HOMEGROWN REMEDIES IS A NEW BOOK WITH A CHILE TWIST Sunny interviews Annette Sandoval, the author of Homegrown Healings: Traditional Home Remedies from Mexico.
One unfortunate night the Sandoval family was awaken by the sounds of young Yolanda struggling to breathe. They watched in "helpless amazement" as Yolanda's contorted face turned from scarlet to purplish red. After witnessing the nightmarish scene, Yolanda's mother rushed to the kitchen. Her youngest daughter, Annette, vividly recalls the "chopping and sizzling" sound emanating from the galley as her mother selected just the right combination of herbs to steam and roll into a cloth. Soon, she placed the poultice bundle gently on Yolanda's neck. "...within seconds her breathing and fair complexion had returned. I was convinced that mother knew magic," writes Sandoval, 33, in her recently released book Homegrown Healing: Traditional Home Remedies from Mexico [Berkeley Books, June 1998).
Such home remedies were common practice in the Sandoval family, which lived in the barrio town of Santa Ana, CA, where Annette grew up. Without health insurance, the Sandovals relied solely on remedios caseros (home remedies) which her mother had learned from Annette's aunts in Guadalajara, the birthplace of her parents. Not until her father landed a union job with medical and dental benefits did her mother "shift from plants to prescriptions. Needless to say, most of the traditional remedies evaporated from my family's cupboards - and memories - soon after."
"It was such a contrast sitting in a waiting room with fluorescent lights and having a male doctor. My mother shrank; she used to be the caregiver and here she was trying to speak English and be understood," said Sandoval in an article that appeared in the Hayward Review newspaper in San Francisco, where she now resides. "...The teas (mom made) were warm. I missed the human touch," she said.
Sandoval, beautiful and free spirited, was 21 when she left the family home to attend college in San Francisco, paying expenses by working at a deli. But not for long, Sandoval became restless. So when a friend headed to Spain to study at the University of Barcelona, Sandoval followed. It was the beginning of a 10-year backpacking trek that took her all over the world, bartending along the way to earn her keep.
At the gentle age of 29, Sandoval experienced a "career crisis." Bored with bartending and lacking a formal education, she began a new adventure - researching saints, a topic that had piqued her interest when she attended a Catholic parochial school as a youngster.
In Latin cultures, saints are considered at the top of the healer hierarchy. Lower down, there is the mother and the elderly, then the herbalists and then the "curandera." Healers, armed with a poultice, pray to the saint. Fascinated with the healing powers of the saints, Sandoval reported her findings in her first book, The Directory of Saints (Dutton/Penquin), which appeared in hardback in 1996. Now in paperback, the book also appears in a Spanish language edition.
Homegrown Healing - a natural sequel - followed. Sandoval directed that portions of the sales benefit several Latino non-profit organizations. Using the Internet, she gathered Mexican home remedies from "mostly university students," whose families were willing to share their recipes. Homegrown Healing is touted as one of the first modern works that preserves this rich oral tradition. Since the book's debut, Sandoval has played a major role in establishing the Homegrown Healing electronic bulletin board (http://www.web2.kpix.com/xtra/remedios/), which is geared to the Latin community "who can share and preserve the healing practices of their ancestors."
Today, Sandoval's wanderlust remains strong. Between speaking engagements on college campuses, she's studying botany and brushing up on Spanish for her upcoming January trip - this time to the jungles near Puerto Villarta and the Yucatan, where she will join "my physician and ethno-botanists buddies to document the oral tradition of folk healing of the regions. I'll be staying with each healer for a month or so." Sandoval's experiences will be published in a future book
I asked Sandoval how her family views her newfound career. "They think I'm nuts!" she answered. "I've backpacked around the world and every time before I head out, I call my parents. My mother usually says something like 'Mija, your father and I just want you to know that we will not sleep for a moment while you're gone'. My nephews and nieces get a kick out of my travels. I hope they grow up knowing that life is more than four walls and a TV."
I'm certain they've already received THAT message.
Sandoval promises to keep me updated on her upcoming adventure via postcards, which I'll share with readers in future columns.
Homegrown Healing sells for $6.99 at major bookstores and on the Internet for $5.59. If you have a Mexican home remedy to share, contact Sandoval via email (sandoval@a.crl.com) or write 298 Fourth Ave., Box 458, San Francisco, CA 94118.
Cayenne Pepper Remedies
Therapeutic uses: colds, earache, and tonsillitis
Part used: entire pepper, dried and ground into powder
Application:
Oil: Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a double boiler. Add 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper, then heat for an additional 20 minutes. Pour warm liquid into an ear dropper. One-year shelf life.
Tea/infusions: 1/2 teaspoon dry cayenne pepper per cup of hot water. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain and sip 1/2 cup three times a day, for no more than two consecutive weeks. Make fresh daily.
Properties: analgesic, antiseptic, astringent, diaphoretic, digestive, stimulant.
Do not take while pregnant or breast-feeding. Do not take if you have ulcers. If contact dermatitis occurs, rinse off immediately and discontinue use. Cayenne promotes sweating, stimulates circulation, and invigorates the heart. Capsaicin, a derivative of the seeds, may contain antibiotic properties. The volatile oil may cause irritation.
