Roberto Garcia came home pretty drunk. He took a brazier for a chair and burned his buttocks. He thanks the Lord of the Wonders with this retablo for healing them up.

I dedicate this humble retablo to Saint Patrick thanking him for the talent and great beauty of Marylin Monroe whom I admire. Since I was young, she’s been always my platonic love. I enjoy watching her movies again and again just to look at who is, to me, the most beautiful woman in the cinema.

Gustavo Garcia is greatly thankful to Saint Christopher with this retablo because he’s doing very well working as a dentist in Tijuana. He has a lot of American clients who pay him in dollars.

I dedicate this humble retablo to the Virgin of Guadalupe and thank her with ll my hear for giving me the gift of singing. Thanks to my voice I can earn my living performing in canteens and at the town holidays where everyone loves and admires me.

Jose Luis Gallardo ~ Morelia, Michoacan

I thank the Virgin of the Valley because now I can stop worrying about this crafty Carlos—my little daughter Carmen’s boyfriend whom I don’t trust for a moment—putting his hands all over my girl. Now I’m playing maracas at the parties and I don’t loose him for a second while they dance.

Every night Luis Rodrigues had a dream about a devil who was taking him up very high and then let him fall him down. Luis woke up very frightened. He thanks the Lord of Chalma for delivering him from this nightmare.

The night of May 30, 1949, some guys robbed don Carmelo Medina’s shop taking advantage of his wife being alone. The robbers took all the money they’d earned last month and also grabbed some bottles with expensive liquor. Thanks to the Holy Virgin, the gendarme Natividad was having a meal in the tavern of Lupita who has big eyes and very delicious tacos. He caught the bad guys because they didn’t notice him standing in the shadows. Don Carmelo thanks the Virgin of San Juan.

When I put this mask on I decided I’d never fight without her. I knew that in my career it’d be my life, my soul and my body, my good and my bad, my beginning and my end. All my life would become blue. And no one, not even my best friend would find out who I am and who is Blue Demon.

1948, Mexico

Arturo Saldivar used to drink three liters of cherry pulque every day until he was diagnosed with diabetes. Arturo entrusted himself to Saint James and now thanks him with great devotion because the saint gave him the strength to resist the temptation of getting drunk.

When my daughter and my grand-daughter came to live with me I was very happy because my cats had been my only company. But my grand-daughter was afraid of the cats. She was crying when they approached her, and I had no idea what to do. I prayed the Holy Spirit for help, and little by little my grand-daughter got used to them. Now she loves them, she looks for them to pet and even sleeps with them. I thank for this miracle.

1939, my buddy caught me with his wife. He started to shoot at us. I give infinite thanks to Saint Raymond because bullets didn’t hit me. She took them all, and I only got scared.

Macario M.
Mexico, 1939

I went to swim into the sea and right away I felt something was holding me. Then I saw a big octopus. It caught me with its tentacles and pulled me down to the bottom. I started to panic, I was thinking I was going to die in the tentacles instead of marrying a handsome young man and living a happy life. I started to pray to the Virgin of San Juan, and thanks to her the octopus got distracted with some fish passing by and I could escape. I swam to the surface and I was safe. Now I only have to wait when a handsome guy comes to my life.

Apolinar, Fermin and Cipriano Ramos infinitely thank the Lord of Chalma for his protection since they’ve been working as builders for 20 years and never had any accidents. All these years they’ve been working to support and provide for their families.

Tlaxcala, 1979