ARVIGO, Rosita 1941-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "Ar-vee-go"; born May 15, 1941, in Chicago, IL; daughter of Arthur (a machinist) and Jenny (a homemaker; maiden name, Eshoo) Arvigo; married Gregory Shropshire (a doctor; divorced, 2001); children: James Cimarolli, James Arvigo, Crystal Ray. Ethnicity: "Italian-Assyrian." Education: Attended Mundelein College; Chicago National College of Naprapathy, degree, 1981. Politics: Green. Religion: "Reformed Catholic." Hobbies and other interests: Astronomy, herbalism, tarot, belly dancing.

ADDRESSES: Home—San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize. Office—330 Stark Highway N., Dunbarton, NH 03046. Agent—Al Zimmerman, Writers House, 21 West 26th St., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Self-employed naprapathic physician, 1981—. Rainforest Remedies Co., owner and director; Traditional Healer's Foundation of Belize, founder and director; also director of Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation and Arvigo Institute. American Botanical Council, member; New York Botanical Garden, associate.

AWARDS, HONORS: Earth Award, Wings Trust, 2003.

WRITINGS:

Panti Maya Medicine Trail Field Guide, illustrated by Laura Evans, Francesca Anderson, and Tessa Fair-weather, Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation (San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize), 1992.

(With Michael Balick) Rainforest Remedies: 100 Healing Herbs of Belize, illustrated by Laura Evans, Lotus Press (Twin Lakes, WI), 1993.

(With Nadine Epstein and Marilyn Yaquinto) Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer, Harper San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), 1994.

(With Nadine Epstein) Rainforest Home Remedies: The Maya Way to Heal Your Body and Replenish Your Soul, Harper San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

(With Nadine Epstein) Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from around the World, photographs by Thayer Allyson Gowdy, Celestial Arts (Berkeley, CA), 2003.

(With Michael Balick) Messages from the Gods: Ethnobotanical Wealth of Belize, New York Botanical Garden (New York, NY), in press.

SIDELIGHTS: Rosita Arvigo told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is education and the transference of ancient healing knowledge and practices of Central America. My work is particularly influenced by other herbalists and healers in the field.

"I always work with a co-writer for help with organization, planning, and creativity. We assign me a chapter or section to work on with an outline. I sit at the computer from eight to four o'clock and then give myself a special treat: usually shopping or a humorous movie. In the evening my co-writer and I go over the draft to edit, add, delete, or change. Then I re-do the piece the following day until it is right.

"My inspiration is my excitement about putting the power of household remedies for common ailments and spiritual disorders in the hands and hearts of my readers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Arvigo, Rosita, Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer, Harper San Francisco (San Francisco, CA), 1994.

periodicals

Belles Lettres, fall, 1994, Bettina Berch, review of Sastun, p. 65.

Booklist, March 15, 1994, Donna Seaman, review of Sastun, p. 1313.

East West, November, 1989, Carol Becker, "Passing the Torch of Mayan Medicine," p. 58.

Houston Chronicle, May 19, 2002, Gerry Volgenau, "Mayan Medicine Woman: American Finds Healing Powers, New Life in Belize Jungle," p. 6.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, April 22, 2002, "Medicine Woman Carries on Old Shaman's Work."

Publishers Weekly, March 7, 1994, review of Sastun, p. 62; November 10, 2003, review of Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from around the World, p. 57.