Curanderismo & Folk Healing ~ Explorations in Ethnobotany

Presenter Dr. Elizabeth de la Portilla writes and lectures on the world and practices of San Antonio curanderas. Curanderas —traditional healers in Mexican culture—bridge the gaps between multiple planes of existence–spiritual and material, modern and pre-modern–dispensing medicinal herbs, prayers, and instruction. As a scholar, an ethnographer, and a curandera in training, de la Portilla’s parallel perspectives uniquely aid readers and students in understanding this subordinated culture. Retelling the stories various healers have shared, interpreting their answers to her probing questions, and describing the herbs and recipes they use in their arts, she vividly illuminates the borderland context of San Antonio. Scholars and readers of anthropology, sociology, Chicana & Chicano studies, women’s studies will savor layers of meaning and application in her book, They All Want Magic: Curanderas & Folk Healing.

Made possible through support from the Texas Commission on the Arts.