Ritual remedies: quasi-religious botanica pharmacies thriving in L.A.

The young woman leaving the Nina Religion botanica in Los Angeles Mid-City district is clutching a small paper bag. In a hurried manner, Elena Garcia explains in Spanish that she has been especially nervous lately.

"I bought some herbs to make a tea," says Garcia. "It calms my nerves."

In Huntington Park's retail district, Juan Reynoso has just finished a counseling session at El Templo del Indio Amazonico with the botanica's spiritual advisor, Mirashoura Shindoy Mutumbajoy, who is wearing a feathered hat, a multi-colored woven shirt and a thick white feather through his nose.

"I came to see El Indio Amazonico because my wife left me, and she took my young daughter with her," Reynoso explains in Spanish. "And on top of everything else, someone crashed into my car last night."

For large numbers of L.A.'s immigrant population, there is a one-stop cure for whatever ails them. Botanicas - a type of quasi-religious pharmacy - offer a cultural blend of remedies stemming from centuries-old Catholic, Cuban-African, Central American and European traditions.

The shops, which serve as a combination herbal clinic/counseling center/spiritual hub, are typically found in Latino neighborhoods. And they seem to be flourishing.

There is no formal count of the number of botanicas in L.A. County, but health experts put the number at several hundred - and they appear to be growing as fast as L.A.'s immigrant population.

"When I first started looking at Botanicas, I would have to drive to East L.A. to visit one," said Abel Martinez, a health education coordinator with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. "That was the case even 10 years ago. But I'll bet my next paycheck that if you go anywhere in L.A. County, especially where there's a Latino population, there's going to be a botanica there ... you're bound to run into one."

Fueling the growth of these small businesses, said Martinez, who has studied botanicas and curanderos (folk healers) for more than two decades, is the growing immigrant population. Other factors include the popularity of homeopathic medicine and recent legislation that reduces MediCal coverage for illegal immigrants.

"People don't know what's happening with health care these days, and many are reverting back to traditional medicine," said Martinez.

Many botanica operators are practitioners of the Santeria religion, a mix of Christian and native African beliefs that were brought to America during the slave wade and became very popular in Cuba, from where it spread to the rest of Latin America.

Maria Luisa Benitez, who owns the 13-year-old botanica Jardines de Oaxaca in Huntington Park, said sales are so strong that she opened a second botanica about a year ago. Jardines de Oaxaca is crammed with herbs, charms, oils, powders, lotions, soaps, sprays, incense, candles, and statues of saints that are said to bring good luck, success or even ward off evil spirits.

Prices for these cure-alls tend to be low. For $3.75, you can pick up a prayer candle used to ward off an impending lawsuit, or for $2 you can get copalquin (croton) herbs for relief from indigestion. Better yet, for $2.50 you can buy an oil called Atrayente - which means "love magnet."

Berta Figueroa, a San Salvador-native who operates Nina Religion Botanica on Pico Boulevard, said she assists customers suffering from various aches and pains that stem from stress or high blood pressure.

Figueroa offers a variety of homeopathic remedies. Perhaps more important, she listens to customers talk about their problems.

"I always tell them that the first remedy is to have faith in the Lord," says Figueroa, who stands behind a glass counter filled with an array of miniature religious statues. "But of course, everyone has different faiths. and we have to respect that."

Behind Figueroa are floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with a brightly colored assortment of bottles and boxes that contain potions and powders. The air in Nina Religion is heavy with incense, the flickering light of about a dozen candies dancing on the dark statues to create a church-like atmosphere.

Such faith medicine and potions may be popular among adherents, but health care experts caution that they're no substitute for modern medicine. Minor aches and pains are one thing, but health officials fear that people with serious heart or blood conditions are seeking treatment at botanicas.

"Because of the lack of formal training in this area, people could be misdiagnosed," said Dr. Michael Richman, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the University of Miami. "It could really be dangerous for your health."

Martinez serves as a sort of cultural liaison between the Health Department and the Latino immigrant community. He makes the rounds of L.A.'s botanicas offering educational material to their owners and patrons warning them to seek professional help for serious conditions. He also conducts workshops for health care practitioners on Latino folk medicine and beliefs, typically at hospitals and clinics in Latino neighborhoods.

He started working with botanicas in 1981, after L.A. County officials discovered a rash of lead-poisoning cases among Latino children. County officials traced the problem to a lead-based powder, Azarcon, found in botanicas and used to cure digestive tract problems.

Despite such cases, says Martinez, the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to botanicas.

"Bottom line, the botanica is in the community - they know the products, it's very accessible and it's woven into the culture," said Martinez. "There are risks in visiting a clinic, too."

More and more doctors, said Martinez, are beginning to understand the importance folkloric and medicinal traditions play in the lives of the growing Latino population.

And it's not just Latinos who frequent botanicas.

Immigrants of all races, including African-Americans, Jamaicans and Asians, can be found at the stores. And Martinez and botanica owners say the stores are becoming increasingly popular with even the mainstream, non-immigrant population.

"They know the cost of visiting a Good Earth store in the Westside, whereas in East L.A, you could buy these herbs for very low prices," Martinez said.