Spirit doctors

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Description

Folk healing has been part of the Mexican culture since pre-Columbian days. This tradition still flourishes in the Mexican American communities of the lower Rio Grande Valley. This film follows three healers in their daily work. Josefa, a traditional curandera, uses a variety of herbal and spiritual techniques. She is shown giving blessings, performing ritual cleansings and communicating the wandering soul of the dead man. Maria heals her patients by channeling the spirit of Mexico's most famous healer who died sixty years ago. Trini is a traditional partera, or midwife. She plays an important role in the community where one third of all births take place outside of the hospital. Filmmaker Monica Delgado is herself a descendant of a curandera and partera. These cameo portraits show how traditional beliefs flourish in Mexican American culture.