From
To
Health
I am named after my great-grandmother; a curandera (healer) in the mountains of El Salvador, who only had a formal education up to first grade. For her whole adult life, people travel from surrounding villages to be healed by la niña Marcela. I grew up using herbs that have no English names, and having my mother and aunts use everyday herbs like garlic for multiple healing purposes. As a minority in my field (92% white), my upbringing has provided an awareness that a majority of my colleagues lack.
For the Latinx community, there is a connection between ethnic identity and cultural identity, which varies for everyone, depending on family, socio economic status, environment and lots of other factors.
Latinos, Latinx, Hispanics and more: What each of us wishes to be called matters and there’s always a reason behind our personal preferences. …