"When you pray, keep your eyes open, not closed like this."
Cary, the owner of the Botanica La Virgen De Regla, screws up his face so that with his mad cap of black curls, he looks like a week-old puppy making his mama face.
"If you can't see what you are asking for, how can you expect to get it?"
How indeed. Walking into the botanica is an act of faith in itself to the uninitiated. Right inside the door, one confronts a life-size Native American warrior. St. Sebastian and a host of Jesus figures clutter the entrance. Candles, inscriptions, perfumes, oils, incense and bagged herbs line the small store's walls. A box of dried bromeliads lies in a corner. Mandrake is sold near the register. Harry Potter would need Hermione to understand this place.
Thankfully, Cary doesn't mind questions, even confounding double-edged ones such as, "I want a money spell, but I don't want to spend any money." He doesn't show me the door or attitude. (Try something like that at the International Plaza.) Elixirs to bring on the money run from $1.59 to $72.99.
Cary's wife works with him in the shop. She does readings for $25. The readings can last a few minutes or a few hours. I'm guessing the one that lasts a few minutes may be more bad news than I'm equipped to handle.
As I leave the store with the prayer that Cary has handwritten for me, my bottle of John the Conqueror perfume clinks in my bag. At $6.98, I figure it is something of an investment in what I hope will be a greener future. At the very least, praying every day can't really hurt me.
La Teresita strip mall, where the botanica is located, is one of the small centers that represent the richness of the area. In larger cities, these areas might be called "Little Havana" or "Little Korea." Rich in tradition and camaraderie, these places often serve as meeting places for people.
In a corner of La Teresita, Alberto's Barber Styling serves as one place to gossip. I personally vote owner Marcos Santos the man most likely to be allowed to shave my head. He's built more like a boxer than a barber, and his work is a rather macho form of follicular ballet.
Close by, the Alcira Photo Studio features young women in their quinceañera dresses, dolled up princesses on their 15th birthday. Inside is a treasure trove of tiaras. Tiaras ribboned with faux rubies glint in the display case. Always the rhinestone fetishist, I have to tear myself away to enter Eddy's Jewelers, where the thick ropes of gold and silver bear huge medallions with a variety of precious stones. The store is packed with people keeping the three salesmen busy.
The Gonzalez Habano Cigar Company houses a love story. Margaret and Wallace Reyes work side by side six days a week. Married since 1996, they began as pen pals 16 years ago. Margaret lived in Chile. Wallace got her address from a United Nations radio program that encouraged people to share their cultures. Of the four people he wrote, she is the only one who wrote back to him.
On Fridays, the shop is rich with the fragrance of cigar tobacco. The shop's backroom is sealed off from the sales floor by a glass window. From 7 a.m. till noon, two of the five remaining cigarmakers in Tampa work in this small shop, handrolling cigars behind a rather nondescript storefront.
These cigars are shipped throughout the world, but primarily have a following up north. The Copihue is the most heavily exported. Its smooth flavor comes from a blend of Concha y Tora (Chilean red wine) aged tobaccos from Honduras and Ecuador. Beginners often select the Churchill at about $2.09 each.
The anchor store of the mall is the La Teresita Grocery, a tradition in Spanish American grocery shopping. David and Kyung Lee came from Korea 20 years ago and purchased the site 16 years ago. Kyung says she works about 90 hours a week. She loves keeping busy, and she can often be found smiling behind the cash register surrounded by jalapenos and tomatillos.
While there are usually two or three carts open outside the market, selling ices and empanadas, I favor Papi's Medianoche (Midnight Sandwich). Made on sweet yellow bread, the sandwich features ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese and pickles. Like a Cuban sandwich, it really should be served pressed.
Papi's new owner works 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. nearly every day. I miss the old owner because he used to sell three-dimensional Jesus paintings where the eyes would follow your every move. He also wanted to barter cafe con leche and Spanish lessons for help with his English.
The La Teresita shopping center is located next to the La Teresita Restaurant at 3302 Columbus Drive W. in Tampa.
RhondaK is a poet, librarian and editrix of NakedPoetry.com. She lives in Tampa.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2002.