— It’s work…
— The most important thing is work…

To the ghost of Andy Warhol and the attitude of Lou Reed. Keep me on the straight and narrow path of hard work. As Alan Davie wrote to me “Magic (in art) comes from lots of hard work—No easy way!”

25th March 2007

My husband was an old school hippy who used to smoke marijuana all day long. He did it for the inspiration—to draw better. However, instead of this, he became more stupid. One day he began seeing flying cats. He though it was funny. But when the cats smiled at him and started talking with him he got scared. After that he decided to quit smoking. I thank the Virgin because my house doesn’t smell like marijuana anymore and my husband even found a steady job.

My friends used to criticize me for my husband was a lazybones hippy, who on top on everything painted our living-room in outlandish colors and patterns he used in his paintings. I was dying of embarrassment every time we received guests in our house. But one day one of my friends brought a rich lady to our house. And she fell in love with my husband’s paintings. She ordered him to paint and decorate her own house. So now my husband has become a great interior decorator. They write about him in the magazines. And my friends are all jealous now. I thank the Virgin of Zapopan for my husband’s talent.

Nobody wanted to buy the artist Pedro Macias’s landscape paintings. He thanks Saint Michael the Archangel for giving him the inspiration to paint ugly devils which turned out to be very lucrative.

I give thanks to the queen of my fatherland, Saint Mary of Guadalupe, for giving me health and a job to tell these stories about the revolution that goes on even now. This great woman, Elin Luque, opened the doors of the Casa Lamm for me. She is doing a marvelous work saving and protecting the value, customs and tradition of the Mexican exvoto. Because the art is a miracle that never dies. Till I have faith, hope and love, I swear my brushes speak for my fatherland.

Alfredo Vilchis Roque
Corner of the miracles
Minas de Cristo, Mexico
January 2011

Elin Luque Agraz is an art historian, curator and director of the Casa Lamm Cultural Center in Mexico.

I give thanks to Magdalena who let me paint her and tell about her life. I ask Saint Jude Thaddeus to guard and protect her and to bless her life.

It happened one night in October 1990 on the street corner in the blessed city of Mexico.

Alfredo Vilchis Roque

The artist is holding “Stories of a night butterfly” in his hands.

B. T. thanks the Virgin of the Solitude with this retablo for the success he had with the exposition of his works the theme of which was nudity.

The Holy Virgin of Guadalupe we thank. We thank for we met and knew each other on the road of the art. We share our knowledge and our work in order to save this precious tradition of the ex-voto, which tells us the history of our beloved Mexico. Because the art is a miracle of God.

Corner of the miracles, Mexico City
Elin Luque A. & Alfredo Vilchis
June 1, 2004. Tuesday

Rodolfo Perez, a caricaturist, was beaten and thrown in jail for a caricature of the governor. With this retablo, he thanks Saint Patrick because he got out alive, and he decided it was better to move in another state.

Thank you, Holy God, for having had G. Courbet paint “L’origine du Monde” since now I can pretend this aint just another perverted drawing of mine but an hommage to the masterpiece.

We thank all means of communication, museums, galleries and arts centers who have faith in our work. We thank also Juan Diego who helps us in our mission as messengers of faith.

Corner of the miracles, Mexico City

Virgin of Guadalupe, mother of the Mexicans, through this ex-voto, I give thanks for your favor, because, on my creative path, I met this people, who believed in my work and who invited me to participate in their project and to publish this marvelous book «The Imaginary Revolution». We all together, Karen, Daniel Goldin, Conrrado Tostado and Alfredo Vilchis, you humble and devoted son, thank you and ask you to bless our work.

Minas de Cristo, Mexico City
July 2005

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.