Gardner, Dore. Niño Fideñcio: A Heart Thrown Open by Dore Gardner.

University of New Mexico Press, 1992. Hardcover. First edition, first printing. Fine with fine dust jacket, like new.  136 pages.  Photographs and interviews by Dore Gardner. Essay by Kay F. Turner. While working with charismatic healers in the Southwestern United States, documentary photographer Dore Gardner learned about famed Mexican healer José Fideñcio Sintora Constantino (1898–1938).  Over a period of five years, Gardner traveled to northeastern Mexico, where Niño Fidencio worked his cures and to Mexican American communities in Texas where his followers continue his practices. Niño Fideñcio, described by Turner as a Mexican Folk Saint, cured thousands of people including President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles, of a serious illness.  He prepared his own medicines from herbs and plants. Summary:

Niño Fidencio: A Heart Thrown Open is a photographic documentary book by Dore Gardner (with an essay by Kay F. Turner) that explores the life, healing practices, and enduring legacy of Niño Fidencio (José Fidencio Sintora Constantino), a famed Mexican folk healer and spiritual figure from northeastern Mexico. The book combines powerful black‑and‑white photography with narrative context to offer both visual and cultural insight into Fidencio’s world. 

Key Elements of the Book

• Documentary Photography: The core of the book is Gardner’s vivid black‑and‑white photographs capturing the people, rituals, landscapes, and practices associated with Niño Fidencio and his devotees. These images serve as a visual ethnography of everyday life and spiritual devotion around him. 

• Life and Legacy of Niño Fidencio: Through images and supplemental text, the book pays tribute to Fidencio, who became a healer revered by many in Mexico and beyond. Fidencio was believed to possess the ability to cure illness and comfort the suffering, and thousands of followers—both during his life and posthumously—regard him as a folk saint. 

• Cultural and Spiritual Context: The work doesn’t just document a person—it immerses the reader in the cultural and spiritual world of Mexican folk healing. Gardner traveled over several years to communities in northeastern Mexico and Mexican‑American areas in Texas where Fidencio’s memory and practices remain alive, capturing rituals, pilgrimages, and the devotees’ expressions of faith. 

• Testimony and Tradition: Beyond aesthetics, the book functions as a kind of testimony, showing how belief, tradition, and healing intersect in the lives of ordinary people. It illustrates through both imagery and narrative how Fidencio’s influence persists long after his death. 

Overall, Niño Fidencio: A Heart Thrown Open is both a visual tribute and anthropological record—offering readers a deeper understanding of a charismatic healer and the rich cultural landscape that surrounds his legacy.