The Forgotten Story Of: Teresa Urrea

 The Forgotten Story Of:   Teresa Urrea  

Portrait of Teresa Urrea (1873-1906)
  Source:
Texas State Historical Association

Podcast: Latino USA

Name of Episode:  Teresa Urrea: The Mexican Joan Of Arc

Program Date: November 5th, 2021.

Listening Date: December 2nd, 2021.

This time I bring to the blog a very interesting episode of the Latino USA podcast, presented by Maria Esquinca, with the guest speakers David Romo, a historian specialized in the US-Mexico borderlands, and Dr. Yolanda Leyva, a history professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Together, they talk about the life of Teresa Urrea (1873-1906) also known as La Santa de Carbora. She “was a curandera who used herbs and traditional indigenous healing methods, but there are also various accounts of Teresa having a special power: she could heal through her touch” (Latino 03:22 – 03:36). The truth is that I did not know about this revolutionary character in the history of Mexico, I learned a lot about her incredible life and the power she had on the society of that time, but “her vision of love and equality inspired rebellions in Mexico against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz” (Latino 03:42 – 03:51). Teresa Urrea was also athor of many articles posted in national and international newspapers. Teresa was exiled from Mexico and lived for several years in different states of the United States, until, for unknown causes attributed to consumption, she died at the age of 33, an event that she predicted on her 32nd birthday. I was pleased that the speakers explained from their points of view, how big was the influence of Teresa Urrea, both political and spiritual, and how she managed to become a symbol for many Mexicans and foreigners at the time of the Mexican Revolution. Personally, I can't say that I didn't like something specific about this episode.

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper about Teresa Urrea (1896).
Source: medium.com

         I found and old but interesting journal article that covers the same topic as the podcast, titled: "Teresa Urrea: Mexican Mystic, Healer, and Apocalyptic Revolutionary" written by Alex Nava. I chose this article because they have the same perspective of what Teresa Urrea's life was like as a mystical-political Mexican mestiza, who was mistakenly identified as a threat to the Mexican government of that time, only because of her connection with the spiritual world and its healing powers that represented a certain type of hope for groups of Mexicans, especially indigenous people. Nava refers that "with Teresa, the growing authority and power that she possessed to heal the bodies and spirits of others, especially the powerless and poor, became a dangerous gift that exposed the glaring faults and corruptions of Mexican society, economics and culture under the Porfiriato" (Nava, 499).

Teresa "laying hands" on a baby in
El Paso, Texas in 1896.
Source: medium.com

        One important thing to mention is that Teresa practiced curanderismo, a practice that includes "ritual, catholic prayer, the use of plants and herbs and the believe in God or a Creator" (Latino 12:12 - 12:22). Teresa Urrea had a very scary and near death experience. From that point on, her extraordinary powers of healing and spiritual connection with God appear. "Alhough Teresa never demanded worship in any way, it was clear to her that if not her body, her soul was quite special" (Nava, 502) and her followers noticed that too; the people who were healed started calling her a Santa or a Saint. We can certainly see the influence of religion reflected in this human event. 

In case you want to learn more... Here's a video that talks about Teresa Urrea's life more deeply and has a lot of pictures!

Works Cited

Alex Nava. “Teresa Urrea: Mexican Mystic, Healer, and Apocalyptic Revolutionary.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 73, no. 2, [Oxford University Press, American Academy of Religion], 2005, pp. 497–519, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4139807.

Esquinca, Maria, host. "Teresa Urrea: The Mexican Joan Of Arc". Latino USA, episode 179, PRX, 5 November 2021, https://www.latinousa.org/2021/11/05/teresaurrea/. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.

Mayhugh Holden, Frances. “Urrea, Teresa.” Texas State Historical Assocition: Handbook of Texas, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/urrea-teresa. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.

Mexico Unexplained. "Teresa Urrea: Mexican Mystic, Healer and Revolutionary" YouTube, 12 Sept. 2021, https://youtu.be/tPFMRbh0xNA. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.

Seltzer, Joanna. “Teresa Urrea (Aka Santa Teresa) - Nurses You Should Know.” Medium, 20 Sept. 2021, medium.com/nurses-you-should-know/teresa-urrea-aka-santa-teresa-9c8f55e1b31a. Accessed 2 Dec. 2021.