After days of traveling, tiredness, and excitement, we went on our last excursion to Xochicalco, which means “in the place of the house of flowers.” Xochicalco is an ancient city on top of a mountain that used to be a central trading spot between the Aztecs and the Zapotec/Mixtecs groups.

The trip was a short, intense, and fast one. When we arrived, Estela gave us a brief historical introduction to the city before we entered the site. When we made it to the main entrance, many of us were taking the usual millions of pictures, Estela asked us to stop, gave us corn, and asked us to look at these ruins differently than we have the others we have visited. She asked that we think about not just playing and having fun, but to show respect for the sacred land and space; she asked that we give the corn as offerings to the land, which shows thanks for allowing us to be there. As everyone listened, it appeared that the dynamics of the visit seemed to change, and people were interested in what the land and symbols were about.

Some of the main pyramids at Xochicalco were the Pyramid of Feathered Serpent with such intricate designs; the Juegos la Pelota, which is a game that was played by the Aztecs that represented a cleansing ceremony and the winners of the game would be sacrificed; and the Observatory Cave, which had light from the sun that peaked through and at midday on June 21st that lights up the entire cave, and people from around the world come to observe it.

Xochicalco is an interesting ancient city for many reasons, but what is amazing is that it is still being discovered at the present time. Therefore, there are many questions that have not been answered, and they may never be accurately answered.

Dr. Sham Choy and I have been residing with a host family that has provided us nothing but enjoyment.  The meals that had been provided are filled with color and more importantly LOVE.  Mixing in the ingredient of love is the foundation of our meals. 

Our host mother Dona Luz has a wealth of knowledge in the Mexican political, social and spiritual arenas.  She does not consider herself a curandera however practices some traditions which include herbal medication and healing practices. 

Tonight at dinner, Claire and I were asked if we would like to experience a form of massage that Dona Luz had learned at the local University.  She had Claire lay down on her bed and with a covered towel over her body; Dona Luz began to massage her with a hot iron (plancha).  Claire was a bit anxious at first however the heat the iron delivered made for a relaxing massage.  Prior to touching Claire’s body Dona Luz said a prayer asking God to guide her in this process and to give her the strength that is needed for Claire to achieve maximum satisfaction.  The movement was top down only.  Dona Luz mentioned when we receive physical therapy at a doctor’s office heat is administered through the body as part of the therapeutic process.  Since we do not have the same tools and our hands cannot deliver the same level of heat, the iron is the next best thing. 

Claire receiving plancha massage

While completing Claire’s massage Dona Luz then gave me a reflective foot massage as she described it.  The foot is used as a tool for assessing problems that one may have with a major internal organ including kidneys, lungs, liver, heart as well as sexual organs.  She trained me in identifying what to feel for with my two thumbs.  She did not remember which parts of the foot pertained to which organ however later furnished me with some literature.  After I received my foot massage I practiced the technique on Claire.  She reported that I should print some business cards and open up my own practice.  It was not the first time that thought had crossed my mind.

Claire and I initially thought we were going to have a quiet night but instead it turned out to be a satisfying and fascinating experience.  The love of Mexico! You learn something new everyday!! Looking forward to the next adventure!

SAUL SALINAS, MSW, PPSC

 072407

We visited Monte Alban during our stay in Oaxaca. This is where the Zapotecs lived and performed their rituals, but later became a burial place. There where also signs of Teotehuacans that may have lived there and/or traded with the zapotecs. This was magnificent place as we reached the highest point, we could see lush green trees and mountains with fresh cool air blowing in our faces. This was truly a site where pictures do no justice.

- PV

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When we first entered the botanical garden, there was a museum that had various information about Mexico, such as the history of ethnic backgrounds, the history of the economy, and the different types of medicine used (i.e., homeopathy, naturalism and modern medicine, etc). After the museum, we went into the back where there was an extremely large garden of all natural plants and trees, indicating names and uses for each one. Attending the botanical garden has inspired me to look more deeply at using natural medicine upon my return home.

- PV 072208

We had a guest speaker that told us about her story of being separated from her mother for many years and how this affected her negatively for many years. She then explained how she was healed by reconnected with her mother who is a curandera in conjunction with the performance of “limpias” and using other rituals. One of the rituals consisted of being buried to symbolize the burial of her past, while being renewed as she is raised from the ground. The guest speaker had stated that going through the process of limpias and connected with her mother has healed her. I could tell by her facial expressions and body language that she has found love and peace within herself.

-PV

071608

We went to Monte Alban on Monday, 072108, and what a glorious testimony to the intelligience, beauty, sophistication of the Zapotecs.  Monte Alban is located “ . . . situated atop an artificially-leveled ridge,”  which with an elevation of about 6368 feet above mean sea level,  rises some 1312 ft) from the valley floor.” 

Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán’s importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years. Founded toward the end of the Middle Formative period at around 500 BC, by the Terminal Formative (ca.100 BC-AD 200) Monte Albán had become the capital of a large-scale expansionist polity that dominated much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacted with other Mesoamerican regional states such as Teotihuacan to the north (See Wikipedia 072108).

It is challenging to see that they actually existed, the way they organized the architecture, the layout, the structure of the plaza, the various temples.  You can visualize thousands of people involved like little ants, taking care of their business, visiting the priests, having ceremony, trading and exchanging their wares, food, flowers for services, ceremony, bendiciones.  On top of the various pyramids you can see the people down below or across the expansive plaza, like hormiguitas scurrying about their business.  The great courtyard, the various piramedes, altars, sects, design, organization, economics, and religion, all visible and invisible, created a wondrous contemplation. 

Alfonso Caso really made a discovery.  He and his associates conducted the major part of the excavation from the 2930s to the late 1940s.  There was a statue of him by the entrance, a bespeckled-nerdy looking guy, who was a genius at discovery and exploration. I remember reading his work when a graduate student at Stanford in the 1970s.  There was a beautiful museum that we didn’t even get a chance to check out because just exploring the ruins took up all the time we had. Just to explore the pyramids we climbed endless steps.

The Zapotecs must have been built physically well and they must have had strong built up thighs.  Taking in the beauty was breath-taking; the winds cross-cutting the top of each pyramid, the vision, the cosmos, just to imagine all of the activities taking place here on a regular bases.  Imagine the people, thousands, the food, the clothing, the wares, the splendor of it all.  It is hard to imagine the color, the beauty.  When I traveled in Europe I didn’t see anything like it. I have never been to Egypt, but I imagine that there must be as profound a feeling as that which we have experienced at Monte Alban.  I tried to imagine what Jamestown might have been like next to the pyramids, wonder of the world, but I know it was nothing like this.  But that would not even be a glitter of comparison.  How about Stonehenge? Perhaps it comes close spiritually, but architecturally, hands down, no comparison.  At the coliseum in Rome you start to approach the form, but not the content. 

You start to see what I am talking about.  Why do the Chicano-Mexicano children get the short end of the stick when it comes to their self-esteem and who they are.  Mr. S and I talked briefly about bringing a group of kids from the barrio or even from Clovis to take a glimpse, the walk the great plaza, to stand on top of the pyramids at Monte Alban.  We were really impressed and we took a few hundred pictures between all of us. It was such an uplifting spiritual experience for all of us. 

Again the question is what, how, do we convey this to the children of the sun?  They have no idea, who do not know, nor do they have an opportunity to experience the majesty, this mystery, this opening to the universe.  How do we bring this back home and inject into the curriculum at the teacher training level?  How do we tell the Dean, the faculty, administration, math and science, reading, everyone? 

Dr. G, from Monte Alban

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Estela took us to the Botanical Garden today. We went into the museum first and saw many interesting things. For example, we got to see a symbolic display of an offering that was used to cure “mal aire.” We then went to the garden where we saw many different herbs. Many of these herbs have been around for thousands of years. Estela shared with us some history of the different herbs. She told us that when the Spaniards came to Mexico they were interested in developing their knowledge of herbal medicine. They destroyed many other medicinal things like the temezcal because the ceremonial rituals didn’t mean as much to them as the healing properties of the herbs did. They were interested in learning about the herbs and rejected the spiritual component of the indigenous people.

Estela also shared with us her belief that a human being can survive in the wilderness knowing at least 13 herbs because every plant has some antibiotics properties. We also learned that some plants are toxic therefore; we need to be aware of them and the amount we consume. An herb that we believe is important to know about is “mala mujer.” “Mala mujer is an herb that is used to cure snake bites.

Another important plant in the Mexican culture is the Maguey. The maguey is seen as the feminine image and is worshipped because it is seen as the lady of remedies. Although perhaps it is not as worshipped as it was in the day of the Aztecs; it is still very important because of its many benefits. Maguey produces agua dulce for 2-3 years and through fermentation turns into pulque. Pulque when taken correctly can enhance all of ones senses and can also provide vitamins and minerals. During Aztec times it was usually only taken during ceremonial practices because being intoxicated was perceived to be almost a sin and resulted in punishment. However, intoxication only results when large quantities are consumed but when taken in an average amount there are many benefits

Estela then lead us in a “platica” by having us sit in a circle on the mother earth. The “platica” centered on the importance of duality in our daily lives. The discussion got lively when Estela asked “what are feminine and masculine traits?” It seemed like everyone had something to contribute to the discussion by sharing their own personal experiences and ideas on masculine and feminine traits. Saul showed his perspective on how strong females are sometimes intimidated and act less sure of themselves in the presence of many men. This directly related to our experience in Oaxaca.

A group of us women were walking back to the hotel late at night then we spotted a large group of men standing on the sidewalk, they immediately struck a sense of fear in the group. The group unconsciously stopped and waited for Dr. Garcia, a man, to lead the way. This forced many of us to reflect on why women sometimes instinctively react fearfully to men. Many other important ideas and experiences were shared and as the plactica ended many of us were left mindful of this idea of duality and continued to think on it the rest of the day.

As we returned home we continued to explore this idea of masculine and feminine traits and it left us thinking, “Are there really masculine and feminine traits or are they just human traits?”

- R.L., A.M., M.L., M.T.

07-22-08

On Saturday, a day after arriving in Oaxaca, we went to see Enriqueta, Estela’s mentor.  She was dressed in a bright red huipil, the traditional dress for Oaxacan women. She was plump and somewhat older, about 75.  She looked like she was in good health; she was energetic, and the group really felt welcomed and comfortable. The group included our individuals as well as a group of about 5 or 6 Spanish women.  We all introduced ourselves and the Spanish women, whom I thought were gringas from the USA, introduced themselves in perfect Castilian.  The really looked European, white, but were so gracious and respectful in the presence of the curandera-maestra.  Enriqueta began to tell us about her self ands her beliefs especially about the family, personal care, love for others, and the importance of healing the community.  Enriqueta also spoke about her struggles to become a curandera having had to negotiate with an abusive partner and having to decide to separate from him in order to continue learning her chosen vocation. She is a partera which is a midwife and at times she had to stay away from home all night in order to deliver the babies.  Of course this probably raised havoc in her family-marital life.  At this point in her career as a curandera, she takes fewer clients. She does spend a lot of time making remedies from plants and diagnosing and recommending various salves, balms, and tinctures as remedies for a variety of conditions.  The tinctures are basically remedies derived from various plants and are placed in small containers or droppers.  She prescribes a certain amount of drops and numbers of times per day in order for there to be an effect. 

Estela met her 20 years ago or more and took workshops from her. The curanderas in Mexico have been meeting regularly over the last two decades and conduct meetings and congresses in order to share the people’s medicine.  More than 58 % of the people in Mexico have no health insurance.  Only about 2% of the population has complete coverage and recently the state has begun to provide a social program for health care but it is inadequate and limited with only 48% having access to it. Enriqueta talked about the prenatal programs in which women are basically enticed, blackmailed, to use the services. They are given a stipend to use the services, but if they do not follow through or if they are found out that they have gone to a partera or curandera, they have to pay the stipend back. 

Estela began to attend her workshops and later she apprenticed with her for several years and accompanied her when Enriqueta was asked to talleres, workshops, or presentations. After a while they went their separate ways but recently began to collaborate again especially in regards to difficult cases and the training of neophyte beginners in the mysteries and magic of healing.

More to come on Doña Enriqueta on later postings.

Dr. G

071908

Evangelina is a 4 foot tall curandera who has the powers of a giant.  She is a small beautiful woman dressed in traditional clothing and she is clear as day about what she does as a healer.  She was introduced by Estela and she provided us with a ceremony to welcome us.  At the same time it was coincidently a parting ceremony for two of out members, Rob and Daniel, who for different reasons decided to return to the land of the dead in the USA, back home to Fresno.  The ceremony was conducted using a brazier, wood charcoal, and copal. You could smell the copal, it was strong and smoky.  It is a resin from the Copal tree which has provided the ancients with a way to make offering to the dioses and spirits for blessings and intercessions.  After the emotional experience of accepting that two members of our group were leaving we settled down to the platica that Evangelina gave us. She explained that she usually cures for soul loss due to the winds of susto, espanto, and tristeza (fright, magical fright, and sadness).  She focuses mainly on “energy”, how it flows through your body, whether its blocked or if it is free flowing.  She will diagnose your energy flow by taking your pulse at the wrist. One of the members of the group volunteered for the demonstration. I noticed that she feels for the pulse on one side of the wrist, the downward flow (left side), then the other side of the wrist for the upward flow (right side).  The volunteer had a weak pulse on the downward flow and almost no pulse on the upward flow (right side).  Evangelina said that she had lost her spirit in a “fall” and that she need her “spirit” called back to her physical body.  (In fact the volunteer had taken a nasty fall the previous week when we had just arrived to Cuernavaca.)  After the initial diagnosis she conducted a further assessment of the situation.  She took 4 kernels of corn and placed them on the table in front of the “patient” which represents the four “rumbos”, the four directions.  She also placed a small gourd figure representing the patient and when it falls it locates the direction where the “soul” was lost. The healer then takes several more kernels of corn and shakes them in a container.  I noticed that three kernels fell out of the container.  These represented the kernels which actually go out to look for the soul to entice it back to the patient’s body.  The other kernels stay in the container. The gourd is a whistle which the curandera blows and it makes a shrill sound and it also is a “calling” for the soul to finds its way back to the location of the physical body.  After the calling and the grounding of the soul back into the body, the patient says she is feeling better.  She is instructed to take the 3 kernels that fell out and plant them in her yard so that they sprout.  The other kernels in the container she is to take and ground into a liquid, water or juice, and drink to ground her soul in the body so that it is not easily shaken loose.  The whole process appears simple, but involves a complex set of beliefs which are not easily ascertainable.  A client of Evangelina had a story to tell about her experiences. That story to be told later. 

Dr. G

071608

Yesterday the troops followed the Zapata trail in the state of Morelos. I mean the students as we found out more about the man and not the icon. Zs job was to make sure that the peasants, the Indios, did their job which was to work the fields and produce for the owners. The owners would stay in their great haciendas and kick back under the shade, eat and drink, and count their profits. The Indios, peasants, and even slaves brought over from the coast would work hard in the hot sun because they had no other option. They were indentured servants, winding up owing more at the end than taking anything home.

At some point Emiliano Zapata had had enough, became enlightened, and would no longer function as a slave master. He decided he would join the workers. One of his sayings was, la tierra pretence a quien la trabaja, the land belongs to those work on it. He quickly became the leader through his resolve, charisma, and ability to move the population to join forces for the revolution.

He developed the Plan de Ayala, named after his natal homeland, where he laid out the plant to redistribute the land to those who worked on it. In his cuartel in Tlaltizepan there were tools of war, swords, rifles, guns; and pictures of Zapata and his friends who joined his war, were generales, and were killed on the battlefield. One set of friends were three brothers, los Ayalas, who died, and a picture of their sister, who joined after they died, and lived until 1994, an Irony. Emiliano was also married and there was a picture of him and his wife and his brother and his wife. There was also his special friend who cooked for him through the whole campaign. Zapata was also a womanizer and left children left and right. He is not considered such a hero by the Mexican feminists nor an icon. His cuartel was nice built like a typical hacienda with rooms around the perimeter and a court yard in the middle.

Later on in the day we went to Chinameca where he was terminated. He wasn’t a trusting man but this time a ruse was set up. He was going to meet with a federal agent who said he was going to join forces with Zapata to end the war. The agent even proved it to Zapata that he was sincere by having a federal killed that Zapata took as proof. Zapata went to meet with him and just as he entered the giant sized portal he was assassinated with hundreds of rounds of fire. 800 machine guns were waiting for him when he arrived. His body was riddled and so was the portal wall behind him. We saw those holes in the wall, all over. He was really killed. People say though that he had sent a double and that it really wasn’t him. People say that they still see him riding his white horse in the hills around the hills of Morelos. He even comes into town to buy stuff.

There is a lot of detail about his life, but we don’t hear very much about it. We usually just see the popular icons of Zapata with his bandeleras on and the big hats, a rifle in profiled position in photographs. He represented the poor, the subjugated, and marginalized people all over the world. He had his flaws when we take a close up view. He had multiple relationships, his close friends died while fighting under him; he fought his way from the south and made it all the way to Mexico City, he met there with the troops from the north and Pancho Villa. When offered the Presidential chair he refused it and Villa sat in it, but he got up too and left it empty. The battle was won for the two caudillos but there was no one there to carry on the work of government. Madera sat in the chair and later arranged for the assassination of Zapata. And that was that. I don’t know that much more about it as I have not read John Womack’s book for a couple of decades, but being there gave us a better view of the man, not the deity, just the sobering facts. Where he was assassinated there was a big stature of Zapata at the door of the portal where he walked into the trap. There were a couple of old guys selling pictures of him and one of them sang song about the caudillo Zapata.

We never hear about Zapata nor Villa in American history although it is a part of it especially since a majority of the kids in California in public schools are Mexico origin children. They wear the t-shirts, but no one ever tells them what Zapata stands for, for the poor, for the hard working farm workers, for the poor on the streets who have been and continue to be disenfranchised of their ethnicity. George Washington wasn’t their father.

This is in contrast to the current Americanization, to try to portray the founders of the country and the constitution as saints and deities in the eyes of some AM radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh who cries on the radio when he talks about the founders of American society. He’s not the only one – US history teachers are also trying to make saints and sacred the founders and framers when in fact they were mortal men with flaws that we know about. US History teachers are promoting monoculturalism and conformity and are not taught to be critical except in cases where youngsters pursue specification such as in History Day. Children in these projects learn to do history, interview living persons about historical personages. But the rest do not get in depth and are certainly being proselytized to believe things such as George Washington and the cherry tree about lying and telling the truth. Pluralism means only one thing, become a white American, never mind e plural unum. It doesn’t exist.

The plural is the artificial, the unum is the maximum, that’s why everyone is disconnected, detached, and alienated. History is a trance, not an awakening. Kids are not taught to analyze, think critically, and are not allowed to pursue current events showing the other side. I don’t know how many lies my own children have been told by teachers at Buchannan High School that “Bush” is right and that Iraq attacked the twin towers. Not only are my children chastised for being Mexican, but also for being democrats. My older daughter taking a history class at the Willow-International Clovis College listened to a so called history instructor that all ethnic movements in America during the civil rights movement were violent and that’s why they failed. Who gave him permission to say that?

Diversity is seen as unpatriotic or treason by the mainstream monocultural conformists and this is hurting Chicano kids, Hmong kids, Black kids and also white kids because they stay uninformed. US history is taught as if it was the greatest country ever and that what it does politically to the rest of the world is morally right when the rest of the world sees Bush and his cronies as morally wrong. In the mean time the Children of the Sun are ignored, and not reflects in the panorama of history. They lose interest in George Washington who is considered the father of this country but not the father of Chicanos.

We have little opportunities to reflect on the men and women who matter, like Zapata. Who was the real man? We know nothing about Zapata in US history. It was American meddling in Mexican economics that caused the 1910 Revolution. Zapata has become an icon of revolution throughout the world. The 1910 Revolution was the first revolution in the 20^th century. He is considered an icon of change along with Che, Mao, Fidel, and Lubumba. None of this is taught in High School world history. Why? Because the history teachers don’t even know, only promote one dimensional history, conformist history, ideological myth making parading as fact. The kids have to wear their t-shirts to tell the teaches what they want and need to know: the Virgin de Guadalupe, Villa, Cesar Chavez, Emiliano Zapata. Education needs a revolution and these are the icons that will incite that needed change.

- Dr. G – July 17, 2008