Words and Images from the Heart of my Culture & Tradition
~~~~~Zoyla Fierro~~~~~
El Paso desert has all the seasons in one day -- in the morning you have spring, midday you have full-blown summer, in the evening you have fall, at night you have winter. I am Native of El Paso and I am connected to this desert land through the constant mother energy. My mother says that you cannot taste El Paso, smell Opazo, or enjoy El Paso until you connect to the land.
Segundo Barrio was the place where everything happened in my childhood. I grew up running barefoot on this ground in every season to understand the energy of it. I am part of a lineage of a four family curanderas. The art I create reflects this. Here I share my expressions of my culture and tradition and art.
Segundo Barrio was the place where everything happened in my childhood. I grew up running barefoot on this ground in every season to understand the energy of it. I am part of a lineage of a four family curanderas. The art I create reflects this. Here I share my expressions of my culture and tradition and art.
Ofrendas
Every year, I create our family ofrenda.
Making an altar is a creative process.
We can be connected to every part of the altar.
It includes all of our senses.
I receive and share my knowledge of this important ritual with others, in community.
By doing this, our hands create such wisdom that is passed down to each other and to the children.
We receive wisdom from the ancestors.
We share our knowledge and tools to be keepers of this beautiful way of life.
October - November 2022
El Paso History Museum
El Paso Times, "Zoyla Fierro builds Día de los Muertos altar at the El Paso History Museum."
Clay and Art Works
Limpia
Healer's 7 Medicinal Herb Garden | Jardin de la Siete Potentes Hierbas de Limpia Curanderismo
esta fiate | albacar | epazote | minte | tomillo | ruda | pirul
We cannot be creative and share visions of new ideas with a broken spirit.
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In the culture of my tradition, we are firm believers that what we intake of food is going to heal the physical body.
When someone is going through some kind of a broken spirit, that spiritual body needs the physical body to be healed first.
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We call this healing, the body capsule by food.
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As a healer, I was taught how to work with herbs. The tea medicines can flow through body easily. And with a stronger body, we are more ready to present for the spirit or the soul itself. We honor this connection.