The LULAC Book Award, established by the Southwest Word Fiesta, honors the best book by an author of Hispanic descent who lives in the Southwest. The book must have been published in the last two years, that is, since the last Southwest Word Fiesta book festival. The winner is chosen by LULAC’s Council 8003 of Silver City, and the award is administered by the SWWF’s steering committee.
The first winner is Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz for her book Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curandera, published by Roost Books in November 2021. Roost Books is an imprint of Shambhala Publications, a counter-cultural publisher since 1969. Their books are distributed by Penguin Random House. Last year Earth Medicines received a Reading the West Award in the category of Eating the West.
The award will be presented to Ruiz at the 2023 Southwest Word Fiesta, on Friday, October 27, at 6:30 pm. in a Celebration of Chicano Literature event. (Presentation venue TBA.) A LULAC’S Council 8003 leader will present the award.
Also included in the Celebration of Chicano Literature will be a discussion by authors Daniel Chacon and Mimi Gladstein.
Earth Medicines: Ancestral Wisdom, Healing Recipes, and Wellness Rituals from a Curanderais is an accessible guide to time-honored Indigenous wisdom, healing recipes, and wellness rituals for modern life from an experienced curandera. In Earth Medicines, Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, a curandera (traditional healer) who is a Xicana with Tewa ancestry, combines Indigenous wisdom from many traditions with the power of the four elements. This modern guide is designed to support readers on their path to wellness with lifestyle practices and recipes perfected by Ruiz in her twenty-five years of training and working as a curandera. Ruiz teaches readers to be their own healers by discovering their own ancestral practices and cultivating a personal connection to the elements. These healing recipes and rituals draw on the power of Water, Air, Earth, and Fire—a reminder that the natural elements are the origins of everything and can heal not only our bodies, but the mind and spirit as well.
LULAC—the League of United Latin American Citizens—is the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization, founded in 1929 in Corpus Christi, Texas. At its recent national convention in Albuquerque, the Council 8003 of Silver City was honored with its Council of the Year award. Among 8003’s leaders are Fred Baca, Lynn Baca, Frances Vasquez, and Javier Marrufo.
