prays to the African powers of Santeria, a religion she abandoned when she moved from her old, poor neighborhood to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Although Teresa is torn between anger and sadness at Armando's behavior, her prayer is only for immediate pleasure. The African powers of Santeria are a group of eight powers that are invisible and unheard by human beings. They emerge from spices and jewelry into the unseen world of Teresa and Armando. Each has its own personality and human characteristics. They use their power to cast spells that influence the tangible...