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An Interdiscplinary Study of El Niño Fidencio and His Religious Movement

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THE DEVOTION TO A LIVING SANTO AND HIS RELIGIOUS HEALING: AN INTERDISCPLINARY STUDY OF EL NIÑO FIDENCIO AND HIS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT By José Maria Villarreal A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Chicano/Latino Studies - Doctor of Philosophy 2015 ABSTRACT THE DEVOTION TO A LIVING SANTO AND HIS RELIGIOUS HEALING: AN INTERDISCPLINARY STUDY OF EL NIÑO FIDENCIO AND HIS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT By José Maria Villarreal This dissertation outlines a fresh approach to the inter-disciplinary study of El Niño Fidencio (the healer) and El Niño Fidencio religious movement as seen under the conceptual lens of an indigenized Christianity that distinguishes itself from mainstream Christianity. Apart from consulting an extended body of literature related to world religions, religious theory, curanderismo , popular religion and their analytical relationship to El Niño Fidencio, I also employed the inside research methodology to conduct my ethnographic work. My extensive fieldwork experience metamorphosed into a theoretical model centered on cultural rupture, and indigenous practices as symbolic resistance. The inside research methods allowed me to live among the devotees of El Niño Fidencio and participate in their rituals and ceremonies. Taking this into account, I posit the following theoretical framework: El Niño Fidencio and El Niño Fidencio’s religious movement represent a cultural rupture from mainstream Catholicism and Western forms of Christianity as evidenced by Fidencista’s belief in the spirit world and the belief that El Niño Fidencio is a living saint and at times seen as synonymous with Jesus Christ by hardline Fidencistas. El Niño is accessible through the intervention of a spiritual medium known as a materia . El Niño Fidencio gained prominence as a popular traditional indigenous healer ( curandero espiritual ) since his appearance in the early twentieth century. This time period represents a period marked by turbulence and despair as Mexican President Elias Calles persecutes the Catholic Church, challenging its accumulated wealth and authority. At the same, El Niño Fidencio appears abruptly — becoming a messiah for thousands by addressing the material, spiritual, and health needs of the poor, needs that the nation-state and the Church had failed to fulfill after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Subsequent to his death in 1938, Espinazo, Nuevo León, México, was transformed into a pilgrimage community that ultimately gave rise El Niño Fidencio religious movement, a religious insurgency that continues to persevere. The dissertation is organized into an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. I divide my work into five parts. The introduction provides an overview of the study of El Niño Fidencio and the literature review details the extensive scholarly literature related to this study. Chapter one presents a biography of the life of El Niño Fidencio and traces the interconnections of his emergence to the Cristero War. I delve into the Cristero War during the mid-twentieth century and examine State and Church relations. I analyze how a healer like El Niño Fidencio challenges these societal institutions. In chapter two, I present analysis of my ethnographic research, focusing on of El Niño’s healings, traditions, rituals and ceremonies that shape his character. Chapter three untangles the participant’s interviews and constructs conceptual analysis. I trace the participant’s multiple views, challenging established mythologies and ultimately bring the Fidencista perspective to a conceptual model. In the conclusion chapter, I present theses to support the claim of El Niño Fidencio’s distinctiveness by emphasizing his successful accommodations to gain religious space within mainstream religion. Copyright by JOSÉ MARIA VILLARREAL 2015 This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, the late José A. Villarreal and Maria M. Villarreal. Thank you jefito , for teaching me the meaning of hard work in the cotton fields surrounding Robstown, Texas. Your famous phrase “ Nomas un surco mas mijo, no mires para tras ” (just one more row, don’t look back) has ridden my fear of hard work. To my madresita Maria Magdalena who cured me with the finest backyard herbs such as mansanilla , te de limon and anis con canela , gracias y perdóname por las mortifaciones que te di . Your faith in the almighty kept you mentally strong even while facing the most difficult circumstances. Inclusively, to all my aunts and uncles both on my father’s side and my mother’s side who always blessed me with love, tamales and pan de polvo , gracias. I also dedicate this work to my wife Mary Patsy Pena who had the patience to stand by me while I completed my arduous Ph.d. program. In addition, I dedicate this work to my three sons, José Canek Villarreal, Captain Sergio Villarreal (USA), Joshua Adam Villarreal, and all my grandchildren, who include Alexandra Bianca Villarreal, José Canek Villarreal Jr., Casey Jo Villarreal, Mikiel Villarreal, Marcos Martin Gonzalez, Martin Gonzalez, Michael Gonzalez, Christopher Pena Jr., Andrew Pena, Angelina Pena, and Robert Pena among others. In addition, I dedicate this dissertation to my late hermano , Eugene Godfried, a dedicated activist, journalist and scholar, as well as to all of the people who have dedicated their life to struggle for social justice, self-determination, freedom and love of humankind. I dedicate this work to the many people that have molded me into a strong conscientious man; I ask forgiveness if I did not mention your name and accept my well-meant love and appreciation to all of you personally. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all the spiritually conscious people that influenced me to complete this dissertation. This dissertation belongs to all the Fidencista community in Espinazo, Nuevo León, and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, México, as well as those in south Texas and the Midwest. I am forever humbled and honored to have met the late materia principal Comadre Cipriana Zapata in Espinazo. Thank you for sharing your life story about the many years of being a disciple of El Niño Fidencio — your wisdom has touched so many lives. Thank you to the late materia Alberto Salinas. You nobly treated those who suffered pain, ignoring the fact that you also struggled with your own health issues. To the late Ramon Rodriguez, thank you for leading us in beautiful chorus in El Niño’s trono in Piedras Negras, Coahuila. Thank you materia Nieves Carrion, daughter Alicia and sons Emilio and Jesus for introducing me to El Niño Fidencio at the Robstown, Texas trono . Your prayers uplifted me while I was hospitalized. Alma Martinez, thank you for sharing your knowledge of El Niño and for introducing me to Don Beto, and materia Madgalena. Don Beto, mil gracias for the countless hours of personal testimony of you witnessing El Niño in life and for sharing your knowledge on the preparation of traditional salves and cures. Materia Magdalena, thank you for attending the spiritual and health needs of the poor in Piedras Negras, Coahuila; your involvement en lo bueno exemplifies your dedication to El Niño Fidencio. I am also grateful to Dr. Stanley Bittinger who has been my mentor throughout my academic career. Dr. Antonio Zavaleta, thank you for your example of being both a scholar and a Fidencista ; you motivated me to follow a similar path. Special thanks to all the social activists of the Chicano movement in Robstown, Texas, as well as in the Rio Grande valley, Crystal City, Austin, and San Antonio as well as those in Denver, vi Colorado and Lansing, Michigan. We are in solidarity with those who remained firm in the struggle for a true democracy in México and in Latin America despite the reprisals. Our prayers are extended to those who continue to seek the truth on the disappearance of forty-three students from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, México. To the social activists who are incarcerated, but continue to plant seeds of liberation in the state and federal correctional facilities, gracias carnales . I am very appreciative of the Chicano Latino Studies Department at Michigan State University and especially of my guidance committee members Dr. Dionicio Valdes-chair, Dr. Theresa Melendez, Dr. Xuefie Ren, and Dr. Scott Michaelsen. You supported me during the most turbulent times of my academic journey, challenged me to be the best, and instilled in me the moral responsibility of being a Chicano scholar. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION — The Study of El Niño Fidencio ..........................................................1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................1 Literature Review.................................................................................................................5 Curanderismo ................................................................................................................6 Official vs. Unofficial Religion ..................................................................................13 Religion and Healing ..................................................................................................18 Oral Tradition ..............................................................................................................21 Cultural Rupture ..........................................................................................................24
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