Hispanic Heritage Month Stories

What does me being Puerto Rican and a massage therapist have in common?

In honor of Hispanic Heritage month.. let me share an intimate story about my Hispanic heritage…

My Grandpa came here from Morovis, Puerto Rico. An incredibly small, central, mountain village where the people are called jibaros and jibaras. Meaning… they’re country! It’s the epitome of being from ‘el campo.’  There’s no city center, no major hospitals, university’s or industry. They cultivate, live, learn and cure themselves from the land. What they do have is caverns and great coffee.

[Fun fact: When the cholera outbreak hit Puerto Rico in the mid 19th century, the entire island was severely hit, killing 10s of thousands. Every single municipality and village reported outbreaks, except Morovis. Where not one outbreak of cholera was reported. After this it became known as “the island, except Morovis” or “La isla menos Morovis.”]

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to visit my ancestral home in my lifetime. However, there’s a certain powerful connection to the land that exists in every Puerto Rican, whether they are born there or not, visit or don’t. Let me tell you how I discovered how deep mine goes… 

My Grandpa, may he RIP, had a torn relationship with his father. He had got sick when my grandfather was a boy and due to this, he was sent to an orphanage in NYC… that’s how I’m here today. I never knew my Great-Grandpa outside of the stories I was told about him. 

In my young adulthood, I began to foster this connection to the earth and nature. Organic fruits, vegetables and herbs. I taught myself how we can heal ourself naturally using plants and botanicals. Eventually this interest/calling branched into a full blown career path for me and now I do aromatherapy massage and advocate holistic solutions to our health problems.

When I first began making herbal remedies, oils, bath salts and blends for myself and others, everyone told me I should start a business. It didn’t feel right. What I was doing wasn’t for business, it was embracing the gifts the earth gave us. I had no ego-driven desire to monetize from it. I enjoyed sitting down with my oils, thinking about a person or intention and creating something exactly with them/it in mind, using my knowledge and my intuition. I loved seeing the benefits so eventually I said, “okay, I’ll do custom-made aromatherapy massages for people but, that’s it.”

I didn’t know, until one day when I was talking to my Grandpa about herbal remedies, that he told me a story about my Great Grandfather and I learned that this spirit was passed down to me from ancestral connection. Back in Morovis, he was known by the people in the village for making herbal remedies and other treatments for when people got sick or had ailments. He would tell them “take it, don’t pay me… because if it doesn’t work I don’t want you coming back here.” Ha! According to my Grandfather, he was so loved and celebrated in the village for how many people he helped that when he died, his funeral looked like a parade. He was essentially, the village medicine man.

I share this to say, our ancestors live in each and everyone of us.

Celebrate that this month. 🇵🇷🌿🌺

Standing in the rainforest along the Kilauea Volcano, listening to the songs of coquis