A visit with a curandero.

One author visited a Mexican-American folk healer in the Los Angeles area, not as a patient but as a fellow health professional. Information was obtained from this healer, a curandero, regarding his background, his clientele, the illnesses he treats, the therapeutic techniques he uses and his relationship with the official health care system. This information was generally consistent with statements about curanderismo that have appeared in the social sciences literature. It also provided additional insight into practices that have been alluded to in that literature but not described in detail. With few exceptions, curanderos would seem to be talented healers whose efforts often benefit their patients and whose continued popularity has important implications for physicians, especially those serving large numbers of people of Mexican descent.