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| Cesar Salazar talking about the copalero, or copal burner, at Cása Magica. Photo Source: © Jeffrey R. Bacon, 2017 |
Hidden away, next to a bustling bus station, just a block from the Playa Hornitos beach, on Acapulco Bay, and just a few hundred feet from the Parque Papagayo Acapulco, my duality, Berenice "Gatuño" Martinez, and I visited Casa Magica last week. There, Cesar Salazar, Gilberto Chavez, Miriam Lucero, and a youngster named Alex greeted us. They were kind enough to talk about their facility, services, and temazcales, in general. Today's post just touches on their basic philosophy and their unique integration of the temazcal in a healthy, holistic center, but look for their insights in posts during the next few weeks also.
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Casa Mágica's Philosophy
Mr. Salazar summed up the Center's goal ..."This, [the temazcal], is the beginning of a spirituality ... to bring ourselves closer to our creator. That is our goal, more than anything ... showing people the way because many persons ... no ... the church, God, ... they don't want to know anything about it."
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| Miriam Lucero commented that Cása Magica promotes healthy living through several means. Photo Source: © Jeffrey R. Bacon, 2017 |
Ms. Lucero, of Casa Magica, also works as a therapist. She added,...
"One of the disadvantages that we had here, in Acapulco, is that they are very far away ... the temazcales ... As such, we decided to [have one] here that is more accessible and closer to the people."
"I love the temazcal, but [before I was unsure]. People invited me and invited me. Later, I tried it, and I loved it! I fell in love with it! And now I see that it is one of the few therapies that works [with] the three levels at the same time: the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual."
"Why? Because you have contact with the elements; because you actually return to the uterus of the Mother Earth. In other words, you relive it. It is not just a philosophy that you read about. ... In reality, you live it."
Ancient Tradition in a Modern World
Mr. Salazar, who guides most of the Center's temazcales, commented that they chose the temazcal as part of their holistic health center because it is an important element of Mexican heritage. He added that the steam baths traditionally ranged from Canada, in the north, to Patagonia, in extreme southern South America.
Quite different from the willow and wool ceremonial temazcales where I practiced and learned the traditions, in central Mexico, Casa Magica has built its lodge of PVC and plasticized tarp. According to Mr. Salazar, traditional temazcales in the Acapulco region used Otate, a type of bamboo, for the lodge poles.
The synthetic materials, although unorthodox, make for easy set-up, take-down, cleaning, and storage. Mr. Salazar points out that despite the use of non-traditional materials, their center respects the use of 12 bars and four hoops, as in traditional temazcales. They form a central cross and represents a microcosmos within our macrocosmos.
The temazcal, he says, represents the womb of the Mother Earth (Madre Tierra). "In the temazcal,' he continued, "we have the theory that we die to be reborn." By that, he clarified, "we mean dying not physically, but consciously ... in terms of our thoughts ... the thoughts that we have because all sicknesses begin with thoughts ..., and this is a way to educate or teach people to begin thinking in another way."
Quite different from the willow and wool ceremonial temazcales where I practiced and learned the traditions, in central Mexico, Casa Magica has built its lodge of PVC and plasticized tarp. According to Mr. Salazar, traditional temazcales in the Acapulco region used Otate, a type of bamboo, for the lodge poles.
The synthetic materials, although unorthodox, make for easy set-up, take-down, cleaning, and storage. Mr. Salazar points out that despite the use of non-traditional materials, their center respects the use of 12 bars and four hoops, as in traditional temazcales. They form a central cross and represents a microcosmos within our macrocosmos.
The temazcal, he says, represents the womb of the Mother Earth (Madre Tierra). "In the temazcal,' he continued, "we have the theory that we die to be reborn." By that, he clarified, "we mean dying not physically, but consciously ... in terms of our thoughts ... the thoughts that we have because all sicknesses begin with thoughts ..., and this is a way to educate or teach people to begin thinking in another way."
"Here, in Acapulco, we have seen a state of violence, and here, in the temazcal ... with ten persons, ... sometimes 10, 11, ... 15 people, ... we create a vortex of energy that elevates our prayers. ... We pray and supplicate, in the Temazcal, for Acapulco. We use songs and words in Nahuatl, so that this resounds."
"Something I always tell [participants] 'Here, he who feels uncomfortable, tell me, please. Tell me.' Immediately we'll open the door ... something that does not happen in other [temazcales]. In other places, the door does not open until we finish. So, [many participants feel] a sense of claustrophobia or anxiety."
"The temazcal is excellent for healing nearly all sicknesses. But the problem is that [the guides] do not try to calm [the participants] ... , so [here, in our temazcal], they relax and give them the assurance that when they feel uneasy they can exit the lodge. I know that many have ... fallen sick because they want out because it gets too hot, and they do not let them out."
We do not do that! We do not do that! To the contrary. [Here], if you feel uncomfortable, we open the door, and we skip some of the [ceremony]."
"Normally, in the majority of the temazcales," said Mr. Salazar, "one does four rounds (rondas) or four steps (pasos). We don't do the four steps because the climate does not allow it. It is too hot [in Acapulco], and the people suffocate. So we try to do the temazcales when there's no sun, or early, when the sun has just appeared. Because if you do it right now [at mid-day] it's too hot.
At Casa Mágica, says Salazar, "we use a nylon tarp to hold in the heat, and we do two rounds only. More or less we try to use 26 as each round entails 13 rocks."
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Visit Centro Holistico Casa Mágica Yourself!
Their enthusiasm and professional passion left both "Gatuño" and me filled with energy for the rest of the day. We asked ourselves, "If they can energize us with just the little chat we had with us, what would a couple of rounds in their temazcal do? My travel schedule did not allow me to attend either of the ceremonies during my week at the beach, but I learned a great deal from just a short visit with them. You can too!If you plan to visit Acapulco or have the fortune of living in, or near, Acapulco and would like to visit the Centro Holistico Cása Magica yourself, you can find more precise information about the location, events, hours, contact information, and services on their Facebook page.
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... con todas mis relaciones! Aho!
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