Border Medicine: A Transcultural History of Mexican American Curanderismo

Mexican
American folk and religious healing, often referred to as curanderismo, has been a vital part of life in the Mexico-U.S.
border region for centuries. A hybrid tradition made up primarily of indigenous
and Iberian Catholic pharmacopeias, rituals, and notions of the self, curanderismo treats the sick person with
a variety of healing modalities including herbal remedies, intercessory prayer,
body massage, and energy manipulation. Curanderos,
“healers,” embrace a holistic understanding of the...