I've been researching the practice of curanderismo for a few years now. My interest in it has existed for the entirety of my life. My grandma and dad both practiced it for small children, but never on a larger scale to my knowledge. Living in the Northwest means there aren't always large populations reinforcing and reinvigorating cultural practices as times change and families grow, so this practice is not really being passed on in my family. I'm happy to hear that it is still alive and well in other parts of the US.
During graduate school, I read Eliseo Torres' book Curandero: A Life in Mexican American Folk Healing and enjoyed it. Most recently I came across another book that I didn't find in my initial search. They All Want Magic: Curanderas and Folk Healing by Elizabeth de la Portilla is another book that I've very much enjoyed about folk healing that attempted to introduce and chronicle the practice. Both of these books come at their topic from an insider/outsider perspective. Both authors seem to consider themselves students and scholars, those learning from practitioners as well as reporting on the topic for an audience less familiar with folk healing practices.
It's interesting that both authors wrote books with anthropological leanings as well as more autobiographical content. Beyond the structure, I much appreciated de la Portilla's sentiment held in the title. She explains that often times people come to curanderas for quick fixes and something of the paranormal - in short, magic. In reality, curanderas tend to be deeply spiritual people who listen and offer advice. Sometimes they offer herbs, crystals or stones, oils, and other remedies. Sometimes they practice laying on the hands or massage. Sometimes they sense people's auras. Ultimately though it seems like de la Portilla's takeaway is that curanderas and curanderos experience a sort of spiritual awakening and decide to dedicate their life to helping people in the ways they can, often through traditional means within this specific set of cultural practices. She isn't necessarily saying there isn't magic, but she's saying the practice of curanderismo works quite differently than people expect.
I think it's helpful to remember that we do often have the power to heal ourselves and help others and the way to do this is to stay connected to each other and the natural world in meaningful ways.