Spirits and non-canonical saints: Life and miracles of el Niño Fidencio, el Tiradito and Malverde. Drama anthology

Enrique Mijares, Antonio Zúñiga, Alejandro Román

Compilation and Introduction: Rocío Judith Galicia Velasco

CONACULTA / INBA-CITRU / Libros de Godot
México, 2008
197 p.

Compilation of drama texts by three Mexican authors whose common referents, beyond stylistic and contextual differences, are the poetics that acknowledge in the dedication to certain charismatic and controversial figures referred to as “spirits and non-canonical saints”, a source to explore social, spiritual and cultural conditions; all of the above merge in their devotion and cult (no matter how marginal) towards the relief of all kinds of physical and social pains and sufferings. The texts selected (all of them written in the last decade, supported by documents and testimonial research works) are as follows: “Fidencio. The Boy with the Virtue Stone”, by Enrique Mijares, on the popular holy man and healer of the north, the boy Fidencio (1898-1938), born in Espinazo, Nuevo Léon; “El Tiradito. Chronicle of a Sinner Saint”, by Antonio Zúñiga, about Juan Olivares, benefactor of immigrants and illegal aliens, whose popular tomb is located in Tucson, Arizona; and “Malverde. Day of the Holy Cross”, by Alejandro Román, on Jesús Malverde (1988-1909), also known as "The Rider of Holy Providence" from Sinaloa, protector of fishermen and farmers, illegal aliens and drug dealers. The texts are preceded by the essay “The Unfinished Cycle of Myth”, by Heriberto Yépez; and by an introductory study by Rocío Galicia, who also compiled the anthology.