August 6, 2023. Dr. Aureliano Urrutia often took on surgeries that no other doctor would attempt. He considered this operation in 1917 to be his most challenging and his most inspired. It was an early success in several fields of surgery and solidified his reputation as a great surgeon; continuing a legacy begun in Mexico as that country’s top physician, and bringing pride to San Antonio as a budding medical city…. Read more >>>
June 11, 2023. On the occasion of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s birthday this month, here is a tribute given on the occassion of his 48th birthday, in 1920, by the esteemed writer Nemesio García Naranjo, an attorney, writer, and friend of Urrutia’s both in México and in exile here in San Antonio. Feliz cumpleaños y descanse en paz… Read more >>>
July 11, 2020. Several months ago, I met with a group of UTSA students to explore any historical connection between Miraflores, the land which once was Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s historic San Antonio garden, and the Camino Real. The 1716 Stone is one of the more mysterious objects in the garden… Read more>>>
June 28, 2020. In order to reconstruct Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s garden of Miraflores in book form, I had to understand more about what he knew of his own cultural heritage, and what lay beneath his thinking, like old ruins beneath churches. I had to leave 21st century San Antonio, and travel back to late 19th/early 20th century Mexico City. Read more>>>
May 3, 2020. In 1921, ninety-nine years ago, Urrutia purchased 15 acres of land at Hildebrand and Broadway on the outskirts of San Antonio. Over the next several decades the accomplished Mexican surgeon created his garden of Miraflores… Read more>>>
May 25, 2019. Miraflores’ owners and neighbors are politically powerful and greatly impact this relatively small 4.5 acre piece of land. The City’s Brackenridge Park, the University of the Incarnate Word and nearby private development all have shared and competing interests with each other. Read more>>>
May 25, 2019. Announcing the publisher of my book about Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s garden of Miraflores. Also, the 150th anniversary celebration of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word honors early supporters, including la familia Urrutia. Read more>>>
November 23, 2018. A first poem in Spanish, reflecting upon an experience in Xochimilco. Read more >>>
October 20, 2018. Last year, on Día de los Muertos, I ventured over to San Fernando Cemetery to place the beautiful traditional Mexican marigolds, cempasuchitl, at the graves of three Urrutia generations. This year, the spirit of Día de los Muertos visited me a bit earlier, initiated by a trip to Xochimilco, Mexico in early October to meet friends face to face for the first time. Recovering memories of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia in Xochimilco and San Antonio…Read more>>>
August 4, 2018. Several familia Urrutia photographs are exhibited along with hundreds of other historic images of San Antonio. One shows the 1971 demolition of the Clínica Urrutia y Farmacia as a result of "urban renewal." Dr. Aureliano Urrutia built the nearly square-block clinical complex in 1926 at the northeast corner of Houston and Laredo. Read more>>>
August 2, 2018. Upon initiating construction of the walkway, it became apparent that Urrutia’s design differed significantly from the City’s original plan. Everyone involved in the project marveled this past spring as Urrutia’s original design emerged. Read more>>>
May 22, 2018. If you're a Texas Public Radio fan, then you probably heard Jack Morgan's story on Miraflores this past Friday. Jack interviewed me about Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s garden, and expertly wove together an overview of family history and current restoration efforts at this unique garden. Read more>>>
April 13, 2018. La Prensa recently covered Miraflores and my upcoming book. This is a special story for me, because for the first time in recent history La Prensa has featured Miraflores and and the story is in Spanish. Read more>>>
March 31, 2018. Join me, Elise Urrutia, this Thursday, April 5, 2018 at the Igo Branch Library for a presentation on Miraflores: Dr. Urrutia's Lost Garden. I will read from my upcoming book entitled Jardín mexicano de la memoria~Miraflores~a Mexican garden of memory. Read more>>>
December 28, 2017. San Antonio's tricentennial year will commemorate Doctor Don Aureliano Urrutia's life and legacy in many ways. I am so excited that this amazing man and his work will be remembered during our city's very special anniversary. Read more>>>
August 26, 2017. From his survey of Houston Street, architect Tim Palomera first became interested in the Urrutia family, because he knew that Doctor Urrutia had built an office complex between Laredo and Santa Rosa Streets, where the Rosa Verde Towers now stand. The complex included offices for himself and his physician sons, an outpatient surgical facility, and Farmacia Urrutia, run by his pharmacist daughter. Read more>>>
July 30, 2017. Ground crews have carefully uncovered several unexpectedly large walkways that have been buried underneath tons of gravel/dirt (up to 2 feet deep) for almost 40 years. Miraflores was the unique garden expression of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, who came to San Antonio from Mexico City in 1914. Read more>>>
June 11, 2017. Phase IV will highlight a bronze statue of Urrutia, given to him in 1940 by a grateful patient from Mexico City. Urrutia placed it at the center of a 36-foot reflecting pool and constructed around it an “outdoor room” with a brick walkway encircling the fountain, surrounded by “walls” of trees and shrubs. Read more>>>
March 22, 2017. I'm excited to announce my book about the garden at Miraflores. My great grandfather, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, created this unique and mysterious place almost 100 years ago. The book will portray the cultural landscape that Miraflores was when he was alive. Read more>>>
March 3, 2017. Elise Urrutia told the story of a magnificent garden that sat on what was the far-northern edge of San Antonio more than 100 years ago. Miraflores, located on Hildebrand Avenue adjacent to the University of the Incarnate Word, would have far more than 20 slides to fill if it could talk. Read more>>>
February 21, 2017. PechaKucha: 20 slides x 20 seconds per slide = almost 6 1/2 minutes! Come see 8 people present their passions, including yours truly. Read more>>>
December 18, 2016. Carlos Mérida's 1967 mural gets a new life outdoors in downtown San Antonio.
November 2, 2024. From San Antonio, Texas to North Adams, Massachusetts, Día de los Muertos brings a remembrance of my father, Dr. Aureliano Adolfo Urrutia, and reminds me that Latinx culture lives… Read more »»