Mama Lola

Who is Mama Lola?

Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski [1] commonly known as Mama Lola, is perhaps the most famous Vodou priestess practicing in the United States, rising to prominence in America following the publication of the anthropologist Karen McCarthy Brown's ethnographic account of her life, Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. According to Brown, " ... Alourdes combines the skills of a medical doctor, a psychotherapist, a social worker, and a priest.” Mama Lola, as she is more commonly known, continues to be a prominent and active spiritual leader within the religious practice of Vodou in America, serving on occasion as a manbo for Vodou Authentica[2], a cultural center located in New Orleans, Louisiana.