Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stories from the material and spiritual worlds, October 28, 2009
As a hiker, I've seen many wonders of the natural world: for example, the scratch marks left on the trunk of a tree by a black bear or a blue butterfly drinking water on the edge of a muddy pond on the trail. I'm entranced with books written by people like John Muir Laws with his wonderful The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (California Academy of Sciences). Laws describes and draws these wonders from the perspective of a member of my own culture; Laws and other great writers and artists make these wonders come alive and deepen my pleasure in experiencing them.
Antonio Garcez describes these wonders in an entirely different way and provides an insight into how they are seen by Native Americans. His maternal grandfather was a Mescalero Apache, and his paternal grandfather was an Otomi (or a Nia-Nu, direct descendants of the Toltec).
In a recent interview he said: "If a male Native spirit were to come back to an Indian family, he might choose to take the form of a familiar sound - a bear scratching on the front door, perhaps. The family would recognize the sound as being a symbolized male entity. Or a female Nave spirit might appear as a blue butterfly to a Native person. Specifically, this might be a grandmother's spirit because blue was her favorite color."
Garcez's writing is strongly influenced by his ancestors and their approach to the spiritual realm. His parents and grandparents taught him to take the time throughout the day to mediate with his ancestors in mind. "Before you eat a meal, thank them. If you're walking and see something beautiful, always say, 'Isn't that beautiful? Are you also viewing this as I see it through my eyes.' Let your ancestors know you've not forgotten them, that you honor them."
His family taught him that there is no differentiation between our living state and the spiritual world. He learned to be aware of his environment, to recognize signs of the spirit world and to treat ghosts or spirits with respect. His writings reflect these lessons, and his technique of interviewing Native Americans and reporting on their encounters with the spirit world is very effective and unique in my reading about ghosts and spirits.
An excellent example is Guadalupe's story of her encounter with La Llorona (the Weeping Woman), one of New Mexico's most famous spirits. Guadalupe was 70 at the time of her interview, a healer and a midwife who was still practicing. She told Garcez that in 1931 when she was seven, she and her brothers were playing near the Santa Fe River, when she heard bells tinkling, faint at first, then much louder. In a sudden silence she heard a woman sobbing "Mija, mija" ("Daughter, daughter."); she felt the evil in the words, and ran home with her brothers. (They had heard the words: "Mis hijos, mis hijos" ("My sons, my sons"), but also felt the evil and ran with her.)
Her parents and brothers returned with her to the river in hopes of finding their puppy who had been lost in the reeds as the ran home. Her parents spoke with the voice, and her mother warned the spirit to "Leave my children alone, daughter of the the Devil!" As they left the river bank for home, Guadalupe fell off the horse she was riding on with her mother. The family went to her aid and saw an apparition of a woman walking toward us with her arms outstretched. Garcez continues:
"The setting sun had cast a deep red, orange glow on the river, and we clearly saw this woman walking on its surface. My father yelled for us to hurry, and we quickly made our way back home. As soon as we got back, my parents alerted the neighborhood to the danger at the river. They told everyone what we had witnessed and warned people to keep a close watch on their children.
"Most people think La Llorona makes her presence known only at night, but I am here to tell everyone that evil can choose any time to come forth. To this day, I clearly recall that phantom woman walking on the water and crying for her children." [Pages 40-43.]
Garcez is a master of describing how the spiritual world is an organic part of the everyday world - it's certainly true in my experience that "evil can choose any time to come forth" even though I cannot recognize signs of the spirit world in the environment around me. Guadalupe and Llorona both become real through Guadalupe's words and Garcez's writing, and I have found several other real life examples in this fine book.
Garcez has also published Colorado Ghost Stories, Arizona Ghost Stories, Adobe Angels: Ghost Stories of O'Keeffe Country (Adobe Angels Series), Adobe Angels, the Ghosts of Los Cruces and Southern New Mexico, and others not listed by Amazon. He is planning to publish an expanded version of "American Indian Ghost Stories", an anthology of his eight best stories from each of his books with additional material, and a second volume of New Mexico ghost stories. Extracts and fuller descriptions of his books appear on his website linked in the first Comment.
Garcez has a wonderfully economical way of writing about encounters with ghosts and spirits; he focuses on the encounter without a great deal of extraneous material setting the stage or describing the historical context unless it is necessary to benefit the story. He was very successful with me; I'll never look at bear tracks or blue butterflies or a gorgeous sunset over the Santa Fe River in exactly the same way again.
Robert C. Ross 2009
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good book, August 25, 2009
its a very good book. I live in NM and now know a lot more history on the state. I think He should make another one. Theres still a lot more haunted places that arent listed inthe book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet legends and scary tales from the southwest, August 15, 2009
A great read of New Mexico legends and ghost stories that have been passed down through time
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Antonio R. Garcez
