The Brazilian Bàbálòrìsà, Recauli Aquino, popularly known as Baba Boro, has been honored with one of the highest recognitions for the practice and dissemination of Yoruba culture and spirituality in Brazil and across the diaspora.
Baba Boro, founder of Ifá Ajé Templo dos Orixás, an affiliate of Odùduwà Templo dos Orixás, was celebrated for his longstanding contributions toward preserving and promoting African traditional heritage, particularly Yorùbá spirituality, in Brazil.
The honor was presented at the National Assembly in Brasília, recognizing his cultural and spiritual efforts, which have helped strengthen the historical and ancestral ties between Brazil and Yorùbáland.
Baba Boro gained international attention in August last year during the state visit of Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Brazil. During the presidential visit, Baba Boro received the Nigerian leader at the premises of the Nigerian Embassy in Brasília, where he sang in Yorùbá to welcome the President and his delegation.
The moment was widely celebrated among members of the African diaspora and cultural enthusiasts, symbolizing the enduring connection between Brazil and the Yorùbá people of West Africa.
His recognition at the National Assembly further highlights the growing appreciation of Yorùbá culture, spirituality, and ancestral traditions within Brazilian society and beyond.
Ricauli Aquino, widely known as Bàbá Boro, is a priest of the Traditional Yorùbá Religion, communicator, educator, and cultural producer, recognized as one of the pioneers of the Ifá tradition in Brasília, Brazil. With more than 35 years dedicated to the Òrìṣà tradition, his spiritual journey began within the Ketu Candomblé tradition, where he experienced and practiced the sacred axé for 18 years. Since 2005, he has been actively involved in the Traditional Yorùbá Religion through his connection with the Oduduwa Templo dos Orixás, an important institution devoted to the preservation and dissemination of Yorùbá culture and spirituality in Brazil and the diaspora.
He is the founder and spiritual leader of the Templo de Orixá Ifá Ajé in Brasília, where he promotes initiatives focused on preserving African traditions, defending religious diversity, and strengthening traditional Afro-Brazilian terreiro communities. Under his leadership, the temple has become an important center for religious, cultural, and educational activities, including lectures, workshops, courses, festivals, and community projects dedicated to African heritage and ancestral knowledge.
As a spiritual teacher and mentor, Bàbá Boro provides guidance on subjects such as Ifá philosophy, Òrìṣà theology, the dynamics of Orí, primordial Òrìṣàs, priestly ethics, and African cosmology, building bridges between ancestry, education, and contemporary society. He is also part of the collective initiative Vozes do Axé Brasil, which brings together different houses of axé to promote Afro-religious education through webinars and online educational gatherings.
In addition, he is the creator and host of AFROPODBR, a podcast and videocast dedicated to Afro-Brazilian culture, spirituality, ancestry, and Black resistance, featuring conversations with religious leaders, artists, researchers, and members of civil society on themes related to identity, spirituality, and African heritage in the diaspora.
Beyond his religious and cultural work, Bàbá Boro is trained and post-graduated in Technology and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Digital Communication at the Instituto Brasileiro de Ensino, Desenvolvimento e Pesquisa (IDP), where he researches the relationship between faith, oral tradition, and contemporary communication. Among the cultural initiatives he develops are the Festival of Joy, the Òrìṣà Festivals, the Ègbé Tiwa Project, and several public cultural gatherings dedicated to promoting and preserving African culture, spirituality, and Yorùbá ancestral traditions in Brazil and across the diaspora.
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