My daughter went to ride her pony at the ranch. She met a horned viper. The pony was so scared, it got on its hind legs and my daughter fell of right to the viper. Thanks to the Virgin of Guadalupe’s miracle the viper didn’t bite her. Only looked at her and then went away. We thank the Virgin for saving our daughter from the deadly poison.

A strange giant bird with teeth came every night to eat my chicken and rabbits. I protected them with the broom, but when I went to sleep, the bird always managed to stole some animals. I prayed to the Virgin of Guadalupe, and thanks to her intervention that prehistoric bird left my animals in peace and went back to the mountains where it had come from.

I spoiled my dog and let it eat at the table. But when I married a wonderful woman, I was afraid she wouldn’t allow my dog to eat with us. But she happened to have two well-mannered piglets and they also ate at the table. I thank the Virgin of San Juan because we are a very happy family now.

Devils came from the hell and stole our horses. They entered out village with certainly bad intentions. They terrorized the people. We prayed to Saint Michael the Archangel, and he get the devils back to the hell with his sword.

The fisherman Sergio Mendes caught two enormous lobsters. He celebrated that with beer and passed out. He woke up with a claw on his balls. He thanks Saint Peter for he was able to save them. He promises not to drink anymore.

I loved to go on the mountain to read. One day I was so captivated by the beautiful poems, I was reading without paying any attention. I went to the edge and almost fell of the cliff. But my dog stopped me by pulling my dress. I was saved. I thank the Virgin of the Rosary for such an attentive and smart dog.

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.

Virgin of San Juan, thank you because the doña Chole’s dog didn’t do any harm to me and only took sausages that my mother had asked me to buy.

Juan Manuel Nuñes
Tacubaya, Mexico City
August 1, 1980

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.

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 was very tired when I came back home. I was going to take a bath. I noticed that my husband had already filled the tub. I thanked the Virgin of Guadalupe for his care and attention. I began to wash off my make-up and then I saw a giant octopus in the mirror. I turned over. There was an enormous horrible octopus in our tub. It turned out that my husband, who is an oceanologist, had put it there for studying. It gave me the shivers to think that I might have gotten in the tub with the octopus and it might have grabbed me with the tentacles. I almost fainted. I thank the Virgin for protecting me.

I love to read poetry aloud, but my husband and my kids didn’t like it. I went to read under a tree. I noticed that the animals came to listen the sweetness and the power of the worlds I pronounced. I got an attentive audience of the animals and even the birds that surrounded me. I thank Saint Francis for this amazing miracle that makes me happy.