KENDALL - The people of Sunkist Estates weren't too troubled by the chicken sacrifices on the railroad tracks. It is, after all, South Florida, where Caribbean immigrants routinely practice the ritualistic religions of voodoo and Santeria.
So the folks in the sleepy Miami-Dade County suburb could even stomach the occasional goat skull sighting.
But when they awoke one morning to find a large horse - or maybe it was a cow, no one's really sure - dismembered and stuffed in plastic bags, well, that's when the people of Sunkist Estates had to draw the line.
"What you do in your house, that's your business," said Larry Salas, who dialed 911 when he saw the large, blood-filled bags across the street from his million-dollar home. "When you start throwing dead horses in front of my house, I have an issue with that."
It seems that the subdivision's location - near two major highways and a set of railroad tracks - has made it a popular spot for practitioners of Santeria and voodoo. It has been such a popular dumping ground for sacrificed animals that one Barry University professor takes his classes on field trips there.
Residents are so offended by the weekly carcass dumping that a community meeting is scheduled for later this month.
"I have an open mind," said neighbor Carolina Robbiano, who is originally from Argentina. "I have traveled a lot and my husband is from India. But this is a common area. It's not right to do something like this."
Ritualistic religious practices make the news from time to time in South Florida; in February, a woman returning from Haiti was arrested at the Fort Lauderdale airport for having a human skull in her luggage. The woman told authorities that she practiced the voodoo religion and that the skull was supposed to ward off evil spirits.
Botanicas, or stores that sell ritual items, are commonplace in Miami, whether on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, or in suburban strip malls.
Both Santeria and voodoo originated in West Africa; they were brought to the Caribbean by slaves and over time, their traditions mingled with Catholicism.
Mercedes Sandoval, a professor of anthropology at Miami Dade College, has studied Santeria and says that people are told to carry out rituals by priests, known as babalochas.
These priests, acting as oracles of the gods, tell the practitioner to place certain offerings in a certain place at a certain time.
For instance, Sandoval says, "Every god has their favorite food." Some gods prefer goat, others chicken.
The Sunkist neighborhood is a rarity in Miami-Dade County: Nearly all of the homes are on 1-acre lots, graced with large lawns, circular driveways and sparkling fountains. Basketball hoops and SUVs are common. Property values have skyrocketed - one man bought his house 20 years ago for $130,000 and now estimates its worth at $1.5-million - in part because of the area's bucolic charm.
Its people also reflect the diversity of Miami, with Cubans living next to Argentines living next to people born in the United States. Many of the residents are familiar with the Santeria rituals, either from growing up in the Caribbean or from living in Miami for so long.
Still, some neighbors are leery of getting involved with what is considered to be a pagan religion.
"You never know," said Brenda Murphy-Love. "It might have a bad omen."
Murphy-Love said that she often sees dead chickens hanging by black ribbons from the trees near the tracks.
Indeed, on a recent day, a lone chicken swung in the breeze. A few feet away on the tracks, piles of bones, beaks and feathers littered the ground. Other odd items included plastic bags filled with blood and sticks wrapped in twine.
The majority of the animals are already dead when they are dropped in the area; Salas said the horse dumped in mid March was killed and cut up elsewhere. Other animals aren't so lucky. A practitioner ties the animal to the track and it dies when the freight train rolls over it.
Salas, who was born in Cuba and has some familiarity with Santeria, says the chicken represents evil spirits and by killing the chicken, the train takes those spirits away.
Once, Salas discovered a live chicken tied at the leg to the tracks. Salas cut the bird loose.
"He hung around the neighborhood for a while," Salas said, laughing.
Carla Ascencio-Savola, who sits on the Kendall Community Council and is a candidate for state representative, lays the blame squarely on CSX, the railroad that operates the tracks.
"They are way overdue to be a good neighbor," said Ascencio-Savola. "They need to clean up the area and put up a fence."
She added that CSX should install lights in the area to discourage people from huddling in the bushes or on the tracks at night.
"Without lights, it is enticing for people to do these rituals," said Ascencio-Savola.
CSX spokeswoman Meg Scheu said the company is trying to reach an agreement with county officials to clean up the sacrifices on the tracks.
"We don't really have the ability to clean up dead animals," she said.
Scheu said that walking or standing on railroad tracks - even to practice a religious rite - is illegal and dangerous.
CSX operates 21,000 miles of rail lines in 23 states. Scheu said that the company had never had to address issues of animal sacrifices before, and until this controversy in Kendall, she had never heard of Santeria.
"I've not heard any other complaints about animal sacrifices other than South Florida," Scheu said. "It certainly is not something in the normal line of business."
Salas says he will continue monitoring the offerings near the railroad tracks. Sometimes, he says, he finds little cloth bags filled with coins.
"I take those," he said. "But I wish they left behind dollar bills."
