photo: Lee Gutowski
All Souls time is here again and in Tucson we have a unique opportunity to experience Mexican traditions that are part and parcel of our region’s heritage. Public celebrations like Dia de los Muertos feed our human need for expression and inner reflection by incorporating ceremony and ritual. In South Tucson, purveyors of lesser-known Mexican folk traditions can be found in the Plaza San Judas.
The plaza, named for the patron saint of lost causes and desperate situations, more resembles a humble strip mall and houses Yerberia San Judas (4701 S. 6th Ave.), a hub of traditional Mexican herbal/medicinal wisdom. The storefront’s window is outfitted with a seasonally appropriate shrine to Santa Muerte, replete with lavender robe adorning her skeletal body; she holds a scythe and a globe. Offerings of beverages (one wine, one either water or a clear alcoholic beverage) are placed at her feet. Inside of the store one can find a plethora of herbal remedies addressing maladies like bad circulation, constipation, rheumatism and gout. Mexican gifts and religious articles for sale are plentiful.
The proprietress at Yerberia San Judas, Elvira Leyva, has been plying her trade in Tucson for the past 17 years and has been an herbalist for almost 30. She has many loyal customers, and was happy to perform a series of muscle tests on a recent new visitor for no charge and despite a bit of a language barrier.
There is also an espiritualista housed in the Plaza San Judas. Tarot and la loteria readings in Spanish and English, as well as other traditional services and rituals, can be procured here.
Syncretism - or the unifying of different, and sometimes downright contrary beliefs and practices took place in Mexico with the meeting of medieval European religious beliefs brought by the Spaniards and ancient Aztec wisdom already in place there. This collision of beliefs laid fertile ground for the development of Mexican folk traditions still observed today. Visiting the Plaza San Judas in South Tucson provides a unique glimpse at some of these traditions for the neophyte, while also providing valuable health and wellness services for long-time neighborhood customers.
Viva la diferencia!
