Curandero : a life in Mexican folk healing
/ Eliseo "Cheo" Torres ; with Timothy L. Sawyer, Jr.
- Albuquerque, NM : University of New Mexico Press , c2005
- 170 p. : illus. ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The healing tradition of a family and a culture -- The awakening -- I am healed by Doņa María -- I face the great black dog -- My father's ancestral wisdom -- Exotic rituals I have known -- Don Pedrito, curandero -- The great materia, Chenchito Alvarado -- The midwife Doņa Juana, a partera -- Art Esquibel tells me the story of Teresita, Saint of Cabora -- How I was fed and healed by plants -- Folk healing in this modern world -- Curanderismo goes to school -- Recent curanderos.
Torres's story begins with his experiences in the Mexican town of Espinazo, the home of the great curandero El Niņo Fidencio (1899-1939), where Torres underwent life-changing spiritual experiences. He introduces us to some of the major figures in the tradition, discusses some of the pitfalls of teaching curanderismo, and concludes with an account of a class he taught in which curanderos from Cuernavaca, Mexico, shared their knowledge with students.