Santa Barbara Africana is based on the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, an icon of the Virgin Mary whose cheek bears scratches and who miraculously refuses to remain scrubbed of her wounds and her black color (each time she was restored, she was found in her original state the next day).   She is associated with the Haitian Vodou lwa Ezili Danto, a fiercely protective maternal spirit who is seen as the patron of single mothers and lesbians, but who is deeply loved by all.