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Geovani Borja

Professor Batty

English 102

22 September 2017

The Will to Live On

When coming from a latino background youve probably heard the word curandera or

curandero. A curandera/curandero is a traditional native healer. In the poem La Curandera by

Gloria Anzaldua she talks about a woman in her poem and the journey this woman goes through

to become the curandera. At first when you read it may seem like a regular story but when you

reread it you find deeper meaning to it. La Curandera was sick and she was going to die soon

but she didnt give up hope of surviving. With her will to survive shes blessed and given an

opportunity to learn to heal herself.

Many would argue that there is no deeper meaning to the story and would also argue that

how do you know that she is blessed with her newfound abilities. When looking for a cure for

La Curandera Juan Davila and Sobrino went to Mexico to speak another curandera but didnt

have luck. Sobrino got sick in the process and didnt get better. He had little hope to survive so

he passed away and was buried in Mexico. Juan Davila was influenced by Sobrinos thoughts

and had already given hope for La Curandera. He returned to the La Curandera just to put her

in her grave. He didnt have any hope in her. She wasnt ready to die yet though. She was close

to death but she given an opportunity to learn how to cure herself. Serpents came out and a big

black told her that he would teach her but she would have to find the herbs. A rosemary plant

was engulfed with weeds and she saved the little rosemary. It then blossomed to become all the
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herbs she needed. She then became the curandera after that day.Having faith can come a long

way like it did for La Curandera.

La Curandera poem is telling a story which makes it a narrative. It kind of repeats the

point that it is a story of hope. The style that she uses is very simple but complex. She doesn't

use a rhyme scheme but she uses a lot of symbolism in her poem. Her symbolism plays a big role

in the poem. For example she uses the black serpent. Usually snakes signify a evil being but in

this story it symbolizes good. The serpent helps her learn the skill she needs to become a

curandera. Sobrino can be a symbol too. He can symbolize what giving up hope looks like. He

gave up from the start and died. La Curandera is also a symbol. She symbolizes what hope is.

She overcame her sickness. Anzaldua uses the weeds to symbolize evil because they are trying to

prevent the rosemary from living and she needs the rosemary to learn how to heal herself. The

rosemary symbolizes good because once its freed it blossoms to all of the herbs that the

curandera needs.

In the hispanic culture curanderismo plays a big part in the culture. Till this day there are

many curanderos but they mostly stay in the indigenous countries like in Mexico. In the article

Considering Curanderismo: The Place of Traditional Hispanic Folk Healing in Modern Medicine

by Stacy Brown she explains how these traditional healers share a connection to their patients

and how belief plays a big role in curanderismo. The religious and spiritual aspects of the

healing process capitalize on the patient's faith and belief systems. Like in the poem La

Curandera her belief in surviving played a big part on her continuing to live. Her belief that she

could survive and she did survive. The mindset the curandera had when she had when she was on

the verge of dying helped her self-heal. This proves my point on how significant hope is in the

poem. .
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Gloria Anzaldua comes from a hispanic family so Curanderismo is very familiar to her.

She was born in Texas and lived in a ranch. Her grandmother was a grandmother was a

curandera which made her familiar with what curandera is. In the article from The Los Angeles

Times by Elaine Woo she talks about her background and talks about the hardships she went

through. Her grandmother was a curandera, or healer, who so deeply imbued Anzaldua with an

appreciation of the mystical that Anzaldua would say "Excuse me" even when she bumped into

an inanimate object such as a chair. This is significant because since her grandmother was

curandera Anzaldua knows how Curanderismo works since she was exposed to that in her early

life. Since she knows what shes writing about it makes her seem more credible to the readers.

She also talks about how belief is a major role in curanderismo. Since I found out about how she

has a personal experience it makes me believe what shes talking about.

In Conclusion, the poem La Curandera shows a powerful message. With hope you can

accomplish the impossible. Like how the Curandera was in the story. Juan Davila didnt have

hope in her survival and had already given up on trying. The biggest message in the poem is to

not give up hope and to continue to move on even if you're at a low point. She didnt though so

she was able to overcome this obstacle and prospered. Gloria Anzaldua sets a very good example

for others to follow. She shows that one person can overcome any obstacle that they face because

of faith and they are able to move on. The curandera became her own healer and was given the

opportunity to learn to help herself and others.

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Geovani Borja

Professor Batty

English 102

22 September 2017

Works Cited

1. Woo | Times Staff Writer, Elaine. Gloria Anzaldua, 61; Feminist Academic Edited 'This

Bridge Called My Back'. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2004,

articles.latimes.com/2004/may/22/local/me-anzaldua22

2. Brown, Stacy. Considering Curanderismo: The Place of Traditional Hispanic Folk Healing in

Modern Medicine. ETHOS, www.bc.edu/clubs/mendel/ethos/archives/2008/brown.shtml.