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Generous curandero dies in South Texas
On this day in 1907, Pedro (Don Pedrito) Jaramillo, curandero or
"faith healer," died in South Texas. He was born of Tarascan Indian
parents near Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in the mid-nineteenth
century. He moved to South Texas as a young man in 1881 and settled on
the Los Olmos Ranch, in the area of what is now northern Brooks County.
He later related that when he was still a poor laborer in Mexico he
suffered an affliction of the nose. One night he was in such pain that
he went out into the woods to a pool of water. He lay down and buried
his face in the mud at the edge and remained there for three days. When
he had cured himself he returned to his house and fell asleep. A voice
awakened him and told him that he had received the gift of healing from
God. He began his practice as a faith healer almost immediately,
prescribing the first thing that he thought of and making no charge for
his services. At that time the only doctor between Corpus Christi and
Laredo lived in San Diego; therefore, Don Pedrito's powers were often
sought. At first he treated only close neighbors, but soon he began
visiting ranches throughout the region between the Nueces River and the
Rio Grande. Dressed as a Mexican peasant, wearing heavy shoes, a
sombrero, and a cowboy vest, he either walked or rode a donkey on his
healing missions. As his fame spread, an increasing number of patients
came to his home. Most were poor Mexican Americans, and often Don
Pedrito would provide the remedies he prescribed. He constantly received
money through the mail in the form of donations, usually in the amount
of fifty cents or a dollar. He made generous donations to several area
churches and to the constant stream of poor people visiting his ranch.
He bought food in wagonloads and kept his storeroom well stocked. More
than $5,000 in fifty-cent pieces was found at his home when he died. Don
Pedrito never married, but he adopted two boys. He was buried in the old
ranch cemetery near Falfurrias. His resting place has become a shrine
and is visited by several hundred persons yearly. A biography of him,
Don Pedrito Jaramillo: Curandero, was written in Spanish by Viola
Ruth Dodson and published in 1934.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- JARAMILLO, PEDRO
- CURANDERISMO
- DODSON, VIOLA RUTH
- FALFURRIAS, TX
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Natural Bridge Caverns, largest in Texas, opens to public (1964)
- Oldest public hospital in Texas opens (1884)
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