It’s a tale as old as time that was probably passed down to you by generations of parents. Hispanic superstitions come from a community where everyone had different experiences growing up, influencing what we put our faith into.
“We all have a very wide ranging experience in this matter and it’s influenced by our language, our nationality, our socio-economic position,” Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville Dr. Luis Cortes said.
Cortes is a Latinx professor at TAMUK. He said Hispanic superstitions comes from two different routes.
“As Latino people we are both inheritors of indigenous ancestry and European ancestry. In both sides of that there are superstitions that exist. When Europeans colonized Latin America they did so using Catholicism. Even today, Catholics believe that when you go to mass and the priest says his prayer the Eucharis turns from a wafer into the body of Christ,” Cortes said.
Those superstitions can be more on the religious side.
“Where we're from, Western-Northern Mexico, there are many local saints that you go pay respect and homage to when you are going to go on a really long and dangerous travel,” Cortes said.
Some can involve what beliefs are held after losing a loved one.
“We tend to believe and associate the actual location where someone loses their life as linked to that persons soul or entity. In some communities you'll see that practice, putting little crosses or flowers where that person lost their life,” Cortes said.
Some are practiced for comfort and healing.
“'Sana sana colita de rana' which translates to 'get well get well frogs tale.' My mom's generation would say that when they would get sick. It’s just a phrase, we didn't believe in it but we would still say it to help us feel better,” TAMUK graduate student Joseph Garza Medina said.
“When you're having an upset stomach or you really need to use the restroom or something they would always say son saliva en tu ombligo, a lot of saliva in your belly button and just rub it and rub it. They would do that to me when I was a kid and it would help my stomach sometimes and I do it to my baby too,” TAMUK graduate student Luz Valdez said.
And other superstitions come from stories that must not die.
“The donkey lady. The husband just went crazy one day and he set the whole thing on fire. The wife burned up so bad that her arms and legs melted down to stumps so now to this day people say they see her on the side of the road or if they go ghost hunting they'll hear hooves running or feel a breeze pass by them. For me when I was little I used to believe in that. I would hate driving down that road to pick up my mom from work. If she was on her night shift I did not want to go,” TAMUK student Clara Aragon said.
But one thing that all these Hispanic superstitions and many more have in common is that they all connect us.
“ I do think that a fundamental part of being human is believing in those sort of mystical, supernatural things that are beyond our explanation and beyond what rational thought can explain. It’s one of the exciting things about being human. We’re all working with the same desire to believe in something larger than ourselves,” Cortes said.
La Rosa Mystic Herbaria located at 124 North Staples is a family-owned shop that specializes in helping others, even with old-fashioned Hispanic traditions and superstitions.
They sell herbs, candles and offer cleansings with an egg for those interested.
“A lot of people don’t know that certain candles are good for money and even looking for jobs. People sometimes just need help. For some reason I can read the egg and see colors and people. It came from my grandmother and I just like helping people,” owner Esmeralda De La Rosa Silvas said.
The shop also offer bracelets, stones, oils and baths for those who want better luck or to stop bad look from coming in.
“Even on game days people want me to bless their Cowboys candles or their Cowboys shirt because I bless,” Silvas said.
Silvas said that sometimes those who are not religious come in to seek help. Esmeraldas job is to encourage those people letting them know they can go forward and have the things they want out of life.
For those interested in setting up an appointment at La Rosa Mystica, call 361-334-1208.
