#Duolingo podcast spanish full#

Up to that moment, medicine in Guatemala had been largely traditional-a legacy from Mayan culture. Martina: Linda grew up in a time when modern medicine was transforming Guatemala's health care system. Por eso, mi abuela fue quien realmente me crió y quien dejó un impacto muy fuerte en mí. Linda: Mi mamá estudió leyes y era quien ganaba el dinero para mantenernos a nosotras. So she forged her own path in life, becoming the first in the family to attend college. She was skeptical of traditional medicine. Martina: But Linda's mother, Margarita, had no interest in following her family's footsteps. Ella siempre preparaba toda su medicina, incluso los laxantes. Yo recuerdo que ella muy pocas veces tomaba medicamentos. Su pelo siempre fue blanco, casi platinado. Linda: Mi abuela era una mujer pequeña, delgada y de piel clara. Herlinda had never questioned her path in life-she simply followed her family's tradition. Herlinda became a healer because her mother and her grandmother had been healers, too. Martina: Linda's family is mestizo, meaning they have a mix of indigenous and European roots. Cuando el bebé dejaba de llorar, mi abuela decía: 'Su bebé ya está curado'. Eso le indicaba lo que tenía el bebé y la ayudaba a saber cómo curarlo. Linda: Luego, mi abuela analizaba la forma que el huevo tomaba en la taza.

#Duolingo podcast spanish full#

Martina: Then Linda's grandmother would break the egg and leave it in a glass half full of water under the bed where the baby was lying. La gente pensaba que así la mala energía pasaba del cuerpo del bebé al huevo. Mi abuela masajeaba el cuerpo del bebé con un huevo y con hierbas. Nosotras vivíamos en Escuintla, un pueblito en el centro sur del país. Linda: Si un bebé lloraba demasiado, su madre lo llevaba a nuestra casa para curarlo. Neighbors would bring their babies to Linda's grandmother when they suspected an energy imbalance. Martina: 'Mal de ojo', or the 'evil eye', is considered an illness by many Guatemalans who believe humans have the power to transfer bad energy to others.

Ella les daba medicina para sus enfermedades, les limpiaba el estómago, o les curaba el 'mal de ojo'. Linda: Las personas iban a visitar a mi abuela cuando no se sentían bien. In Guatemala, this is a practice passed down orally through generations in the same family. Herlinda was a healer, or curandera, someone who administers remedies for mental, emotional, physical or spiritual illnesses. Martina: Growing up, Linda was fascinated with her grandmother, Herlinda. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. The storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish and I'll be chiming in for context in English. Every episode, we bring you fascinating true stories, to help you improve your Spanish listening and gain new perspectives on the world. Martina: Bienvenidos and welcome to the Duolingo Spanish Podcast-I'm Martina Castro. Y también cambió la calidad de la salud materna en mi país. Linda: Esa experiencia me dio una idea que cambió la dirección de mi carrera profesional para siempre. As the granddaughter of a traditional Guatemalan healer, she had long been searching for a way to unite the best parts of traditional and modern medicine. Martina: The experience was a turning point for Linda. Esto es porque, en Guatemala, especialmente en las áreas rurales, las personas prefieren la medicina tradicional a la medicina moderna. Linda: En ese momento, yo me di cuenta de que solo las tenían ahí para que llegaran más pacientes.

They were treated more like janitors than healthcare professionals. Martina: Some of the parteras were asked to sweep the floors, pick up the garbage, even to mop up the rooms after a delivery. Linda: Yo vi que la mayoría de los trabajadores en el hospital trataba mal a las parteras, incluso los doctores y las enfermeras. She was pleasantly surprised that in this one there was a space reserved for traditional midwives, but her initial excitement didn't last long. Martina: Linda's job was to evaluate the quality of public hospitals in all of Guatemala. Ahí las parteras podían ayudar a las mujeres antes, durante y después del parto, con la supervisión de un médico. Linda: A diferencia de una maternidad común, en ese hospital había una sala grande con unos sillones. It was in Sololá, in the west of the country. She had been working for the Ministry of Public Health in Guatemala for almost two years-when she first visited a hospital with a room for parteras, or traditional midwives. Linda Valencia came across something she had never seen before in her line of work. This episode touches on topics related to reproductive health and contraception. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy today's episode.Ī quick note to any parents listening with children. Martina: Hey listeners! When this episode was made, we had to record at home to protect everyone's safety, so you might notice a slight difference in sound quality.