Francesc Candel
Rosalita, Guatemalan Mam healer.
Rosalita was a Guatemalan healer from Todos Santos Cuchumatán, a municipality in the department of Huehuetenango, in the Republic of Guatemala, located in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is located at an altitude of between 3,100 (in the plateau) and 1,500 m. The towns and rural communities that make up Todos Santos Cuchumatán are distributed at these different altitudes. Due to its altitude, the climate is not hot for most of the year, although it can be cold at night, especially in the high latitudes of the mountains, where temperatures drop below freezing. The inhabitants of Todos Santos Cuchumatán belong to the Mam ethnic group. The Mam are a Mayan ethnic group that lives mainly in northeastern Guatemala and the mountainous area bordering Mexico, in southeastern Mexico. They have their own language, Mam, a language of Mayan origin that is also spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, which borders northeastern Guatemala While there is physical diversity within the Mam population, the local inhabitants of Mayan and indigenous descent are characterized by high cheekbones and dark brown or even almost completely black eyes. They have broad, flared noses, especially at the nostrils, and their complexion is brown, almost dark. Their hair is generally dark, straight or slightly wavy, and slightly gray in older individuals. They are of medium or short height. And Rosalita, the healer, was an authentic Mam woman, proud of her ethnicity, her traditions, her language, and her culture. What she didn't explain to me was whether she was a shaman as well as a healer. I don't know the reason for her silence, since in the Mayan Mam community, it is accepted that both men and women perform the functions of shaman. Given her rituals, especially those to ward off evil spirits, I suspect she was a shaman as well as a healer. It is also true that Rosalita spoke Spanish poorly... and I speak it even worse, so perhaps she simply didn't understand the question. She was a serious, proud, regal woman of few words. She had a daughter twenty years younger than her, named Rosalba, who looked very much like her. And a granddaughter, Rosalba's daughter, who had the same name as her grandmother, Rosalita. The granddaughter didn't have as many Mam features as her grandmother. Perhaps one day we'll upload photos of Rosalba and Rosalita, the granddaughter. The figure of Rosalita, the grandmother, was important in Todos Santos Cuchumatán. In this rural area, healers are the first choice for medical care for many people. As a healer, Rosalita practiced traditional medicine, combining ancestral knowledge, medicinal herbs, and spiritual practices to treat various ailments. Rosalita told me she had to perform some rituals on me to ward off evil spirits. And she succeeded immediately. But you see... do you do your job well every day? There will probably be days when, for some reason, you don't do it well. An argument with someone, not having slept well, a serious problem... anything can make you have a bad day and not adequately perform your assigned tasks at work. And Rosalita was no exception. Perhaps the day I met her wasn't the best for her. Some problem or not having slept enough was perhaps the reason why she didn't do her job well. It's true that she managed to ward off the evil spirits that were in my life and around me at that time. But what she didn't accomplish that day was to remove the demons I carry in my head. Perhaps it wasn't because of Rosalita's poor work either. In fact, I believe these demons will remain in my mind forever. They know where to hide, they know everything that's inside my head. They know me well and will never leave. They are... my tiny demons...
Uno de ellos toca un flautín en mi oído. Otro me hace oler cosas que no están ahí. Y saben dónde esconderse. Y saben todo lo que hay dentro de mi cabeza. Pequeños demonios, dentro de mí. Uno de ellos ata un lazo alrededor de mi corazón. Otro me hace asentir cuando conduzco. Y nunca se irán. Pero no me mostrarán la cara. Y esperan hasta que siento como si se hubieran ido y saltan y roban mi alivio. Pequeños demonios dentro de mí. Y saben dónde esconderse. Y saben todo lo que hay dentro de mi cabeza. Pequeños demonios dentro de mí... pequeños demonios...
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Demons - Fatboy Slim (Ft./Vocals: Macy Gray)
Todos tus demonios se marchitarán. El éxtasis llega y no puede quedarse. Lo entenderás cuando te cruces en mi camino. porque todos mis demonios se han marchitado.
"Demons" is a song by Norman Quentin Cook, known as Fatboy Slim, a British DJ. A mixer of styles such as hip hop, breakbeat, and rock. In addition to creating excellent music, the videos that accompany his songs are some of the best ever created in the music scene. They are musical products with impeccable finishes, from the song to the music video. "Demons" is one of them; in addition to being a great song, it features the unique voice of Macy Gray. Another example of this complete finish with the creation of a great music video is the one that accompanies the song "Weapon Of Choice" which was recorded with one of the best actors in my opinion... the great Christopher Walken.
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Liquid Skin - Gomez (1999)
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Image dedicated to Rosalita, a healer of the Mam ethnic group. Guatemala, March 2014.
There was no way to convince Rosalita to take off her blue wool hat and be able to take a portrait without it... "Pendejo ! Hace mucho frio !!"
Rosalita, Guatemalan Mam healer.
Rosalita was a Guatemalan healer from Todos Santos Cuchumatán, a municipality in the department of Huehuetenango, in the Republic of Guatemala, located in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is located at an altitude of between 3,100 (in the plateau) and 1,500 m. The towns and rural communities that make up Todos Santos Cuchumatán are distributed at these different altitudes. Due to its altitude, the climate is not hot for most of the year, although it can be cold at night, especially in the high latitudes of the mountains, where temperatures drop below freezing. The inhabitants of Todos Santos Cuchumatán belong to the Mam ethnic group. The Mam are a Mayan ethnic group that lives mainly in northeastern Guatemala and the mountainous area bordering Mexico, in southeastern Mexico. They have their own language, Mam, a language of Mayan origin that is also spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas, which borders northeastern Guatemala While there is physical diversity within the Mam population, the local inhabitants of Mayan and indigenous descent are characterized by high cheekbones and dark brown or even almost completely black eyes. They have broad, flared noses, especially at the nostrils, and their complexion is brown, almost dark. Their hair is generally dark, straight or slightly wavy, and slightly gray in older individuals. They are of medium or short height. And Rosalita, the healer, was an authentic Mam woman, proud of her ethnicity, her traditions, her language, and her culture. What she didn't explain to me was whether she was a shaman as well as a healer. I don't know the reason for her silence, since in the Mayan Mam community, it is accepted that both men and women perform the functions of shaman. Given her rituals, especially those to ward off evil spirits, I suspect she was a shaman as well as a healer. It is also true that Rosalita spoke Spanish poorly... and I speak it even worse, so perhaps she simply didn't understand the question. She was a serious, proud, regal woman of few words. She had a daughter twenty years younger than her, named Rosalba, who looked very much like her. And a granddaughter, Rosalba's daughter, who had the same name as her grandmother, Rosalita. The granddaughter didn't have as many Mam features as her grandmother. Perhaps one day we'll upload photos of Rosalba and Rosalita, the granddaughter. The figure of Rosalita, the grandmother, was important in Todos Santos Cuchumatán. In this rural area, healers are the first choice for medical care for many people. As a healer, Rosalita practiced traditional medicine, combining ancestral knowledge, medicinal herbs, and spiritual practices to treat various ailments. Rosalita told me she had to perform some rituals on me to ward off evil spirits. And she succeeded immediately. But you see... do you do your job well every day? There will probably be days when, for some reason, you don't do it well. An argument with someone, not having slept well, a serious problem... anything can make you have a bad day and not adequately perform your assigned tasks at work. And Rosalita was no exception. Perhaps the day I met her wasn't the best for her. Some problem or not having slept enough was perhaps the reason why she didn't do her job well. It's true that she managed to ward off the evil spirits that were in my life and around me at that time. But what she didn't accomplish that day was to remove the demons I carry in my head. Perhaps it wasn't because of Rosalita's poor work either. In fact, I believe these demons will remain in my mind forever. They know where to hide, they know everything that's inside my head. They know me well and will never leave. They are... my tiny demons...
Uno de ellos toca un flautín en mi oído. Otro me hace oler cosas que no están ahí. Y saben dónde esconderse. Y saben todo lo que hay dentro de mi cabeza. Pequeños demonios, dentro de mí. Uno de ellos ata un lazo alrededor de mi corazón. Otro me hace asentir cuando conduzco. Y nunca se irán. Pero no me mostrarán la cara. Y esperan hasta que siento como si se hubieran ido y saltan y roban mi alivio. Pequeños demonios dentro de mí. Y saben dónde esconderse. Y saben todo lo que hay dentro de mi cabeza. Pequeños demonios dentro de mí... pequeños demonios...
.....
Demons - Fatboy Slim (Ft./Vocals: Macy Gray)
Todos tus demonios se marchitarán. El éxtasis llega y no puede quedarse. Lo entenderás cuando te cruces en mi camino. porque todos mis demonios se han marchitado.
"Demons" is a song by Norman Quentin Cook, known as Fatboy Slim, a British DJ. A mixer of styles such as hip hop, breakbeat, and rock. In addition to creating excellent music, the videos that accompany his songs are some of the best ever created in the music scene. They are musical products with impeccable finishes, from the song to the music video. "Demons" is one of them; in addition to being a great song, it features the unique voice of Macy Gray. Another example of this complete finish with the creation of a great music video is the one that accompanies the song "Weapon Of Choice" which was recorded with one of the best actors in my opinion... the great Christopher Walken.
.....
Liquid Skin - Gomez (1999)
.....
Image dedicated to Rosalita, a healer of the Mam ethnic group. Guatemala, March 2014.
There was no way to convince Rosalita to take off her blue wool hat and be able to take a portrait without it... "Pendejo ! Hace mucho frio !!"