Susto is a combination of sadness, depression, or traumatic events that cause pain that lives in our bodies, souls, and spirits. Susto affects every aspect of our being and can paralyze us mentally, physically, and spiritually, preventing us from finding our true selves. I grew up with the Wixarika Mexican Indigenous perspective to do cleansings of susto. My grandmother would use an egg or eggs, brooms, herbs, and teas. Remedios are dependent upon what the susto is and where it came from. Also, remedios are very distinct to each Native or Indigenous community. The one remedio or healing that most Latin Americans use widely today to celebrate our losses and the ones we loved who have passed is during Día de los Muertos, a remedio against angst or fear when it comes to death. Our indigenous ancestors have given us this gift of being able to not only accept death but to celebrate those who have moved into the spirit world.
Author Archives: Maria Elena Cruz
Dr. Maria Elena Cruz is a descendant of the Wixáritari (Huichol indigenous Mexican Nation) who was born in Northern California. Dr. Cruz is the first person in her family to graduate from college and the first to receive a Ph.D. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2004 and majored in English with an emphasis on Twentieth Century Literature (from Modern to Contemporary) Anglophone and Multicultural Studies with honors. Maria received her Masters's in Social Cultural Anthropology at the University of Texas Austin in 2007 and her PhD. from the same department in 2013. As a doctoral student, Maria was awarded the National Science Foundation Award for three years. Maria is a socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in Indigenous and Mexican American Oral Stories, and Oral History as well as Testimonio in the U.S. – Mexico borderlands. Her research interests align closely with her teaching experience, which includes teaching undergraduate courses at the University of Texas at Austin in the areas of Anthropology, History, Mexican American Studies (CMAS), and the Indigenous Studies Program. Dr. Cruz also teaches Indigenous and Mexican American History in the Chicana/o Studies (CCS) department at San Jose State University, CA. Dr. Cruz is the Director of the Aspire/McNair Scholars Programs,(TRIO) which helps first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students develop undergraduate research and continue on to Ph.D. programs across the nation.