I, Jonathan Torrez, thank my Mother, Virgin of Guadalupe, for helping me to survive the war in Iraq in 2002.

Chicago, Illinois

The Hernandez brothers, Ponciano and Salvador, bring this retablo to Saint Isidor the Labourer because they managed to buy some land in their village for the money they’d earned as farm-workers in USA. They thank from the bottom of their hearts.

Morelia, MIchoacan

A ghost wants to marry me. Please help me, Holy Virgin!

Roberta Garcia, with all her devotion, thanks Saint Charbel with the present retablo because she met the artist Frida and they have established a friendship. Roberta is very happy because she admires the artist a lot.

Mexico, 1949

The Day of the Dead, the dead came out of their graves to have fun. They choose my tepacheria place to dance and play music. I was scared, and all customers who were alive ran away. I thought I was going to earn nothing and only to lose money that night. But thanks to the Virgin of Guadalupe the skeletons turned out to be good clients. When they went away—because of the rooster—they left me various gold coins which were very valuable.

Tepacheria is a bar where they serve tepache, a fermented beverage made from the pineapple peel.

Calixto Varrera and Carmen saw a flying hat in the sky. It chased us till the Zumpango laguna.

Zumpango, April 7, 1940

I thank my Guardian Angel for I didn’t strangle or stab or pour gasoline on and burn alive my friends who come and distract me from painting.

The cats from the neighborhood always come to visit my cat Lyova because he always has food. Those rascals mark the walls and my pictures. I thank my Guardian angel for having enough patience to clean after them and to kill fleas.

After a party, I called a bureaucrat lady to tell what I think about her. I called like 15 times, she didn’t respond. The next morning, I was frightened to look at my phone to check calls. Thanks to my Guardian angel, turned out I dialed my door code 15 times.

Rosaura Limon wholeheartedly thanks the Virgin of Guadalupe for the miracle that her husband Pedro returned home from United States to spend Christmas and New Year with her and children. He went there for work, and they didn’t see him for a whole year. They missed each other a lot.

Puebla

Saint Jude Thaddeus, thank you for all your favors. It seemed I was loosing my mind when I got in the river completely naked. One and half year before, my boyfriend Pepe had drowned at the very same place. A lady saw me there and reported to the police. They came looking for me, and then I spent three days at a police station until my mother and my sister came after me. They payed the fine, and then I was taken from there with the psychologist. Few months later, I was doing better mentally, since I had been at the edge of going crazy.

Angela Moreno
Cuernavaca, Morelos, 1965

Virgin of Guadalupe, I entrust my son to you. Look after him because he’s very drunk and fighty.

Tacubaya, Mexico

Armando B. loved experimenting with his girlfriend in bed. But one day she put a strap-on on in order to fuck Armando. He thanks Saint Sebastian de Aparicio for having the courage to send her to hell. Now he has a normal girlfriend.