HOW DID FLORINDA DONNER MEET CARLOS CASTANEDA?

ACCORDING TO FLORINDA

In her book "Being in the Dreaming" (1991) Florinda Donner stated that it was in July 1970 when she met Carlos Castaneda for the first time, and at this time he was working as a cook in a simple restaurant in Tucson and called himself Joe Cortez.

Florinda said that in different parts of her book:

« I met a group of people in northern Mexico in July 1970 who turned out to be the faithful disciples of the sorcery tradition of the Indians of pre-Columbian Mexico. »

(Preliminary note)

« [Shortly after] during my trip to Tucson... [at a roadside restaurant] I could see the cook behind the order grate. »

(Chapter 4)

« [I saw him again later and he told me] "I am José Luis Cortez, my friends call me Joe. »

(Chapter 5)

« [When I discovered who he really was, I asked him]  'What do you want me to call you: Joe Cortez or Carlos Castaneda?" »

(Chapter 7)

INCONSISTENCIES

But what Florinda stated contradicts what Castaneda asserted in the interview conducted by the academic Graciela Corvalán in 1982, since there Castaneda stated that the Toltec Woman was the one who, in order to lower Castaneda's ego, assigned him the task of working as a cook, along with the Fat Lady, during "the last three years", that is, from 1978 to 1981.

That is a decade after Florinda Donner claimed to have met him while he was cooking in a restaurant!

Excerpt from this interview:

« Castaneda told us: "The Toltec Woman is the one who teaches me now. She is responsible for everything."

. . .

Changing the subject, Castaneda began to tell us the story of his last three years. One of his many jobs was working as a cook in those roadside cafes.

"The Fat Lady accompanied me this year as a waitress. We were around for over a year as Joe Córdoba and his wife!  My full name was José Luis Córdoba, at your service," he said, bowing deeply, "although everyone knew me as Joe Córdoba. »

Florinda made a big mistake and Castaneda didn't use the surname Cortez but Córdoba.

But Castaneda also specified in this interview that the Toltec Woman only became his new boss after Don Juan departed for infinity, and on another occasion Castaneda stated that this happened in 1973, which implies that his work as a cook must have been done after this year, and not in 1970 as Florinda claimed.

And to that we must add that near the end of his book "A Separate Reality", Castaneda wrote that in October 1970 he was with Don Juan and Don Genaro who produced several surprising phenomena before him: Don Genaro made the mountains tremble, and then magically positioned himself behind Castaneda while Castaneda followed him, and then Don Juan made the same leaf fall twice.

But those events happened three months before Florinda claimed to have met Castaneda cooking in a restaurant, and imply that Castaneda was therefore still with Don Juan, which contradicts the statements Castaneda made to Graciela Corvalán.

Conclusion: it is clear that Florinda invented her story of her first encounters with Castaneda, based on the story that Castaneda told of when the Toltec Woman put him to work as a cook.

But Florinda didn't pay attention to the details, and that's why she made many mistakes in her story.

REALITY

Florinda Donner did not meet Carlos Castaneda for the first time in 1970, but in 1971.

Florinda did not meet him in Tucson, Arizona, but in Los Angeles, California.

And Castaneda was not working as a cook at that time, but studying at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where Florinda was also studying.