{"id":94,"date":"2025-04-23T20:25:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/?page_id=94"},"modified":"2025-05-02T19:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:02:14","slug":"botanica-chango-universal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/?page_id=94","title":{"rendered":"Bot\u00e1nica Chango Universal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2915 W 63rd St, Chicago, IL 60629<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(The quotes and interview have been translated from Spanish to English)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing tall since 2001, the shelves at Bot\u00e1nica Chango Universal are lined with colorful candles, seashells, bottles of oils, perfumes, and whatever prayer card you may need. At the center of it all, santera Alyce shares,\u201cthis place is like a church, but for many different beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She jokes the bot\u00e1nica serves almost as a kind of spiritual grocery store for the community, where all kinds of people come in looking for all kinds of things related to love, protection, good luck, advice, a cure, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes people come in knowing exactly what they want, but other times, they walk in unsure and a little nervous.\u201cEighty-five, ninety percent of people who come already know,\u201d she says. \u201cBut some, come in and ask, \u2018What\u2019s this for?\u2019 Or \u2018Will this work?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI let them look,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you need something, let me know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This openness and care is what earns her trust, even from those who come in skeptical or in fear, but this is also what makes her a target. \u201cI\u2019m supposedly the witch,\u201d she shares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the decades she has spent helping others, and overall just being a member of her community, some people still look at her with suspicion,\u201cthey don\u2019t even greet me when they see me. I don\u2019t know why… This is like a food store, but because people don\u2019t understand it, they\u2019re afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, word of the mysterious, cure-all bot\u00e1nica spreads. Someone lights a candle and sees results\u2014so they return, this time with a friend, then another and another. This is how the knowledge of bot\u00e1nicas and their practices spread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, a bot\u00e1nica becomes more than just a store, welcoming not only those already following these traditions, but also for newcomers. \u201cPeople are the ones who keep these traditions alive,\u201d Alyce says. People come, they ask, they share, and they remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These practices are not rigid, but instead are adaptable, inclusive, and often shared across cultures. \u201cLike food,\u201d she says. \u201cOne thing works for you, maybe not for someone else. But there\u2019s something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, more people are open, there\u2019s less hiding, less shame. For Alyce, this evolution is beautiful\u2014and it reflects how spirituality, healing, and identity are becoming more accepted through people’s personal and lived experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some might still call her a witch, Alyce knows who she is and what she offers, \u201cIt\u2019s like a food store,\u201d she says. \u201cYou just have to know what you\u2019re hungry for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2915 W 63rd St, Chicago, IL 60629 (The quotes and interview have been translated from Spanish to English) Standing tall since 2001, the shelves at Bot\u00e1nica Chango Universal are lined with colorful candles, seashells, bottles of oils, perfumes, and whatever prayer card you may need. At the center of it all, santera Alyce shares,\u201cthis place…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-94","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kathyangu.digital.uic.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}