They All Want Magic: Curanderas and Folk Healing

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. Elizabeth de la Portilla writes of the world and practices of San Antonio curanderas. As a scholar, an ethnographer, and a curandera in training, her parallel perspectives uniquely aid readers in understanding this subordinated culture. Retelling the stories various healers have shared,…