- Title: Cuban "healer" performs surgeries in Havana with a machete
- Date: 14th April 2021
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (APRIL 9, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GOLIAT PERFORMING SURGERY ON MAN'S BACK WITH MACHETE
- Embargoed: 28th April 2021 16:58
- Keywords: Cuba Havana healer machete
- Location: HAVANA, CUBA
- City: HAVANA, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: South America / Central America,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA003E8HU5HF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Meet Jorge Goliat, a heavy drinking and smoking Cuban "healer" who performs surgery with a machete and tells his patients that drinking enough rum will ward off the coronavirus.
It might sound unorthodox, but Goliat's methods have proven popular with Cubans seeking alternatives to traditional medicine.
"120 to 150 people a day come for different surgeries," says the 58-year-old Goliat, moments after extracting growth from a woman's back with an 18-inch blade.
"They come and leave satisfied. If they can't walk they leave walking. If they can't move or raise an arm they can raise it," he adds.
Goliat says he found his calling more than 30 years ago who he was visited by a spirit that told him to start healing people with his machete and he's been doing it ever since.
Goliat estimates that he has operated on several thousand Cubans over the years.
Oscar Ivan Oscar Lopez and his wife Yolmari Casanova came to see Goliat because of trouble conceiving a child.
"Science can't explain why we cannot have children and so we came to the occult sciences to see what we could find," said Lopez Rodriguez, shortly after Goliat performed a surgical procedure on his testicles.
"We came here and found out from some friends that there was a man here who was performing surgeries and that he was very fast, without anaesthesia," he added.
Another patient, Leonides Lara, said he was sceptical at first but was eventually won over by Goliat.
"At first, one feels a bit incredulous, but when you arrive and you see what science has told you practically coincides with what this person tells you and he really gains credibility," he said.
Others couldn't hide their emotions after their encounter with Goliat.
"Seeing is believing," said Ricardo Rodriguez,
"I have problems with traumatic lower back pain... I feel really emotional," added Elviscala, another patient.
But with the popularity of his practice, Goliat treatments have attracted the attention of the Cuban authorities.
"The inspectors who come here are right to come here because of the amount of people (I treat) but I am not doing anything wrong," he says.
"Yes, they have called me, they've taken me to the police and I went with them and came back but I am not doing anything wrong," he adds.
Goliat, who wears green doctor's scrubs and gold jewellery while "healing" his patients, says he can treat anyone in ten minutes and charges 1.05 CUP (0.04 USD) for a consultation.
(Production: Mario Fuentes; Nelson Gonzalez; Rodrigo Gutierrez, Omar Younis) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: WARNING: Editors please note, this clip contains graphic material
