Maestra Grace and other curanderos interviewed by ©Karen Garcia of the Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2023. The online article features beautiful photographs by K.C. Alfred.
Curanderismo is the holistic approach to healing the mind, body and spirit. A person who can heal others by looking at the whole of the person (mind, body and spirit) is called a curandera.
There are other types of healers under the curanderismo umbrella, and each has their own approach based on their teachings. For example, Sesma’s teachings are rooted in Mexican and Indigenous culture.
Both healers and researchers say Latinos and other Southern Californians, who aren’t necessarily connected to the culture, often turn to curanderismo when they’ve felt Western medicine didn’t meet their needs.
