*- . . 198 The Journal of Parapsychology Another development in parapsychological activities in Mexico occurred in 1937. A team of medical doctors, headed by Dr. En- rique Aragon, formed a special commission to investigate an alleged case of poltergeist activity surrounding a thirteen-year-old Mexican boy named Joaquin Velazquez Villavicencio. As part of the investi- ofation, the team tried to measure the level of RSPK energy, using <a special apparatus called a sthenometer designed by the French psychical researcher Paul Joire to detect PK forces (Gomezharper de STrevifio, 1990). Aragén’s contributions were important to parapsy- crhology in Mexico because of his prestigious position and his aca- demic attainments. Aragén was at one time president of the Uni- Sersity of Mexico and was also founder and Director of the Instituto frde Psiquiatria y Psicologia there. He conducted field research on Shaunting cases, precognitive dreams, and fraud in Spiritism. SS In 1939, Aragén founded the Circulo de Investigaciones Meta- Opsiquicas de México.’? The aim of the Institute was to conduct a scientific investigation of a case of alleged materialization produced Oby the most famous medium in the history of Mexico, Luis Marti- Onez. The medium started his activity when he was six years old and <allegedly could produce incredible phenomena, such as lights, ap- Oports, direct writing, direct voices, levitations of objects, and so cforth. The attention drawn by the case led to the participation of <medical and political men in the sessions. Two ex-presidents of Mexico were said to have participated in the séances (Garofano, i988). Other work worth mentioning is that conducted by the jesuit priest and psychical researcher Carlos Maria Heredia. He recorded aseveral observations and experiments in which odors (or other stim- culi)-associated with forgotten experiences were presented to the sub- ge theoretically causing an imbalance in the subject’s subconscious . emories associated with the odor which, in turn, induced a tele- Spathic transmission of the forgotten experience to a nearby perci- ~pient (Heredia, 1931/1945). ® For Heredia, telepathy and spontaneous case occurrences were fairly acceptable; however, phenomena of the séance room were to Shim anathema. Having developed some skills as an illusionist, he <Uused to tour the country demonstrating mediumistic manifestations, ® This research group later changed its name to Instituto Mexicano de Investi- gaciones Siquicas, which also published a detailed account of the séances with the medium Luis Martinez which lasted for over ten years. The publication was called Una Ventana al Mundo Invisible [A Window to an Invisible World] (Instituto Mexicano de Investigaciones Siquicas, 1960). Another interesting dimension of this case is the participation in the séances of two well-known Mexican psychical researchers, Gustav Pagenstecher and Carlos Marfa Heredia. Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 199 as he supposed, by his methods of nonspiritual conjuring. He wrote a book along these lines debunking the mediumistic phenomena claimed by Spiritists; it was called Los Fraudes Espiritistas y los Fené- menos Metapsiquicos (1931/1945). Unfortunately these efforts to or- ganize serious centers and societies to study psychic phenomena from a more empirical approach never led to a more formal type of organization; most of these centers and investigations were shart- lived. =4 Since the 1930s, very little is known of any other serious eff§}ts to introduce scientific parapsychology to Mexico. After 1940, % I mentioned at the beginning of this section of the paper, the Rest known studies have been conducted by anthropologists and pgta- psychologists interested in nonorthodox practices of healing, pafpic- ularly those of the shamanistic variety. N Among the healers was the famous Oaxacan shaman, Barbgra Guerrero, best known as “Pachita,” who practiced as a psychic Sur- geon and who in the 1960s became the subject of enormous at{®n- tion, Pachita was studied by Krippner and Villoldo (1986) and @th- ers. Another healer, perhaps the best known of all, was a Sabina, who drew worldwide attention because of her use of hadiu- cinogenic mushrooms in her unusual healing practices. S) It was not until 1974 that the first Mexican parapsychologicalso- ciety was created, the Sociedad Mexicana de Parapsicologia, heatled by Carlos Trevifio, a psychiatrist and an Associate Member ofgihe Parapsychological Association. The Society at the present time Sp- resents the most critical approach to parapsychology in Mexicg It trains researchers and provides education both to the Church end to lay persons concerning alleged cases of demonic possession @nd other manifestations of psychic phenomena. The Society also offers courses in parapsychology to the general public in an attemp< to correct misconceptions about the nature of scientific parapsycBol- ogy. For example, in Mexico the common belief is that parapsy¢Hol- ogy is a mixture of magic, demonology, and sorcery. A paraQsy- chologist is thought to be a person who reads Tarot cards and coffee grounds and prepares horoscopes. Under these circ§m- stances an average Mexican tends to dismiss such beliefs, particu- larly since they are deeply rooted in their tradition and cultural her- itage (Gomezharper de Trevifio, 1990). Along with courses for the general public, the Mexican Society is the only organization that offers an officially required course for candidates to the priesthood studying at the Instituto de la Arque- diécesis de México. Members of the Society have also conducted ex-
200 The Journal of Parapsychology perimental research with Kirlian photography (Trevifio, 1975) and field investigations of haunting cases and poltergeists. Some parapsychological conferences have been organized in Mexico—for instance, the Congreso Internacional de Parapsicologia qpeld in 1984 in Mexico City. The Society also organized the Primer <Simposio de Parapsicologia Cientifica held in 1984. At this meeting S number of: PA members presented papers, among them Marilyn Schlitz and Stanley Krippner (Gomezharper de Trevifio, 1990). S Another conference worth noting is the one organized by the ewly created Sociedad Mexicana para la Investigaci6n Escéptica. She first Latin American skeptics’ conference was cosponsored by fSICOP and convened in Mexico City in 1989. The conference in- Mluded speakers such as Ray Hyman and James Alcock, as well as Reveral psychologists from the University of Mexico. The new Mex- ican society of skeptics headed by Mario Méndez has launched a si called El Investigador Escéptico, which will be made available roughout Latin America for Spanish-speaking readers. ar _An example of the attention to parapsychology given by high- ganking political figures in Mexico was the visit of the wife of the ‘former president of Mexico, Carmen Lépez Portillo, who visited the Gnstitute for Parapsychology in North Carolina to participate in gome testing demonstrations of ESP. It is also interesting to note Bhat the president’s sister, Margarita Lépez Portillo, prepared a ideo about the life of the famous Mexican healer “Pachita.” There re also some isolated researchers in Mexico such as Jacobo Grin- dberg who in 1977 conducted research in dermo-optic perception. © . . . © It is unfortunate that one can find no serious parapsychological dpublications in Mexico at the present ume. There are only some spopular magazines on the topic, such as Duda [Doubt].”° ir Conclusion proved So far, I have surveyed the past and present positions of para- psychology in several Ibero-American countries. But what does this conglomeration of names, societies, and research centers mean? First of all, as I have pointed out, my purpose was to familiarize the English-speaking parapsychologists with the work of their colleagues from other countries, especially those researchers who have been in 'S Duda is a magazine that is widely published nationally. It includes sensational articles on mixed topics such as UFOs, ESP phenomena, cryptozoology, and so on. Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 201 the field of parapsychology for many years but whose work and publications have been neglected in the major English-language journals. Second, I have reviewed a variety of parapsychological ac- tivities so as to provide the reader with insight into the different approaches to psychical research in different countries as well as into the cultural, geographical, and historical factors that have @l- ored parapsychology in those countries. Some of the informatjgn provided is new and, may I say, very interesting. The different @- search methodologies pursued by the parapsychologists in these countries range from the empirical quantitative approach of the &r- gentinian group, who follow the Rhinean School, to the theoret@al and Spiritualistic approach shaped by the influence of ideologgal and cultital constructs of the Brazilian Spiritists and Catholice- searchers. However, in a way, these different approaches to ghe study of psychic phenomena are reflections of the cultural miliegin which the research has evolved. rs Another important feature that emerges from an examinatiofPof the developments of parapsychology in these countries is that rfst Ibero«American researchers are in the main plagued with the safe practical and theoretical problems common to most other countryes involved in psychical research. Common problems are the struggle to gain recognition in their own scientific communities and the fick of economic means to support research. 2) Still another unfortunate pattern is the isolation of individuafye- searchers in these Ibero-American countries from their counteryfarts in the English-speaking parapsychological community. Som& of these researchers, such as J. Ricardo Musso and Naum Kreiigan from Argentina, have been doing research and publishing exfen- sively since the 1950s. but remain virtually unknown outside teir own countries. Very few of the researchers from those countries have ever belonged to the Parapsychological Association. A brieffre- view of the most recent list reveals that even at the present time there are very few Ibero-American members in the PA, an or. ni- zation that claims to be international." 2 It is my hope that this brief summary will bridge the gap crefted by the language barrier and will remedy the previous lack of itffor- mation, thus fostering communication between Ibero-American re- searchers and their English-speaking colleagues. The increase of communication with parapsychologists in the Ibero-American coun- “4 Tbero-American members account at the present time for less than 8% of the Parapsychological Association members (Parapsychological Association, 1991).