I thank Saint Francis. I adopted some stray dogs, and now they keep me company and give their love to me. They are the joy of my house. They protect it in exchange for food and caress.

The fishermen Pascual and Cayetano Rios thank the Archangel Raphael because a beautiful mermaid with her magic singing made so the fish jumped in their boat without using the net.

On the Day of the Dead, the Martinez sisters were coming back from the market and met two skeletons who were celebrating their feast. The sisters ran to the church and prayed for the rest of the souls of the departed. The sisters thank the Virgin of San Juan because after they fulfilled this commitment they arrived home in time to prepare lunch for their husbands.

My son plays flute so wonderful that all the farm animals dance around him and the birds lay more eggs, and the goats give more milk, and the pigs have more piglets. I thank the Virgin of San Juan for giving my son this magic talent. Thanks to his music our farm prospers.

One night I stopped to sleep in the mountain after a long walk. In the moonlight, I saw the witches flying to Catemaco. I thank the Blessed Sacrament for they didn’t notice me and didn’t put a spell on me.

The kitchen was filled with bats. I was afraid that they were vampires and they’d suck blood from our family. I thank Saint Francis for we managed to get rid of them before they bit us. However, it seems they bit our cat, but it didn’t turn into a vampire cat. I thank the saint patron with this retablo.

My dog Enrriqueta got lost and I prayed to the Virgin of Zapopan every night so that she would save her from danger and bring her home. One day I was coming back from a mass, and I met my dog in the alley. She got four puppies. I thank the Virgin because now I take care of them and they give me joy.

I had a lot of suitors who ordered serenades for me. Roberto Rodriguez was a mariachi who always performed for me. More he sang more he fell in love with me. And so did I with him. We got married. When we came out of the church, we felt so happy, we started to run. The musicians tried to follow us, but they couldn’t play running. It was so funny. We thank the Blessed Sacrament for a happy wedding.

I thank the Virgin of San Juan because when my bus with the passengers fell of the cliff, it got stopped by a tree.

San Juan de los Lagos
October 26, 1958

My daughters love to play flute in the henhouse, because they say it has a good acoustic. The chicken seem to be happier. I’m also happy because they lay more eggs and I have more money selling the eggs.

My husband studies the insects the arachnids. He brought work at home, and it was bothering me because some creatures escaped sometimes. But the worst thing was when my son opened a box with fleas. They dispersed about the house. We thank the Virgin of the Rosary for we managed to get rid of them all. I thank the Virgin because my husband doesn’t bring the bugs from the laboratory anymore.

One day I was cooking and I felt I was floating in the air. I managed to come down only some time later. I was afraid and prayed to Saint Paschal because I continued to fly every day. Finally the saint made me understand that it was caused by quesadillas with mushrooms that I loved so much and ate frequently. Obviously, they were hallucinogenic. Now, when I stopped eating them, everything is back to normal. I thank the Saint because it’s hard to cook while flying.

The Gonzalez family’s cows ate devil grass and were feeling bad and very sad. The family thanks Saint Francis because the cows didn’t die and got better. They offer the retablo.