OCTOBER 30, 2020 BY J. ALLEN CROSS

Not long ago, I was given the opportunity to write a book. I nervously pitched my idea to write about Mexican-American folk magic to Weiser Books and to my surprise and joy they accepted my manuscript for publishing. Through the process of writing the book I realized that I needed a more succinct way to describe what it is I was talking about. After all, “modern day folk magic practiced by the descendants of Mexico who have immigrated and now live on American soil” is a lot to repeatedly type and it’s even less fun to read six times in a paragraph. So, I needed something to call it. It had to be accessible and pronounceable, but also describe what I’m talking about. In the end I decided I had to coin my own term and opted to call it “American Brujeria”.

Some folks will read the title and intuitively know exactly what I’m talking about. Others will take a single glance and then wildly misinterpret what I’m trying to say. Due to this, I’ve decided to come here and explain what I mean by American Brujeria, and why I chose this term. Let’s begin…

What is American Brujeria?

American Brujeria (brew-hair-EE-yuh) is essentially the folk magic that has been brought to the United States by Mexican immigrants. This work includes the lighting of novenas, calling upon saints, the veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, spiritual cleansing through “limpias”, and the casting of spells or “hechizos”. Since folks began crossing the border into the US they have brought with them ancient wisdom, powerful spirits, techniques for healing and harming, and more. All of these bits and pieces of Mexico’s deeply spiritual beliefs that were carried over on the backs of immigrants ended up being put into a large pile mixing together into a singular practice that sustained our people over the years as folks now living in a foreign country. These were passed down through the generations, and is ultimately how we ended up with American Brujeria.

This work is informed by traditional Brujeria (see below), Catholic belief, Aztec legend, Curanderismo (Mexican healing arts), and Hechiceria (sorcery). The practical and most utilitarian parts of these practices are what tend to survive in the US as they are the parts that are most heavily leaned upon. What’s more is that these have become so ingrained in our culture as Mexicans that we often don’t see these things as strange or in any way “magical”; it’s just what you do. It’s only after we really start to look around and examine our traditions that we realize how much magic we as Mexican and Mexican-American folk are surrounded by every day. Italian and African cultures are much the same.

Furthermore, American Brujeria has a habit of finding its way into the hands of Latinx folks living in the US, and many people begin to do it without even realizing it. Especially among our young folks, there seems to be a big call happening, drawing Latinx youth back to their culture, and traditional magical practices. It is also common among Latinx youth to refer to this work as “Brujeria” as a half joke with deadly serious undertones. Make no mistake, this work is powerful and should not be handled lightly.

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