La Villita Devotional

A devotional item commemorating a visit to the La Villita neighborhood in Chicago. The beads are chile piquin purchased from a local supermarket. Four segments signify the four rows of houses on the block visited, with the number of houses on each row corresponding to the number of beads in each segment. The list poem below is recited while holding the beads and moving over them.

1. PEACE

2. [GRACE] To Graciela
3. [ASCENSION] To the South
4. [MISSION] To going there
5. [REDEMPTION] To returning

6. To impermanence

7. To the ice cream bells
8. To the searing sun
9. To the rushing wind
10. To the yellow soccer ball
11. To the girls on the stairs
12. To the red shaved ice
13. To the feather in the olive hat
14. To home sweet home
15. To the bent wire fences
16. To the peeling paint
17. To forgiveness
18. To the seagulls’ cry
19. To the pigeons’ bread
20. To the black bird’s straw
21. To the open Book
22. To the new leaves

23. To seeking

24. To the mirror’s Jesus
25. To the Telemundo soap
26. To the whisper calmate
27. To the accent in Spain
28. To their corazon
29. To our corazon
30. To Graciela’s fingers
31. To the hair falling
32. To the heat
33. To the sweet dream
34. To the sleek look
35. To nada

36. To connecting

37. To the iron fences
38. To the black stems
39. To the white tips
40. To the bronze curls
41. To the red arch
42. To the high spears
43. To the uneven mesh
44. To the rusted chain
45. To the cracks
46. To the blessed flowers
47. To the bikes on their side
48. To the open swan
49. To the brick moons
50. To the falling shadows
51. To the open doors

52. To keeping

53. To Frida peeking
54. To the lace Virgin
55. To the day of the mother
56. To the white leather
57. To the black cowboy hat
58. To the road map
61. To the carved beads
62. To the mysteries
64. To the cactus
63. To the chile dust
65. To the guitar notes
68. To the lingerie
69. To the cash only
61. To the maldición
59. To the leaflet
60. To the pain
67. To the healing

70. To impermanence

71. [REDEMPTION] To returning
72. [MISSION] To going there
73. [ASCENSION] To the South
74. [GRACE] To Graciela

75. PEACE