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 >>>
April 26, 2023. Join us Saturday, May 13, JUNE 24, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. for the Conservation Society’s Historic Preservation Month Seminar on Miraflores. With Logan Wagner, PhD, FAIA, Anne Elise Urrutia, and Claudia Guerra. We will explore Miraflores’ cultural and historical significance, and motivations and challenges for the garden’s potential restoration. FREE to the community. Read more >>>
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 >>>
April 26, 2023. Join us Saturday, May 13, JUNE 24, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. for the Conservation Society’s Historic Preservation Month Seminar on Miraflores. With Logan Wagner, PhD, FAIA, Anne Elise Urrutia, and Claudia Guerra. We will explore Miraflores’ cultural and historical significance, and motivations and challenges for the garden’s potential restoration. FREE to the community. Read more >>>
December 1, 2022. As a teenager, Anne Elise Urrutia first ventured in to photograph the disappearing family garden of her great-grandfather. Over the years her research on Miraflores and her family history has allowed her to rebuild, through words and pictures, the doctor’s lost landscape. Read more >>>
October 28, 2022. In 1920s San Antonio, only one person loved colorful Mexican tile as much as Urrutia…He would have noticed Urrutia’s collection of Talavera in the garden, near the entrance to the house. Read more>>>
October 21, 2022. Luis Sanchez Lopez arrived in San Antonio around 1920. He began working in sculpture in his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, moved to San Antonio, and caught the eye of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia. He went on to create some remarkable works in concrete, at Miraflores and elsewhere. Read more >>>
October 8, 2022. Next up: UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts in October; Texas Book Festival in Austin, TX in November! All events free and open to the community. Read more >>>
August 18, 2022. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage month, in September I will be speaking at some great venues, and all events are free and open to the public. Join me! Read more >>>
July 17, 2022. I hope you will join me at one or more of many upcoming talks and book signings. Alll are free and open to the public. Read more >>>
June 6, 2022. You are invited! We are celebrating the release of Miraflores: San Antonio’s Mexican Garden of Memory. Read more >>>
December 18, 2021. Preview the video of the 2021 Miraflores Symposium, held in San Antonio, Texas to educate and generate discussion about this culturally significant and endangered landscape. The early-to-mid 20th century garden created by Dr. Aureliano Urrutia 100 years ago was a multi-layered expression of Mexican cultural heritage. What is left of it today merely hints at Urrutia’s original expression. Can it be saved? Read more >>>
August 14, 2021. What do these objects from Dr. Urrutia’s garden of Miraflores have in common? A large wrought iron gate with two sentry towers displaying murals of blossoming flowers, a giant bench cloaked in a over 700 tiles, and a statue of an indigenous man shaking his fist toward the heavens. Read more >>>
July 10, 2021. One hundred years ago, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, a prominent physician who came to San Antonio during the Mexican Revolution, began creating his garden, Miraflores, near the headwaters of the San Antonio River. Today the gates are locked, and the land is fragile; the remaining objects merely hint at Urrutia’s original expression. This symposium examines the multi-layered character of Miraflores and its status in 21st-century San Antonio. NEW LOCATION. Read more >>>
April 17, 2021. A look into the life of my great-grandmother, Luz Fernández—what we know about her, and how her path intertwined with her husband, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia. Read more>>>
February 6, 2021. Miraflores, the historic family garden of Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, is reviewed in the Brackenridge Park Cultural Landscape Report, which evaluates its significance and provides important conclusions about the feasibility of restoration…Read more>>>
January 3, 2021. Dr. Aureliano Urrutia began creating his San Antonio garden, Miraflores, 100 years ago this year. In celebration of its centennial, here’s a video presentation about the garden….Read more>>>
December 9, 2020. Every change in the surrounding urban landscapes can greatly impact the future of Miraflores, the early-to-mid twentieth century riverside garden created by my great grandfather, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia. Given their new physical proximity, the question is not whether, but how the future paths of UIW and Miraflores will cross….Read more>>>
September 27, 2020. How Luz felt about her position in the family is unknown, but she excelled at managing the affairs of Casa Urrutia….Read more>>>
August 30, 2020. Luz Fernández and Dr. Aureliano Urrutia had seven daughters who immigrated with them to San Antonio. It has been a challenge to get a sense of their lives, and to bring the memory of these women into the present. Refugio, the eldest daughter, arrived on the Texas coast with her parents in May 1914, and was old enough to remember some of the details of the journey….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>>>
