User:Jedsan/Curandero

Curandero/a comes from the root curar in Spanish which literally translates to cure. Thus, a Curandero/a is one who heals.^[1] However the curandero has commonly been called a folk healer or faith healer in English due to where they receive their power to heal which is through spiritual knowledge. There is no doctrinal or ritual commands of curanderismo and it changes across geographical location, culture, as well as on an individual basis.^[2] However there are similarities in its reliance on mestizaje, that is to say that in most cases curanderismo was created through the (often forced and violent) mixing of cultures and religious practices.^[3][4][5]

Certain Curanderos have even gained cult status around their healing powers including Teresa Urrea^[6], Nino Fidencio^[7] as well as Don Pedrito. Who through their healing practices have in some ways shaped the modern North American Southwest through their negotiation with institutional powers at that time, such as the racist medical system at the time.^[8] Through each of their healing methods they were able to provide holistic healing to Mexican Americans across the border. ^[9]Some modern Curanderos still petition these folk healers to help with their own healing rituals to this day.^[10]

Curanderismo is a practice of complex hybridity with both Roman Catholicism brought by the Spaniard's as well as Indigenous belief and even Afro-Diasporic practices^[11]. Although Catholic ritual and indigenous cosmology are the two primary belief system to shape curanderismo,^[12]In more recent times, Curandera/o’s have been relying on more new age and metaphysical beliefs due to the impact of the 70’s counterculture, scholarly interaction with the healers, and meet the needs of a rapidly changing new spiritual marketplace.^[13]

Among the illnesses that Curandero/a's help with range from the mundane stomach ache^[14] to certain spiritual illnesses such as susto, mal de ojo, and even reversing black magic^[15]. Through the utilization of a variety of different materials ranging from spell candles to smoke cleansings the Curandero/a is able to heal the individual.^[16]It is important to also note that it is not the only place an affected person stops at. Although a common idea is that curanderos are consulted instead of doctors, multiple studies have in fact contradicted the common idea that curanderos and doctors as being at odds with one another^[17]. Multiple studies found that although a curandero would be contacted it would be in tandem with a medical doctor.^[18][19] Some scholars have pointed out the practice of curanderismo acts as a type of psychiatry.^[20]As many psychologist and psychiatrist have emphasized, the curandero is often maligned in many medical circles but they should rather be seen as a vital aspect in the process of healing for Latinx individuals.^[21]Psychologist in places with high Latinx presence have advocated for the integration of the practices in order to focus on the spiritual as well as the mind and body.^[22][23][24]Colorado was one of the place in the United States that integrated a curandero for their primarily Mexican American clientele to assist in the spiritual aspect of mental and physical health.^[25]

For much of the Chicano movement the curandera was a figure of great importance for many authors^[26]. The figure of the Curandera was later adopted by the Chicanx movement though its usage in Castillo's^[27] and Anzaldua's^[28] work has also been a space of reclamation for Latinx women trying to return to traditional healing and spirituality in the 21st century.^[29] There is also the current movement in academia for Latinx individuals to do as Anzaldua does and see themselves as healers and scholars^[30]. By Latinx individual taking on the identity of a curandero they attempt to heal the racial wounds of a racist society.^[31]

In the 21st century as the popularity of alternative medicines grow some curanderos are concerned about the appropriation of these practices^[32]. A second fear of many practitioners of curanderismo is the stigmatization of these practices by law enforcement.^[33]