Herbolaria La India
Artist: Mary Agnes Rodriguez
Location: 2427 W. Commerce Street, San Antonio, Texas
Date: 2004
Mary Agnes Rodriguez is a San Antonio-based multimedia artist whose work documents themes of justice, social activism, and peace. Many of her works are centered on San Antonio’s Westside, which comprises a historically Mexican population. Rodriguez’s mural bears the same name as the store whose exterior it adorns. Located in San Antonio’s Westside, Herbolaria La India has sold products used in the Mexican healing practice of curanderismo for the past thirty years. Herbolaria La India directly quotes the pre-Columbian and early-colonial past through its emulation of figures from Aztec codices, as she wanted the wall to read as contemporary codices. The figures particularly recall the colonial-era indigenous manuscript, Codex Mendoza. However, she did not copy from the codices directly. Instead she referenced the figures to teach the public about four traditional herbs, which can be purchased inside the store. The figures are depicted in the act of healing, referencing ancient Aztec practices and how they continue today in medicine.
A mosaic border filled with more Mexica-Aztec imagery encircles the central panel. Here, Rodriguez included Mexica-Aztec figures, symbols, and deities taken from her research. One of the figures is a turquoise double-headed serpent, which references an Aztec or Mixtec mosaic object currently held in the collections of the British Museum. Both double-headed serpents (maquizcoatl) and turquoise serpents (xiuhcoatl) were significant in Mexica-Aztec iconography. Xiuhcoatl were associated with celestial events, while maquizcoatl were considered bad omens and could signify approaching death. The jewel-colored stones are arranged in the form of other pre-Columbian motifs, such as headdresses and figures on thrones.
Herbolaria La India presents the store, curanderismo, and the surrounding community as a direct continuation of the past, “keeping cultural, tradition and ancient Aztec history alive.”[1] Her goal was to bring ancient history to the public for free, showing "the youth and future generations that this is nothing new. That is where everything began and continues to do so in medicine."[2] In doing so, Rodriguez transcends space and time, highlighting the connection between the pre-Columbian Valley of Mexico and the surrounding community. Herbolaria La India does not represent the same notions of mestizaje seen in Cortés y La Malinche and Creation. Instead, curanderismo is represented as a direct continuation of the past, rather than the result of cultural mixing.
[1] Interview with Mary Agnes Rodriguez
[2] Interview with Mary Agnes Rodriguez
Dedication of the Mural
Danzantes Aztecas bless the mural
photograph provided by sananto.orgLike many of San Anto's other murals, Herbolaria La India was dedicated and blessed. Ceremonies included traditional Aztec dances performed by Danzantes Aztecas, a tradition that dates all the way back to the pre-Columbian period.