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Mexican Folk Remedies
If you have something in your eye, take a hair from the tail of a live cat .... March is the month Talpa de Allende receives hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to pay homage to the little twenty inch tall image of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known affectionately as La Chaparrita (the short one). They come from all parts of Mexico and most of them come walking, at least part of the way. To walk in is part of the tradition and I doubt it will ever change.
Apart from coming filled with devotion, many of them come with sore blistered feet, bad colds, sore throats, conjunctivitis and worse infirmities.
Generally speaking, hotel accommodations are plentiful in Talpa, but not in March. Town folks rent out sleeping space in their corrals, hallways and terraces. The going price of a straw mat thrown on the floor and the privilege to share a bathroom with fifteen or so other people is approximately $4.00 USD per person per night.
Very few visitors bring their own tents. Besides, there are no campgrounds and the nights can get rather chilly in March. Ignoring the chill, many take temporary shelter under trees along the river, which runs all the way down to the Pacific Ocean, joining up with the Mascota and Ameca Rivers, and emptying into the Bay of Banderas. They do their cooking, eating and sleeping alongside the river. They wash their dishes, clothes and even their bodies in the less-than-tepid water.
Health authorities and city maintenance are pushed to the limit during this fiesta month spraying disinfectants and tossing out shovels of white lime (cal) in certain spots. People are advised to wash down the entrances to their houses with a strong chlorine solution and to give their children extra vitamin C and yogurt. The day the last visiting bus leaves town, which is usually the week after Easter, a general good old-fashioned Spring Cleaning takes place. The main plaza, streets and store fronts are scrubbed clean with a sudsy solution and then hosed down from the water truck while the merchants run off to Puerto Vallarta, Tenacatita, San Blas, or some other beach town to rest and count the money they have earned during this hectic season and on which many of them will have to live until the next big fiesta month.
Now that I've bad-rapped Talpa's biggest fiesta of the year, I've found a reason to share with you something I've wanted to share for a long time, and that is folklore that works.
In the summer of 1975, Margie, Brian and their boat Kayoka took safe harbor in Puerto Vallarta. We were young and fun was our game. We explored the countryside and picnicked on deserted beaches where high-rise condominiums now stand. We ate fish cooked on a stick over an open fire on the public beaches. We swam in the cool, clear, clean waters of Bahia de Banderas. The summer months passed all too quickly. In October of that year, after the tropical storms had abated, Margie and Brian headed back to the high sea. Their parting gift was a book I have cherished these many years. It is water marked, the pages have yellowed and the cover is a bit wobbly, but it is filled with folklore that works. I know. I've tried much of it over the past thirty-two years.
I have reason to believe Evelyn Winter might have been a resident in Guadalajara or in the Lake Chapala area in 1972. She wrote a book entitled Mexico's Ancient and Native Remedies. She gives credit to her Mexican friends, neighbors, shopkeepers and garbage collectors who shared their ancient secrets with her. The following are just a few of the gems in her book.
Aches "Take a bunch of. . .
Arthritis and Rheumatism. . .
Peyote works equally as. . .
Blood Pressure (Low). . .
Blood Pressure (High). . .
Bronchitis and Coughs. . .
Gordolobo is . . .
Earache. . .
"Heat an ordinary geranium leaf, but do not dry it out or crisp it. Put it in your ear." (Rosa Risso)
Eyes. . .
"If you have something in your eye, take a hair from the tail of a live cat. . .
To rest the eyes. . .
Feet. . .
Hair. . .
Pues, Señorita Ortiz, that remedy might get rid of the hair lice, but I think you'd probably lose a few friends also.
May the pilgrims walking to Talpa this month have a smooth journey, and take note of these free home remedies.
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