FELICIA COCOTZIN RUIZ (Tewa/Xicana) is a curandera and indigenous foods activist whose work is deeply rooted in the healing properties of sacred plants. Sharing the Medicine of the People, Felicia weaves together stories of indigenous wisdom with the intention of her dishes, applying “Culinary Medicine” as named by one of her Maestras.
WHAT IS A CURANDERA? Curanderas are traditional healers, who carry knowledge of foods, herbs, and other cultural remedies working with the body, mind, and spirit. In curanderismo, it is believed that disease can be caused by social, psychological, physical, and spiritual factors, creating disharmony of the body, mind, or spirit. Curanderas help bring people out of that diseased state and back into harmony with various remedies and little rituals. Curanderismo has been practiced throughout the Americas for over five hundred years, with each healer offering a unique skillset applying her natural gifts, training, or cultural practices. With permission from her elders, Felicia shares her work with others through private consultations, workshops, and ceremony.
Felicia completed training as a massage practitioner in 1995 from Bio-Link Therapeutic Massage Institute, studied holistic aromatherapy at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, is a graduate of the T. Colin Campbell Plant-Based Nutrition Studies Program, and is a yoga nidra instructor certified by the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center of Los Angeles.