In the North of Esmeraldas region in Ecuador, Afro-Ecuadorian women healers use their ancestral knowledge, along with other medical systems, to create a hybrid healing community. Benita Angulo, colloquially known as Venus, has been a practitioner of her traditional medicine in San Lorenzo for decades. While most places in Ecuador now have access to Western healthcare practices, San Lorenzo has been left out. Parteras (midwives), such as Venus, have been continuing their practice for women in the area. Their practices emphasize natural and local sources of healing, and center the patient in their practice. The Ecuadorian government has not adapted its public health system to meet the diverse population needs, and many parteras are outpriced and traditional knowledge is lost. Traditional practice has unique benefits and roles in Latin American populations, and must be regarded equally to Western medicine in public health matters. Photo credit: Raul Ceballos
