Curanderismo, the Healing Art of Mexico

06/03/2026

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If it wasn’t for the stones in its path, the river wouldn’t sing.

A reminder that your song is an unique expression of your soul’s journey.

resilience wordsofwisdom

05/20/2026

“The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.”
— Carlos Santana

Artist: Rick Ortega, Painted Word Productions

05/17/2026

As our Grandmother Moon gathers her dark rebozo around herself tonight, it is time to breathe your prayers into your candle, to plant seeds of intention so that its constant gentle fire gives life to your dreams and goals.

May all you plant this new moon grow and flourish in a good way, with ease and kindness, as it comes to fruition at the full moon.

May you and everyone whose life your spirit touches experience the love and grace of your prayers.

Con luz y gratitud,
maestra Grace

(Name of artist unknown)

05/10/2026

🌹 Honoring the Mothers of East Los Angeles — Happy Mother's Day to Every Woman Who Made a Fist Out of Love 🌹

This Mother's Day, we celebrate the most powerful protest movement you may never have heard of — and it was built by Mexican American mothers from East Los Angeles who simply refused to let their community be destroyed.

In 1986, a group of Chicana mothers from the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East LA found out that the California government planned to build a state prison right in the middle of their community — a neighborhood already burdened by freeways, industrial pollution, and poverty. These women were not politicians. They were not lawyers. They were Mexican American mamas. And they said: No.

"It was not just our children we were fighting for — but also the health and well-being of whole future generations." — Aurora Castillo, co-founder, Mothers of East Los Angeles

They named themselves Las Madres del Este de Los Ángeles — the Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA). They met in a church basement, organized candlelight marches across the LA River every Monday for months, wrote letters to legislators, and flooded the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Sometimes hundreds strong. Always with their children.

By 1992, they won. The state cancelled the prison. Then they turned their attention to a toxic waste incinerator threatening their neighborhood's air — and won that fight too, resulting in a statewide law protecting ALL Californians from hazardous waste projects.

These were everyday Mexican American women — grandmothers, aunts, working mothers — who transformed the love they had for their children into a force powerful enough to change the law. They are pioneers of the environmental justice movement in the United States, and their legacy lives on today through scholarships, conservation programs, and community health campaigns in East LA.

Today we say: Happy Mother's Day to every woman who has ever fought for her family, her barrio, and the next generation. To the abuelas, the tías, the sisters, the madrinas — your sacrifices are seen, remembered, and honored. 🌹

Share this story so their courage is never forgotten.

05/10/2026

¡Feliz de las Madres! Happy Mother’s Day!

May today and every day be filled with love and happiness.

05/05/2026

Today is National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Relatives.

Losing someone in this way is a lifelong question of why? The grief is deep, if not always seen, even now decades after our sister, Rosa María was taken from us. Her last letter to me, written when I was around 10 years old, sits on my altar. Our family was blessed that her remains were eventually found and returned to us for burial. Many families never get their loved ones back and live in a constant state of uncertainty, hope, loss, and trauma.

Today I put to***co down in remembrance of her life as brief as it was and of her sweetness and beauty, and lift up all of our sisters and families, friends and community in prayer. Prayers too, for all who search for them, who speak out, who march, who keep keeping on for those who cannot.

May all of our sisters/relatives come home soon, and may those responsible be brought to justice. For all our relations.

Please follow and support MMIP San Diego, Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition, Inc.

♥️ Indigenous in this context refers to persons whose ancestors are part of the Original Peoples of Mexico, United States, and Canada which make up Turtle Island, as well as on other lands on this continent today known as the Americas.

05/03/2026

Roberto Cintli Rodriguez (QEPD):
"…traditionally, today, May 3rd, was Dia del Maiz in Mexico. The Catholic Church changed it to Dia de La Santa Cruz. This was part of their Christianization efforts; to associate something most sacred: Maiz, with that which was most sacred to Europeans."

Human Beings Are Like Kernels of Corn

“...Maiz (corn) is like a human being; it cannot grow without human care and human beings cannot grow without maiz. It is our Indigenous belief."

"The trunk of the maiz is the dual spiritual force of ometeotl. It is female and male. It is father and mother. The ear is the pollen that falls into the cob to give life to the kernels that are wrapped in the leaves of the maiz the way a baby is protected in her mother’s womb. At this stage, the corn is rich and beautiful because it is sweet and tender, akin to a child It later converts into a cob; it is when the kernels become hard and are ready to separate from the trunk. It is the representation of a mature human being, ready to become independent and to understand his/her role on earth. Finally when the kernels are removed from the cob, they are ready to eat or to once again be planted and thus continue the species. It is similar to the human being becoming independent, who can provide for him- or herself, ready to procreate, to continue the human race. That is the life of the maiz and the life of a human being.” —Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, shared with respect from his book Our Sacred Maiz Is Our Mother

Respect
Reciprocity
Awareness
Generosity
Sacred Purpose

Painting by ARTE TOLTECA

05/02/2026

The Grandmother Moon is full tonight and the next three nights we are in the energy of water and the divine feminine.

In that spirit, tonight I am offering up heartfelt prayers for women, children and our LGBTQ+ two-spirit relatives around the world, and

For our relatives who are being held in detention centers with no access to those who love them, for those who are doing what they can to care for the spirit of their families while their home and communities are being bombed, for our relatives who are living under constant threat of violence in their own home, for babies and children who have been kidnapped and taken from the arms of their grieving mothers, and for all of the women, young and old, who pick up their hearts from the ground every day to stand up and speak out for those who can’t.

I’m offering prayers for the waters of the world and the mountains and lands that hold the memory of generations upon generations of healers and spiritual people who from time immemorial have turned to them in ceremony for guidance and medicine power to use in service to their community.

May the wisdom and high spiritual light of grandmother moon, grandmother ocean, Mother Earth, and all our healed enlightened female ancestors bless us all, and straighten the hearts and souls of those in power so that they are turned away from their greed for money and power.

May each of us be given what we need to live life in a good way surrounded by those who love us and who we love. May justice, peace, harmony, and balance bless our communities and the world.

May we be blessed and be a blessing.
For all our relations,
Maestra Grace

Art by Betty Albert