All Photos By Gail
Sana, Sana Mi Corazoncito/Heal, Heal My Little Heart (2026), draws flowers from the Codex de la Cruz Badiano (1552), the earliest known book on herbal medicine from the Americas. It was compiled and illustrated by indigenous physician Martin de la Cruz, and Latin scholar Juan Badiano, both faculty at the Collegio de Santa Cruz in Tlateloco, the first school of higher learning for indigenous peoples in the Americas. The book features 185 color illustrations and blends indigenous knowledge with some European medical concepts.
It also lists remedies for unseen ailments, including internal imbalance and pain of the heart. Applying flower remedies into a bus, a symbol of movement, freedom, and counter culture optimism, Bronx-based artist, Blanka Amezkua transforms the symbol of the 1960s into a moving altar of healing and remembrance.
Far from nostalgic, the bus offers community healing. The flowers here remind us that indigenous knowledge systems understood healing to be holistic: the heart, the spirit, and the remedies drawn from the land are inseparable. Amezkua explores folk art, cultural heritage, pop culture, community-building, and collaboration in her contemporary art practice.
Photographed at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx as part of the Exhibit Flower Power, which runs through October 2026.
