Taking a fresh approach to its subject, Swedish anthropologist Johan Wedel contributes to the field of ethnomedicine in Santería Healing, giving a human face to Afrocuban religion by presenting a series of case studies of santería's real practitioners. The author announces his aim early on: "to develop an understanding of how santería healing works, how it is carried out, and how it is experienced" (p. 4). In developing his thesis, Wedel applies the qualitative methodology of the participant-observer, drawing on numerous interviews he carried out primarily in Havana and Matanzas during fifteen months' fieldwork from 1996 to 2001.