Publishing Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s Miraflores

I am elated to announce that Trinity University Press has signed me for the publication of my book about Dr. Aureliano Urrutia’s garden of Miraflores. The release will coincide with the garden’s centennial year. Urrutia purchased the land to create his mid-century Mexican garden in May 1921, about a month after his wife, Luz Fernandez, passed away, and so Miraflores will turn 100 in May 2021. For my great grandfather, a centenarian himself, a century was an important measure of time, and I know he would be pleased to have his garden reconstructed and renewed in a book created by his descendant.

Until then, I am continuing to give presentations about Dr. Urrutia’s life, his garden, and my ongoing journey to learn more.

Sisters’ 150th Celebration Honors Early Supporters

This past week the Urrutia family was remembered during the 150th anniversary celebration of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. The Sisters, you may know, among a number of other callings, are the owners of San Antonio’s River source, the Blue Hole and its surrounding springs, managed through their non-profit organization, the Headwaters at Incarnate Word. Often called the “Spiritual Reach,” these waters are just upstream from Miraflores.

The Sisters and Dr. Aureliano Urrutia were associated through their mutual work at the Santa Rosa Hospital. The Sisters founded the hospital in the late 1800s and served as the hospital’s core staff. Dr. Urrutia had high regard for the Sisters and enjoyed being among them. The Sisters in recent times have told me that the Doctor sometimes attended the earliest morning mass with them at the Chapel of the Incarnate Word on Broadway, just across Hildebrand from Miraflores. So, the profession of medicine, the river, the life of the church; all were connected for Urrutia and the Sisters. It was an honor to see Dr. Urrutia, his children who worked with him in medical and pharmacy careers, and my physician father recognized with such appreciation by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

Photo by Elise Urrutia, 2019.

Published May 25, 2019.