The Gifts That Make Us | "Yogi Tía"

An introduction to a new series. The first interview with my lovely "Yogi Tía."

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to “The Gifts That Make Us”, a new series here at café de olla in which our family will share the stories of those who came before us and the spiritual gifts they left within us. I will be interviewing the bravest among my family members to share what it was like growing up in our family, and how spirituality or religiosity has shaped their lives.

The format will be pretty basic (unlike the content, of course). Each episode will introduce you to one of my relatives. In their own words, they will share their diverse opinions and feelings about my Abuelita’s curanderismo practice. They might even share about their own “inheritance” or spiritual gifts. I have a set of questions I will ask everyone but I anticipate we will easily “go off script.” At the bottom of each post, you will find any relevant show notes from the interview. All names of family members and friends will be changed to maintain their privacy.

Please give them a warm welcome, this isn’t easy for some. And for their comfort, I have decided to share these interviews in written form.¹ Thank you for your understanding!

Goals

As with any new project, setting some parameters in place will guide us on the journey. So, my goals for each interview will be to:

1. Pass on stories about our family by our family.

2. Appreciate the complexities of spiritism practices.

3. Explore the impact of growing up alternatively spiritual.

4. Celebrate the dualities of our cultural heritage.

Thematically, I want these interviews to be universally understood. I feel a great sense of duty to make sure our history is accessible to everyone. For we are all more alike than not, I believe.

Today’s guest: “Yogi Tía”

Yogi Tía and I are related twice - once through her father and once through her mother.² Maybe this explains our strong connection. And even though I have not had the chance to spend a lot of time with her, I am ever so grateful for her generous and positive spirit when we do get to connect.

Read on to discover her highly spiritual and loving approach to navigating this world. Thanks again, Tía!

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My first question that I had, that might be helpful for people who obviously don’t know our relationship: how would you describe your relationship with Abuelita? You can say it from any perspective – as a family member, as a friend, as someone who just knew her? 

Well, I remember her as being one of my mom’s best friends. And it was like that, I felt that energy, that relationship. We would visit my aunt, your Abuelita, often. She also was the daughter of my mom’s aunt. So, we would visit your great-grandmother and your grandmother.

We would go over to your great-grandmother’s house in Pasadena. We would go to the house often, almost every week I believe. I got the feeling that your Abuelita and my mom were best friends. They would often talk about their childhood and what they did when they were young. And so that’s why I got that impression. She was probably the best aunt I had, for that reason. Because I saw the affection, the relationship that my mom had with your Abuelita, and your great abuelita. And then, the rest of the cousins would come around – not too often because your great-grandmother had this little tiny, tiny house and there wasn’t enough room! So your Abuelita would leave everybody home at her house. The only time we got together was when we would go to your Abuelita’s house.

But I would go, my mom would take me, because I was the one who was needing the services of your Abuelita. So, that’s why I went often. And that house was where your Abuelita and your great abuelita would do their spiritual healing for me. That’s how I remember her. 

You met with both Abuelita and Bisabuelita for healing purposes?

Healing, it wasn’t for social. I don’t remember your great-grandmother ever going over to your grandmother’s house. I don’t know if that ever happened, I never saw her there. I only ever saw [your great-grandmother] at her house, her little tiny, tiny house.

Fantastic. How do you feel the duality of what Abuelita did, one foot solidly in the world of Catholicism and the other foot solidly in the conjuring folk healing medicine world, impacted your life? If at all. Was it just something that you always accepted, it was easy for you to accept? Do you feel in your life you have had to tackle that dual spiritual perspective?

I knew it was unusual. As a child, I recognized that it was unusual. We used to love to go to church and I could see, I understood, what my job was in the Catholic Church. And how we behave and what we do, and everything. And then there was this other world, a secret world, at [your great abuelita’s] house. And so, that’s how I saw it as a secret world. 

But it was helpful! I realized it helped me because my mom told me it was helping me. Because my mom said it would help me. So I believed my mom and I believed your Abuelita and [your great abuelita]. And I didn’t think I ever had any problem with it. But what it did, in present time, it helped me. I [went] to India and I was so comfortable with what I was experiencing. I was comfortable, I didn’t feel threatened, I didn’t feel that I was going to be consumed by the spirituality that was happening before me. And I welcomed it. That’s what that did, that’s what the situation with [your Abuelita] did for me. As a young child, it exposed me to spirituality that was beyond the church. Because there is! There is spirituality beyond the church. 

We learned to love God differently. If I think back, that’s what I was seeing with your Abuelita and your great-grandmother. A love for the spirit of God and what he could do for us. That’s how I’ve always seen it. Someone outside of our family might see it as “voodoo”  – haha. Why would you think it’s evil?! There’s prayer, there’s a reason for the prayer. We’re praying to the almighty God to heal our souls. And that’s how I saw it. But yet, outside, anything different than the church… well, most people think the Catholic Church is “beyond” anyways! Haha! 

Hahaha! So true!

They don’t understand it, so – if they read their Bible, they would understand it! I was just talking about this with someone else. You know, if people would read their Bible, they would understand why the Catholic Church does what it does. It’s really simple. And so, I just saw it as an extension of my religion. I didn’t feel it was wrong. I don’t know if anybody thinks it’s wrong, really. 

What do you think is a quintessential story that would describe what my Abuelita was able to do, in terms of the healing arts? Do you have a really good story to sort of encapsulate what you experienced she was able to do?

So you [have] mentioned that [your great abuelito] was an exorcist. I think I’m 5 years old and we’re living in Bakersfield or Merced, and my mom travels with me on a bus to get to Pasadena to meet with your Abuelita, and your great abuelita, and your great abuelito. Because my mom doesn’t know why I’m having these terrors, these terrors at night, unable to sleep. She’s thinking I need — I forget how she would call it — but I understood it as I needed an exorcism. I’m only 5 years old and I don’t really know what they’re talking about – but if I think back, that’s how I felt. 

I would have these night terrors, which every kid has, right? Haha. Most kids have but my mom didn’t understand it. And I would wake up screaming. And getting under the bed. And would fight with everybody! And I would have these dreams. So I would describe these dreams (which I [read your post about] your mother’s dream of the tree). Well, my dream was: it was a long, long, long, long plank. And everything was purple-ish red. The sky was purple-ish red. [There was] this long plank, and I had to walk it by myself. And [the plank] was endless, endless, endless. And I didn’t want to go but I had to go. And then suddenly, a witch would come out with creepy hands and [reach] down [for] me – and I would wake up screaming! But I would have this repeated dream all the time. 

And I could feel the dream. I could also feel the dream. It was really hard and… and… [sigh] like a tree. You know, like if you touch a tree, how a tree feels. But it was repeated! For about a year I had these dreams and these terrors, and my mom didn’t understand why I was having them. That’s why she brought me down to meet the elders. That’s why I felt your [Abuelita] and my mom were best friends because [my mom] came directly to see your Abuelita, and discussed it with her. And I think that was [my mom’s] way to [your great abuelita]. There was a chain of command. Your Abuelita had to report to your great abuelita and your great abuelito. My mom had to get to them, but she got through [to them] through your Abuelita. 

And that’s when they all agreed that they would do a seance to help me stop these night terrors. So, [your Abuelita] was a leader. I saw her as the leader of the group. I rarely spoke to your great grandmother. I mainly talked to your Abuelita. She always had the questions. She always had the solutions. She always had the recommendations. And she was always confident in what she was saying, is what I remember. 

Even as I got older, when we moved back down to LA, and I would meet with her. She always seemed so confident and gentle with me. She was always really gentle with me. She was caring and gentle, and always wanted the best for me. And that’s how I remember her. 

Would you say that you are spiritually gifted? Is that how you would describe it, or no?

I don’t know… We didn’t go to Catholic school, I don’t know if you did, we could not afford Catholic school. But on the way home [from school], I always went to church. I always went into the church on the way home. Said my prayers. The strong connection was there. Any other teenager would just say “forget this” and walk on by. But no, I made it a point to stop [at the church], go to the front, say my prayers and then go home. 

I really don’t know what [my spiritual] strengths are but I think it’s just my beliefs. My beliefs in that God has always protected me. Has always been there with me, with his angels. He’s always had angels with me. I knew in my life when I encountered situations that were dangerous, and [I knew the angels] were there. I felt their presence and [knew] they were there [with me]. I don’t tell people that too often because, [sarcastic tone] “like really, you thought your angels were there with you” – but I really believed they were there, I felt their presence. And if they hadn’t been there, I may not be here – something horrible would have happened to me. 

I don’t know if I’m gifted, but the gift is just that I have a strong belief. And God and my angel, whoever that is, I don’t know his name – but he’s always been there with me. 

That’s incredible. I think the ability to detect, to sense, angelic beings as well as demonic beings is a unique skill set. 

Yeah, I guess so. In situations where I sense the danger that I encountered, it was the angel that guided me. And told me what to do. Because I could hear him telling me what to do. 

And you don’t think that’s a gift?! That’s a gift! I think there are a lot of people out there in the world who wish that they could get that kind of a firm confirmation from their angels. They pray to the angels. They have angel statues in their houses. They might even venerate a certain angel or one of the specific archangels – but I don’t know how many people actually get confirmation. It’s a “one-way” for a lot of people. But it sounds like for you it’s a two-way street. It’s a phone call. 

No, it is. It’s not a phone call, it’s a presence. It’s a presence. I’ve never turned around or seen the angel, but I feel the angel. I have felt the angel. The energy. 

Wow, that’s really cool. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. This is such a gift.

1. We are a microphone shy bunch — which is totally okay!

2. Her father was my grandfather’s brother. And her mother was my grandmother’s first cousin.