Joseline Hernandez sparks religious debate by sharing new photo with daughter

TV personality Joseline Hernandez, a.k.a. The Puerto Rican Princess, took to Instagram to share a photo of herself and her daughter Bonnie Bella mimicking the image of Saint Mercedes.

The picture portrayed Joseline and Bonnie wearing white ensembles while standing next to the previously mentioned Catholic Saint image. The TV personality was holding her daughter in such a way that it seemed just like if she was trying to mirror the figure.

For the caption, Joseline wrote: ‘Una hija de Changó Al lado De Las Mercedes,’ which can be translated to: ‘One of Changó’s daughters next to Saint Mercedes.’

As soon as she uploaded that post, her fans and followers took to the comment section to share their thoughts. Even though some people supported Joseline, and some others sent backlash.

Instagram user Kay Ward pointed out that Joseline looked like a doll. User Shelia Smith Cowart added that both the mother and the toddler were beautiful. However, several people started complaining about Joseline’s religious beliefs.

One of them was @gunnersinternational, who wondered why black people was still worshipping ‘white fairytale.’ However, there was some confusion about the religion Joseline was referring to in her post as people thought it was Catholicism.

The truth is that Changó (also known as Shango) is one of the most feared gods in Santería, which is an Afro-American religion of Caribbean origin developed in the Spanish Empire among West African descendants, reported the website New Orleans Mistic.

As a way to clarify everything, Instagram user @phrazeologydesigns wrote in the photo’s comment section that Saint Mercedes was a mask for Obatalá, which is believed to be the Sky Father and the creator of human bodies.

The user finally pointed out that Joseline was not worshipping ‘white images,’ as some people thought. She was worshipping the Santería saint behind Saint Mercedes’ mask, Obatalá.