Maria la Curandera

I highly recommend this music video by Natalia Lefourcade. It's about healing and recovery through nature and ceremony, danced by a group of women. I'll put commentary below, so you can watch it first if you want, but first the Spanish lyrics with English underneath. They're profound.

Cúrate, mijita, el dolor con nuestra luz del sol y los rayos de la luna
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight and the moon's rays

Cúrate, mijita, el dolor con el sonido del río, la cascada y la espuma
Heal your pain, my daughter, with the sound of the river, waterfall, and foam

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te agarre
With the sea breeze that comes and goes, let it grab you.

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te ame
With the sea breeze and comes and goes, let it love you

Cúrate, mi niña, con las hojas de la menta y la hierba buena
Heal yourself, my daughter, with leaves of mint and yerbabuena

Ponle amor al té en lugar de azúcar, toma y mira las estrellas
Put it in your tea, love, instead of sugar, drink it and look at the stars

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm

Cúrate, mijita, el dolor con nuestra luz del sol y los rayos de la luna
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight and the moon's rays

Cúrate, mijita, con los besos que te sopla el viento
Heal yourself, daughter, with the kisses that the wind blows on you

Los abrazos de lluvia
The hugs of the rain

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te agarre
With the sea breeze that comes and goes, let it grab you.

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te ame
With the sea breeze and comes and goes, let it love you

Cúrate, mi niña, con amor del más bonito
Heal yourself, my daughter, with love of the most beautiful

Enciende el fuego, entrega tus dolores
Light the fire, give over your pains

Que se vuelvan polvo y vengan nuevas flores
Let them turn to dust and new flowers come

Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo todos los dolores
Let them turn to dust, let all the pains turn to dust

Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego y vengan nuevas flores
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them so new flowers may come

Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo todos los dolores
Let them turn to dust, let all the pains turn to dust

Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego y vengan nuevas flores
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them so new flowers may come

Cúrate, mijita, el dolor con nuestra luz del sol y los rayos de la luna
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight and the moon's rays

Endulza la mañana con aroma de lavanda, romero, eucalipto
Sweeten the morning with the aroma of lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus

Y que venga la calma
And may calm come to you

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te agarre
With the sea breeze that comes and goes, let it grab you.

Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene, deja que te ame
With the sea breeze and comes and goes, let it love you

Cúrate, mi mijita, con amor del más bonito, haga caso a la intuición
Heal yourself, daughter, with love of the most beautiful, pay attention to your intuition.

Mire el mundo entero con el ojo aquel que lleva usté en la frente
Look at the entire world with that eye that you have on your forehead

Cúrate, mi niña, con amor del más bonito
Heal yourself, daughter, with love of the most beautiful,

Y recuerda siempre que tú eres la medicina
And always remember that you are the medicine

Cúrate, mi niña, con amor del más bonito
Heal yourself, daughter, with love of the most beautiful

Y recuerda siempre que tú eres la medicina
And always remember that you are the medicine

Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo todos los dolores
Let them turn to dust, let all the pains turn to dust

Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego y vengan nuevas flores
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them, so new flowers may come

Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo todos los dolores
Let them turn to dust, let all the pains turn to dust

Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego y vengan nuevas flores
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them, so new flowers may come

The incantation is wonderful. I also love how the video conveys the confinement, the deadening of the pain that women carry, portrayed as gray veils that cover their faces and upper bodies, rendering them unrecognizable.

They sit immobile, and are bowed under the weight of the pain, but the veils blow in a spirit wind that seems to be loosening them as the chant proceeds.



The women lift off the veils, stand and throw them off, pile them together in the center. They begin to dance, moving passionately, freely, comforting each other, extending their arms above their heads, transformed.

"And let calm come"

Here's another version of the same song, I think maybe by Argentinian women. While listening I was reflecting again on how powerful some of the incantations are, visualizing the pains burning up, turning to powder, from which new flowers can bloom. Many healing charms have this quality, leading the body-mind into envisioning the trauma or emotional distress dissolving away, and the repetition is important. Maria Milpa does this in her limpias too.

Enciende el fuego, entrega tus dolores
Light the fire, give over your pains

Que se vuelvan polvo y vengan nuevas flores
Let them turn to dust and new flowers come

Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo todos los dolores
Let them turn to dust, let all the pains turn to dust

Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego y vengan nuevas flores
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them so new flowers may come