Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing

Very well written and thought provoking read. It represented a side of life that I had seen a long while back in my childhood.The stories and experiences were rich with color and personalities I had heard of, but had only a slight knowledge of. It was nice to have some of these individuals brought to life with in depth information. A way of life that is disappearing rapidly: I applaude the author for his honest and heartwarming presentation on the calling of the curandera and the old ways of treating those who had little to no access of medical treatment. A very beautiful and thoughtful read. I wish I was close to his University to take his classes!

An excellent introduction to the art of curanderismo. This is not a how-to manual, but is instead a look at how curanderismo fits into Mexican-American culture and how the curandero can work along with modern medicine in Mexican-American communities.Curandero is an entertaining read, full of anecdotes from the author's experiences with curanderismo. The book also introduces the reader to some of the great curanderos of the past, such as Teresita and El Niño Fidencio, and explains some of the spiritual illnesses that curanderismo treats, like susto and mal de ojo.

As a native New Mexican, I have long been aware of the curanderismo culture prevalent in my home state - particularly the rural areas. In Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing, Eliseo "Cheo" Torres gives us an authentic and first-hand account of the history of curanderismo in the Southwest United States and Mexico. He does this in a very readable memoir in which he mixes biographical snippets from the lives of some of the major curandero/as from the past century and a half, as well as an overview of various rituals, practices and herbs. There are even several pages of photographs which enhance the story. I can't think of a better introduction to curanderismo than this book. Highly recommended!

Informative and a beautiful tribute of the Curanderos that Dr. Torres has known all his life. I loved how he told a story, yet there is ample information and references to the practices and healing methods. I am so glad that he is bringing this art back and teaching it so that it can be continued on to another generation.

I had a chancee to meet this author at a two week class at University of New Mexico, and he is by far the world's expert on this topic. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this field, and the author Cheo Torres is an amazing person to know.

Interesting book about Mexican folk healing. Includes a fair amount of information about the medicinal uses of herbs, while also covering some rituals, the effect of the mind on physical healing, and how curanderismo is influencing trafitional medicine, etc.

this is an excellent book! It's written in a style that encourages moving on to read it. This is on top of such an interesting subject.

this is such an excellent and readable book that I bought this copy just to give to a friend of mine in a traditional medical profession, nursing, to share.

This read is a journey into magic. It generates the utmost respect for the healing practices of Chicanos, Mexicans and Indigenous peeps. The sense of community and commitment to wellness have survived all manner of overt, covert and unintentional repression. It survives because it works. A beautiful introduction to curanderismo.