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BCMS
HISTORY

tributed to Mexico’s medical reputation, diagnostic capabilities. He succeeded in edge of San Antonio, near Incarnate Word
which was gaining visibility in the industry. many cases that were previously labelled as College, and created his beautiful 5-acre gar-
Soon thereafter, he established a private prac- incurable or inoperable, and became an early den, Miraflores, along the San Antonio River.
tice in downtown Mexico City, where he and internationally-renowned pioneer in The garden reflected his deep connection to
achieved local fame for saving the life of a pop- areas including anatomy, exploratory, vascu- his homeland of central Mexico, and held a re-
ular bullfighter, and founded a hospital, Sana- lar and pediatric surgery, anesthesia and sur- markable collection of sculpture, important
torio Urrutia, in Coyoacán, on 25 acres of gical instrumentation. native Mexican herbs, trees and other plants,
pastoral grounds. In 1910, President Porfirio In 1917, he performed a landmark surgery Urrutia’s personal collection of antique Talav-
Díaz commissioned the well-known photog- for the separation of 5-year-old conjoined era Poblana, which decorated the garden’s
rapher Guillermo Kahlo, father of artist Frida twins. The twins were joined at the abdominal gates and benches, a 3-story library tower and
Kahlo, to film several of Urrutia’s operations. cavity and at the sternum, with two hearts in a quaint casita. Although it was a private gar-
By 1913 he became director of the two one pericardial membrane, and one large liver. den, it was well-known for its Talavera arch on
most important medical institutions in the Urrutia employed two anesthesiologists and Broadway, now located in the San Antonio
land, La Escuela Nacional de Medicina and El an additional surgeon to assist. He used an ex- Museum of Art, and its public gatherings and
Hospital General. That same summer, Urrutia ploratory phase to determine how the patients private celebrations. Today, the site, owned by
also served for three months in Mexico’s exec- were anatomically and physiologically con- the City of San Antonio, is mostly in ruins,
utive cabinet as ministro del gobernación nected; a temporary closing to determine but its significance as a metaphor for Mexican
(similar to secretary of interior). In the heat of whether to move forward, consult with the history and culture has been documented, and
the Revolution, his resignation from that po- parents, and make a plan; and a second phase there is some hope for a re-envisioning of the
sition triggered his political exile, whereby he to fashion a second heart sac from the first, site as a public community garden of Mexican
and his family immigrated to San Antonio by and divide the liver. Although one of the pa- cultural heritage.
way of Galveston. tients did not survive longer than a few days, Urrutia became a United States citizen in
In San Antonio, in 1916, Urrutia opened a the surgery was considered groundbreaking, 1942, and retired from medical practice when
medical practice located near downtown on with the other twin surviving and living a he was 88 in 1960. At the time of his death,
Broadway. He practiced surgery for his entire long, productive life. August 14, 1975, several of his friends in the
career at the Santa Rosa Hospital, where he His work was often reported in the press, downtown community remembered his pop-
formed a strong relationship with the Sisters such as a 1924 surgery to relieve spinal pres- ularity, his benevolent attitude towards the
of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who served sure on a patient, which reversed the man’s impoverished, and that he offered medical
as his nurse assistants. In 1926, he built paralysis and restored the use of his legs. In services regardless of the ability to pay. Dr. Au-
Clínica Urrutia, on nearly a full square block 1948, he reportedly reconstructed a girl’s se- reliano Urrutia died at the age of 103, and was
of Houston Street between Laredo and Santa verely damaged esophagus. buried at San Antonio’s San Fernando Ceme-
Rosa Streets, including offices, an outpatient Urrutia had the honor of addressing the tery No. 2.
surgical facility and Farmacia Urrutia. The General Assembly of the Sixth Pan-American
practice included his sons Hector, a dentist; Medical Congress in Brazil in 1935, where he Anne Elise Urrutia is a writer
Carlos and Adolfo, physicians; his daughter, presented several surgeries on aneurisms of the and explorer of family history, es-
Refugio, a pharmacist; and daughters, Luz, carotid and iliac arteries, the 1917 separation, pecially the life, work and legacy of
Alicia and Maria Luisa who helped run the and foreign and tumorous bodies in the stom- her great grandfather, Dr. Aure-
business. Urrutia’s eldest son, Aureliano Jr., ach. Shortly after, he was inducted as a Fellow liano Urrutia. She received a silver
was also a physician and served his career at to the American College of Surgeons. medal, Mimi Lozano Best History Book award,
the Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital. Urrutia also had a passion for art and na- from the International Latino Book Awards in
Urrutia provided healthcare largely to San ture. He built his home near Mahncke Park in 2023 for her book Miraflores, San Antonio’s
Antonio’s West Side community, but also at- bold Mexican style, accented in details of Mexican Garden of Memory (Trinity Univer-
tracted patients from other U.S. cities, Mex- black and red, and decorated with ornate fur- sity Press, 2022). Ms. Urrutia received her Eng-
ico and beyond. He was an innovative niture and a sizable collection of art, sculpture, lish degree from Colorado College, blogs at
physician who was known for his innate porcelain and Talavera ceramics. In 1921, he www.quintaurrutia.com, and lives in San An-
sense of patients’ needs as well as his adept bought a 15-acre parcel at the then northern tonio, Texas.

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