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Lillian Comas

Lillian Comas

As a psychologist, healer, and writer Lillian Comas is interested in spirituality, feminism, and multiculturalism.

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“Are you a bruja (witch)?” I asked Abuela Petra on a hot summer day in New York.  I wanted to know more about her fortune telling business.

Abuela stared at me with a distant gaze.  I felt drops of sweat glistening on my forehead as I remembered Abuela’s devotion to the Virgin Mary.  In a tremulous voice I asked: “Did I insult you?”  

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Connect with your Taíno ancestry, Abuela said when I complained about my stomach ache.   

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      "Olé, Olé" my grandmother Antonia whispered at the TV as we watched a flamenco movie.  Summer in Puerto Rico was extremely hot.  I was eight years old and did not understand how Abuela could iron clothes and watch TV amidst the infernal heat.   I was scared that she would burn herself.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Lillian Comas
    Lillian Comas says #
    Dear Anne: Sorry for the late response. Of course, please feel free to share the story in the magazine! Many thanks for your si
  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    What an amazing story, Lillian! I love how you paint your story so beautifully, and with such a good message. (Would it be ok if I

   

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     I'm holding back the tears.  A warm humid air wets my face as we near the end of the session.  At that moment, I see two cats, one black, the other white, in front of me. They are curled on the floor in the shape of a heart.

     "These are your parents letting you know that they are healed," Luz, the facilitator, said.  I finally let my tears flow.

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    "Why is the ceiba sacred?"  I learned in school that the ceiba pentandra was Puerto Rico's official national tree.  Mrs. Flores, my elementary school teacher, explained that the Taínos, the island's Native Indigenous habitants, considered the ceiba a sacred tree. 

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"Let's not forget our Taíno culture, " Abuela Antonia said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Guabancex gets angry when we forget our Taíno ancient ways.  You don't want to provoke Guabancex," Abuela said in a strident voice.

I swallowed hard.  My six-year old brain did not understand.  "Who is Guabancex?"

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Lillian Comas
    Lillian Comas says #
    Hi Jamie: Thank you so much for your question. You are right. There is a Puerto Rican legend about a Taino goddess who fell in
  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Thanks!
  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Ms Comas, Where I come from, in the hill towns of northeastern Connecticut, frogs are considered a sort of symbol of local identi
  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Ms Comas, Thank you so much for sharing the god-lore of traditional Puerto Rican spirituality with us. I always enjoy your posts.
  • Lillian Comas
    Lillian Comas says #
    Hi Jamie: Thank you so much for your kind words. I appreciate your comments regarding the Puerto Rican spirituality. Best wishe

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  "She is dark," I whispered when I first saw our Lady of Guadalupe at the Ponce Cathedral.

   "Yes, she is morena and small.  This is why she is called La Morenita (little dark skinned female)."  Abuela continued: "Most of the Virgins are blond, blue eyed, and white.  But La Morenita is all-powerful."

  I still remember that moment as if it was yesterday.  I was nine years old when I first encountered La Guadalupe.  I traveled with Abuela from my hometown Yabucoa, a small town on the southeast coast of Puerto Rico, to Ponce, the island's second major city.  We were going to visit Abuela's relatives. 

  "First things first, " Abuela announced when we arrived. "We will go the Ponce Cathedral to pay our respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe."

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Lizann Bassham
    Lizann Bassham says #
    This is exquisite - thank you for the gift of this column.
  • Lillian Comas
    Lillian Comas says #
    Hi Lizann: Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate them.

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