Mal de ojo
The Spanish and Latin American evil eye, said to harm babies and others who are admired without a touch.
Also: ojo, mal de ojo, evil eye in spanish
Mal de ojo, the evil eye, is a belief carried to Latin America by Spanish settlers, and found in Mexico, Central America, the Andes and the Caribbean, as well as Spain. It is held to arise when a person with a strong gaze looks admiringly or enviously at someone, especially a baby, without touching, and can bring fever, crying and listlessness. Customs include touching a child you praise, a red ribbon or a bracelet with a bead of black jet, azabache, and a limpia performed by a curandera, with an egg or herbs. Anthropologists in the twentieth century studied it across Mediterranean and Latin cultures. Parents are urged to take a feverish baby to a doctor, and many do both.