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Folk healing surge concerns health care professionals
FERNANDO QUINTERO (Scripps Howard News Service)


Efrain Flores, 71, stood motionless as Maria Contreras sprayed the
front and back of his shirt with mist from cans labeled "San Cipriano"
and "Santa Barbara."

Afterward, Contreras rubbed a raw brown egg over his torso, his limbs
and the soles of his shoes. She then cracked it into a clear plastic
glass.

Flores had come to Contreras because of a bad back. "Your condition is
not good. The egg is runny. Look," she told Flores, holding up the
glass to a bare bulb hanging in the basement of her Lakewood, Colo.,
home.

She prescribes three "cleansings" over a period of a month. He agrees
and feels a sense of calm.

Meanwhile, people begin filling Contreras' living room, waiting for their turn.

Contreras, 46, a native of El Salvador, is a curandera, a folk healer
who uses "limpias," or spiritual cleansings, to cure everything from
ear infections to broken hearts.

At night, she cleans offices. By day, she cleanses bodies and souls,
seeing between five and 10 people a week.

"If I worked as a curandera full time, I'd be working seven days a
week, 24 hours a day," she said.

Curanderismo, a centuries-old form of faith healing from Latin
America, combines the power of prayer and home herbal remedies.

Dr. Ricardo Padilla, a physician at Westside Family Health Center,in
Denver, in 2001 led a study that showed more than 29 percent of
patients surveyed had been to a curandero at least once.

Curanderismo is a growing, unregulated industry. While the power of
the mind and spirit in promoting healing can't be denied, Padilla
said, there also can be substantial health risks: Some herbal
preparations may interfere with prescribed medications, or may be
toxic themselves. And some people needing medical attention may delay
or forgo treatment.

Massage, prayer, herbs, rituals Curanderismo, derived from the word
curar or heal, stems from the religious beliefs of Aztec, Mayan and
Incan tribes that their many gods punished sins with illness. It was
believed that some mortals, who were spiritually chosen, were given
the power to heal the wounded spirit and cure illness or disease.
These traditions were later combined with elements of Catholicism.

Curanderos generally use massage, prayer, herbs and rituals to treat
patients. Health care experts say the practice has its pluses and
pitfalls.

Padilla believes curanderismo is a form of "culturally sensitive
health intervention." But he also worries about the potential severity
of some of the problems being treated by curanderos.

"The fact that headache was the most common problem treated by
curanderos in our study was worrisome," he said, noting a headache can
be a sign of a serious neurological problem. The same applied to
evaluations for stomach and back pain, kidney problems, and diabetes.

"These problems should definitely be evaluated by a trained medical
professional," he said.

Many patients believe their ailments are the product of witchcraft,
called mal puesto.

"There are people who have had hexes put on them," said Contreras.

Some people, she says, come under demonic possession.

"They act crazy. They'll lunge at you and spit on you. They're the
victims of black magic. Their bodies can't take the weight of evil
forces. They need someone with a lot of force and will power to
counteract those forces. I can take it. I'm not afraid. I put them to
sleep, and they wake up fine."

Amos Martinez, a manager at the mental health licensing program for
the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, said curanderos and other
"naturopaths" are unregulated in most states.

"They have more of a religious orientation, which is why most states
don't regulate them," he said. "For them, it's more a matter of a
'buyer beware.' "

Curanderos charge anywhere between $25 and $100 per consultation, but
some charge much more. Fees are often in the form of donations. Most
rely on word of mouth.

Born and raised in San Salvador, Contreras said she did not attend
school, but she knew at an early age that she had a special gift. She
ran away from home at age 9, she said, and ended up in Honduras, where
she was taken in by a curandera who taught her about limpias and other
rituals.

"The only thing I knew is that I had natural forces inside of me. I
can't explain it. I can cure other people," she said. "I'm not
Catholic. But I believe in God almighty. I also feel that the spirits
surround me. I feel them."

Contreras sees customers from as far away as El Paso and Houston.
Contreras charges $20 for limpias. She also sells candles, powders and
other items for a slight markup.

Her consultations begin with a sort of diagnosis.

"I first assess what state they're in. I pass an egg over them and I
feel in my hand what they feel. I will sometimes tell them that they
need to see a doctor. If it's something I can do with prayer and
herbs, then I will help them," she said.

Maria Juarez, who divides her time between Denver and the small Texas
town of Fabens, has been working as a curandera for 25 years. Her
rates are $60 for an initial consultation that lasts between 30 and 45
minutes. A spiritual cleansing, which ranges from an herbal bath and
prayer ritual to the burning of herbs or candles similar to the Native
American tradition of smudging, is $70 for one hour. To supplement her
income, she sells furniture at local flea markets.

Sitting at her desk in her home office, she pulled out a drawer filled
with used men's underwear. They are among the more unusual remnants of
past curandera consultations.

Strewn about her office are bottles of potions and bags of powders.
Agave, which comes from the cactus plant that tequila is made from, is
good for attracting money and for men with "weak sperm when they are
trying to impregnate a woman," she said. There's a diverse hodgepodge
of religious and spiritual iconography: a Native American dream
catcher, a golden Buddha, pictures of angels, saints and various
representations of the Virgin Mary.

To attract a love interest or dispel unwanted advances, she uses
personal items such as locks of hair or the sole of shoe. Having a
person's tears, sweat or other bodily fluids also works well, hence
the underwear.

Juarez, who has a nursing degree from Mexico, said the use of herbs
and prayer can cleanse a person's aura and purify the soul.

"Many people confuse faith healing with witchcraft," she said. "It's
more about spiritual faith."

Juarez said that along with healing physical and emotional ailments,
she has helped people with legal and financial problems, alcoholism
and the "evil eye." She claims to have cured a man of colon cancer.

She also reads tarot cards and predicts fortunes and futures.

"Men want to hold on to their women. Women want to keep their men.
They want to know their future. Will I get my immigration documents?
Will I get a new job? Will my wife leave me?" she said.

At Denver's Botanica Caridad del Cobre, owner Martin Ramirez sees taxi
drivers from Jamaica, St. Croix and other Caribbean islands.

"They come in here speaking French," said Ramirez, who has owned his
shop for 22 years.

Ramirez, who also runs his family's own herbal distributing business,
opened a store in Colorado Springs three years ago and is planning to
open another in Greeley, Colo. He said business has steadily grown.

Customers consist of both faith healers and laymen familiar with the
use of herbs, potions and prayers. Most of his clients are Mexican
immigrants.

"Many come in for herbs and potions for illnesses. Some want candles
that will give them protection from immigration authorities," he said.

He carries all the traditional products, including some of the more
unusual such as dried tarantulas, seahorses and snakes. Ramirez sells
more than 200 candles with names such as "Get Out of Jail," "Court
Cases," "Envy Go Away," "Steady Employment," "Stay Home" and "Triple
Stay Home."

There's even a powder that claims to cure alcoholism called "Guts of
Devil with Snake Powder."

"It really works," said Ramirez. "It makes the alcohol taste really
nasty. And sort of gives drinkers a bad stomachache and diarrhea."

(Contact Fernando Quintero of the Rocky Mountain News at
http://www.rockymountainnews.com.)


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