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Location: Herbolaria La India, 2427 W. Commerce St.
Date: August 2004 Lead Community Muralist: Mary Agnes Rodriguez Mural Coordinator: Jane Madrigal Restorations: 2017 - Lead Restoration Muralists Mary Agnes Rodriguez, Crystal Tamez, and Jason Eric Gonzales Martinez |
Herbolaria La India has operated on the West Side for thirty years, selling products used in the Mexican healing tradition of curanderismo. Mary Agnes named the mural after the store because she wanted her piece to preserve, promote, and educate people about curanderismo. She researched the medicinal values of different plants and combined this research from what she learned from her mother and grandmother. Using the style of Maya codices, Mary Agnes painted some of the most popular healing herbs into La India. In 2017, a team of artists lead by Crystal Tamez restored the mural. When the team removed the mosaic pieces, the wall began to peel off also and San Anto had to re-do the entire facade. Thankfully, the owners of La India were understanding! The turquoise and jade colors in the mosaic pieces were impossible to find during the restoration, so Crystal completed the painstaking task of reclaiming the glass from the original mosaic pieces.
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Content and Design
Mary Agnes designed the mural to reflect the indigenous roots of the Mexican-American healing practice called curanderismo. She was inspired by the store La India, where customers can acquire items like velas (candles), hierbas (herbs), agua santa (holy water), santos (statues of saints and folk saints), and informative books about curanderismo. She painted the mural in the style of Aztec drawings, calling the scenes in La India “contemporary codices.” Even the spirals of smoke coming from the figures’ mouth to represent speech are a traditional Aztec symbol.
The central panel uses codex-style images to teach the properties and proper use of four traditional herbs. From left to right, the central panel reads:
Pirul: The branches are used in traditional spiritual cleansings, called limpias
Copal: Burn for protection, cleansing, purification, to promote spirituality
Lagrima: Burn for protection, cleansing, to promote spirituality
Rosemary: To use in the traditional spiritual cleansings called limpias
The wall around the central panel is rich in Aztec imagery. On the far left, someone beats a sacred drum with an ollin or cosmic eye overhead, a symbol of movement or change. Below the drummer, Pantecatl, god of healing herbs and fermented drinks, sits on his throne. Pantcatl is the god of Malinalli, the twelfth day on the Aztec calendar. Malinall means dry grass and is associated with healing and rebirth, just as grassy fields that seem dead come to life again every spring. The two yellow and green mosaic pieces to the right of Pantcatl are sun-bleached jawbones filled with grass, images taken directly from Aztec calendar illustrations of the twelfth day. The double-headed serpent references an Aztec mosaic sculpture made in the 15th or 16th century that is currently on display at the British museum in London. The original double-headed serpent sculpture was made from turquoise pieces on a wood base, along with some pieces of oyster and conch shell. The nahuatl word “coatl” or serpent is used in the names of many gods, including Quetzalcoatl and Coatlicue, and the Aztecs also used images of serpents to mark off sacred spaces. To the right of the serpent are three more malinalli jawbones and a priest blowing into a conch shell. The mosaics on the side of the mural to the right of the main entrance perfectly mirror the left side: priest blowing into conch shell, three malinalli jawbones, double-headed serpent, two malinalli jawbones, Pantcatl, drummer, and the ollin or cosmic eye.
The central panel uses codex-style images to teach the properties and proper use of four traditional herbs. From left to right, the central panel reads:
Pirul: The branches are used in traditional spiritual cleansings, called limpias
Copal: Burn for protection, cleansing, purification, to promote spirituality
Lagrima: Burn for protection, cleansing, to promote spirituality
Rosemary: To use in the traditional spiritual cleansings called limpias
The wall around the central panel is rich in Aztec imagery. On the far left, someone beats a sacred drum with an ollin or cosmic eye overhead, a symbol of movement or change. Below the drummer, Pantecatl, god of healing herbs and fermented drinks, sits on his throne. Pantcatl is the god of Malinalli, the twelfth day on the Aztec calendar. Malinall means dry grass and is associated with healing and rebirth, just as grassy fields that seem dead come to life again every spring. The two yellow and green mosaic pieces to the right of Pantcatl are sun-bleached jawbones filled with grass, images taken directly from Aztec calendar illustrations of the twelfth day. The double-headed serpent references an Aztec mosaic sculpture made in the 15th or 16th century that is currently on display at the British museum in London. The original double-headed serpent sculpture was made from turquoise pieces on a wood base, along with some pieces of oyster and conch shell. The nahuatl word “coatl” or serpent is used in the names of many gods, including Quetzalcoatl and Coatlicue, and the Aztecs also used images of serpents to mark off sacred spaces. To the right of the serpent are three more malinalli jawbones and a priest blowing into a conch shell. The mosaics on the side of the mural to the right of the main entrance perfectly mirror the left side: priest blowing into conch shell, three malinalli jawbones, double-headed serpent, two malinalli jawbones, Pantcatl, drummer, and the ollin or cosmic eye.
History
In 2004, Community Mural Program (CMP) Coordinator Jane Madrigal approached Rose Perez about hosting a mural on the exterior of her business, Herbolaria La India. The Perez family quickly agreed, and so began a relationship between San Anto and the local business that has produced two murals and a restoration. La India, named after the store, is the Herbolaria’s first mural. While Mary Agnes and her team of volunteers painted the mural, the Perez family lent her the turquoise house next door to stash supplies. When volunteers worked outside, Rose brought out drinks, snacks, and sometimes even lunch for everyone.
Before opening the project to community volunteers, Mary Agnes and a few other artists worked at the 1906 Gallery on South Flores to cut and paint the wood for the figures and the long tapered panel in the center of the mural. (This central panel actually covers windows on either side of the entrance to La India, much like Mural #27, Cultura y Revolución.) San Anto then launched community workshops for the mosaic and welcomed any and all volunteers to help paint the wall. Volunteers included local youth, social work students, and residents from the San Jacinto Senior Housing apartments, who knew Mary Agnes for Nicho para la Virgen de Guadalupe. Although San Anto circulated fliers to attract volunteers, many people passing by La India stopped, picked up a brush, and made their mark on the mural. Mary Agnes played upbeat music while they painted, picking faster songs as the deadline approached. Her playlist culminated with Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, and the team finished the mural by the August deadline.
The stained glass mosaic pieces concentrated at the bottom of the mural were the most labor-intensive part of La India. Mary Agnes learned some stained glass techniques when Anabel Rodriguez travelled from Philadelphia through San Anto’s Muralist in Residence Program (MIRP) and completed Mosaico Para la Virgen de Guadalupe. After prepping the wooden panels for the backs of the mosaics in the 1906 Gallery, Mary Agnes brought them to the turquoise house next to La India. Many mosaic volunteers were students who came for class credit; others came because they wanted to learn something new. Supplied with pre-cut stained glass and adhesive, volunteers applied the glass to the panels. Eventually, artists also added stained glass accents to the painting on the wall.
In 2017, Mary Agnes worked with lead artist Crystal Tamez, assistant artist jason eric gonzalez martinez, and CMP Coordinator Victor “Supher” Zarazua to restore La India. The mural had experienced some wear, and the mosaic panels at the bottom had been badly damaged by drainage and flooding. The artists worked almost every day for a month to finish the restoration. The process was not without delays. First, when artists began to remove the panels, parts of the wall came off with them. With the permission of La India’s owners, the artists had to demolish the facade down to the cinder blocks underneath, and reapply a layer of wire and stucco. When the wall was repaired, the artists started shopping for stained glass. The company that had produced the glass Mary Agnes used for her original mural had gone out of business, so the colors she needed were in scarce supply and very expensive. Jason scoured the internet for the lowest prices while Crystal painstakingly removed every intact piece of stained glass from the original panels to repurpose in the restoration. The restored mural was blessed in November 2017.
Before opening the project to community volunteers, Mary Agnes and a few other artists worked at the 1906 Gallery on South Flores to cut and paint the wood for the figures and the long tapered panel in the center of the mural. (This central panel actually covers windows on either side of the entrance to La India, much like Mural #27, Cultura y Revolución.) San Anto then launched community workshops for the mosaic and welcomed any and all volunteers to help paint the wall. Volunteers included local youth, social work students, and residents from the San Jacinto Senior Housing apartments, who knew Mary Agnes for Nicho para la Virgen de Guadalupe. Although San Anto circulated fliers to attract volunteers, many people passing by La India stopped, picked up a brush, and made their mark on the mural. Mary Agnes played upbeat music while they painted, picking faster songs as the deadline approached. Her playlist culminated with Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, and the team finished the mural by the August deadline.
The stained glass mosaic pieces concentrated at the bottom of the mural were the most labor-intensive part of La India. Mary Agnes learned some stained glass techniques when Anabel Rodriguez travelled from Philadelphia through San Anto’s Muralist in Residence Program (MIRP) and completed Mosaico Para la Virgen de Guadalupe. After prepping the wooden panels for the backs of the mosaics in the 1906 Gallery, Mary Agnes brought them to the turquoise house next to La India. Many mosaic volunteers were students who came for class credit; others came because they wanted to learn something new. Supplied with pre-cut stained glass and adhesive, volunteers applied the glass to the panels. Eventually, artists also added stained glass accents to the painting on the wall.
In 2017, Mary Agnes worked with lead artist Crystal Tamez, assistant artist jason eric gonzalez martinez, and CMP Coordinator Victor “Supher” Zarazua to restore La India. The mural had experienced some wear, and the mosaic panels at the bottom had been badly damaged by drainage and flooding. The artists worked almost every day for a month to finish the restoration. The process was not without delays. First, when artists began to remove the panels, parts of the wall came off with them. With the permission of La India’s owners, the artists had to demolish the facade down to the cinder blocks underneath, and reapply a layer of wire and stucco. When the wall was repaired, the artists started shopping for stained glass. The company that had produced the glass Mary Agnes used for her original mural had gone out of business, so the colors she needed were in scarce supply and very expensive. Jason scoured the internet for the lowest prices while Crystal painstakingly removed every intact piece of stained glass from the original panels to repurpose in the restoration. The restored mural was blessed in November 2017.
About the Artist
Mary Agnes works on mosaic pieces for "La India"
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Mary Agnes Rodriguez: One day in 1999, Mary Agnes went to eat at her cousin’s deli on South Alamo and Beauregard Street. While she waited for her food, she picked up a copy of El Placazo Community Newspaper and noticed a call for artists to submit designs for the newspaper’s header. Mary Agnes submitted four and was pleased to notice that one appeared on the header of El Placazo’s next issue. Mary Agnes kept submitting drawings to the newspaper for publication and people from San Anto Cultural Arts became curious about the identity of this reserved but prolific Westside artist. Finally, after Mary Agnes submitted an impressively large design to the newspaper, the current CMP Coordinator Cruz Ortiz insisted on meeting her. Mary Agnes met Manny Castillo, Cruz Ortiz, and rising CMP Coordinator Alex Rubio at the Inner City Development offices. When she showed them a drawing of the Virgen of Guadalupe, Rubio suggested a 3D mural as a nicho for the
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Lady of Guadalupe. Thus began Mary Agnes’ involvement with the mural program. Since then, Mary Agnes has lead or co-lead six murals: Nicho para la Virgen de Guadalupe, La India, Breaking the Cycle Seeds of Solidarity, Barrio Wellness, and El Poder de Muralismo: Cuentos Son Arte, but never stopped submitting to the community newspaper.
Outside of San Anto, Mary Agnes is an established multimedia artist. Her work has been featured in multiple museums and cultural centers, a major touring exhibition organized by Cheech Marin. Her work usually depicts her Westside community, with overarching themes of peace and social justice. Mary Agnes is a dedicated activist and community volunteer with organizations like the City of San Antonio’s Historical and Design Review Commission, the Public Art Commission, San Jacinto Senior Homes, Alamo City Community Marching Band, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Mary Agnes currently works at Mujerartes, a ceramics studio designed to train and employ women of the Westside.
Outside of San Anto, Mary Agnes is an established multimedia artist. Her work has been featured in multiple museums and cultural centers, a major touring exhibition organized by Cheech Marin. Her work usually depicts her Westside community, with overarching themes of peace and social justice. Mary Agnes is a dedicated activist and community volunteer with organizations like the City of San Antonio’s Historical and Design Review Commission, the Public Art Commission, San Jacinto Senior Homes, Alamo City Community Marching Band, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Mary Agnes currently works at Mujerartes, a ceramics studio designed to train and employ women of the Westside.