Pai-de-santo

To understand why exactly Osvaldo caught Diogenes' attention, we need to explain first the mystical world of Macumba in Brazil.

Osvaldo was what was known as Pai-de-Santo, a type of spiritual leader involved in the Afro-Brazilian religions of Umbanda and Candomblé.

Known collectively, and not always kindly, as Macumba, these practices emerged hundreds of years ago after the colonial Portuguese rulers forcibly converted African slaves to Catholicism.

While these religions have their roots in Nigerian Yoruba spiritualism, they're mixed with some elements of Catholic faith and worship that make them uniquely Brazilian.