Brujería

or bru·je·rí·a

[ broo-huh-ree-uh; Spanish broo-khe-ree-ah ]

noun

1. 1. a form of witchcraft practiced in Latin America and parts of the West Indies, rooted in a blend of African and Indigenous traditional religions and later influenced by Catholicism: Santería ( def ).

      Prior to the Spanish colonization of both the Aztecs and the Taíno people, Brujería was not stigmatized as being dark or evil.

   2. Usually brujería. a spell, curse, or other instance of this witchcraft:

      His recent trips have been afflicted with so many challenges that I almost wonder if there’s some form of brujería at work.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Brujería¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from Spanish bruj(a) bruja ( def ) + -ería -ery ( def )

Example Sentences

Bomba Estéreo, “Brujería” Don’t hate me — El Búho is not Latino!

From Los Angeles Times

Other times it leaned into more Latino-specific concerns, such as comparing candidate Joe Biden to Latin American dictators or claiming that Black Lives Matter activists were using brujería — that is, witchcraft.

From Los Angeles Times

When the contest was over, Aja performed two songs from a Halloween-themed EP they’d released the previous year and “Brujería.”

From Slate

Carinés A. Moncada, the host, claimed that a co-founder of Black Lives Matter practiced “brujería” — witchcraft.

From New York Times

Haitian Voodoo, Puerto Rican Brujeria, and Wiccan traditions all focus heavily on communing with spirits.

From New York Times