This is a story about a woman born into slavery who became one of the most powerful healers in the hot mad cruel town of Cartagena de Indias in 17th Century colonial Colombia. A woman who was tried 3 times for witchcraft and survived, still imprisoned, while the bishop himself paid her for her services. This is a story about Paula de Eguiluz, who went by the nickname Aleluya and I want to call her that because I want to call all these witches, and all of your out there, by the names you choose. And I want to call her a patron saint of surviving, and fucking thriving against the odds, even though the odds are stacked against you again and again. Patron Saint Aleluya of learning the game and playing it better than them, and escaping with your life while the people who hunted you pay you for your services, thank you very much. And Aleluya.
Works Cited in this Episode:
Waking the Witch, Reflections on Women Magic and Power. By Pam Grossman, Siman and Schuster, 2019. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Waking-the-Witch/Pam-Grossman/9781982100704
Violent Delights, Violent Ends: Sex, Race & Honor in Colonial Cartagena de Indias by Nicole von Germeten, University of New Mexico Press, Nov. 15 2013. https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/violent-delights-violent-ends-sex/9780826353962-item.html
https://www.calgaryfolkfest.com/festival/artist/beverly-glenn-copeland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_de_Eguiluz
https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/07/04/cartagena-colombia-spanish-americas-biggest-slave-port/
https://globalnews.ca/news/5450974/aoc-migrant-facility-conditions/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/opinion/columnists/weinstein-harassment-witchunt.html
