After few years of marriage my husband was taken by the sea. He left me alone with our little boy whom I had to feed. I didn’t know a lot about fishing, but I took the boat and the net and went to the sea. I asked St. Barbara for help, and she decided to help me. My net was filled with fish. So, without great effort, I managed to have a good yield. In that way I was able to collect enough money to open a fish shop at the town market.

Eugenia Chavez liked to hang washing while being half-naked in order to tease the male neighbors. Until one day the wife of a neighbor hit her with a pan, sending Eugenia to the hospital. Eugenia thanks Saint Rita for her recovery and promises not to be so naughty.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, your tender mother.

Carlos Rivera dedicates this retablo to Saint John Baptist de La Salle because many of his neighbors gave him permission to paint their houses with graffiti so he became a very famous and popular artist.

Saint Jude Thaddeus, thank you for all your favors.

Finally we can do what we obtained to do. Now we can get married. We all, gays and lesbians, asked for our respect and to not discriminate us. We’re thanking that it’s happened. So now we can hide no more to love each other.

We (men and women)
Mexico, 2010

The little boy Juanito Lopez had a marvelous idea to go down the waterfall in a barrel. His parents thank Saint James because he survived and only broke his legs.

I’m immensely grateful to Saint Anthony of Padua because finally my daughter Mercedes got married with a good man. I thought she would be an old maid forever. Now I can relax and don’t worry about her. And I offer the retablo for this.

Agripina Torres
Pachuca, Hidalgo

Pascual Rosas gives this ex-voto to the Virgin of Guadalupe for saving me from the highland bull’s corn when I was attacked by him near the dry well. I was going to the Rodriguez’ ranch when this was happened.

Since it was a terrible storm outside, I decided to wait until it finished watching TV. Suddenly I heard a very loud boom. I looked out and I saw that my car had been struck and burnt by lightning. I thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for the miracle that I wasn’t in the car at that moment.

Jesus Torres Z.
Mexico, 1995

The trapeze artist Cipriano Mendoza gives thanks to Saint Charbel with this humble retablo for protecting him on the day of his debut in the circus. He was very nervous and frighten to fall down but everything went very well.

Queretaro, 1967

Tavern “Love Pun”

Yolanda presents this retablo because, when she was attacked and thought that she was going to die, she prayed to the Virgin of Guadalupe for not permitting this to happen. And now she’s thanking the Virgin.

Tepito, Mexico
March 25, 1960

With this retablo I, Tiburcio Acosta, am thanking the Virgin of Guadalupe because a mermaid saved me when I was hit by the waves. She took me back on the beach and now I’m repaying you with this ex-voto.

Veracruz, August, 19 1970

Jose and Jorge Ortiz give this retablo to the Virgin of Guadalupe thanking her for the success they had with their “huehue” dance on the carnival.