Teofila Mendes thanks the Holy Child of Atocha because the artist Frida gave her a doll for her daughter on the Three Kings’ Day.

Mexico, 1939

On my 60th birthday, my friends brought me a cake that I thought was real. But suddenly, I almost had a heart attack when a half naked sexy dancer came out of it. I thank Saint Charbel for this scare didn’t lead to anything serious and I wouldn’t have ended my birthday in the hospital.

Ramon del Valle
Queretaro, Mexico

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.

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

With this humble retablo, I thank the Holy Child of Atocha for granting me health so I could celebrate another Christmas and holidays with my family and keep carrying the pilgrims because it’s the annual tradition. May you be blessed.

Doña Clarita Pantoja
Tlaxcala, Mexico

We went fishing at dawn. Suddenly we heard laughs and music. Then we saw a boat on which a lot of skeletons were celebrating the Day of the Dead. They called us to join their party. We prayed the Virgin of Guadalupe, and thanks to her a strong wave took us away from them. We managed to come back home safe and sound.

On the Night of the Dead, our friends, my husband and I were going to the capital. We stopped to have a rest and to eat in a remote village in San Luis Potoci. We noticed there was a hall where the celebration was going on. So we decided to dance a little. But at the midnight all the inhabitants of the village turned into skeletons. We got scared and ran away. We thank the Virgin of San Juan for the dead men didn’t do anything to us.

Your slave Lupita, The Invisible Black woman, from Raval, Barcelona.

2014, during the celebrations at Huejotzingo, an UFO abducted my husband and my mother-in-law. I hid myself and entrusted myself to the Holy Child of Atocha whom I’m infinitely thankful to for they didn’t see me.

Raul Lopez thanks Saint Paschal for he didn’t faint at the moment of sacrificing of the pig for the celebration of his godson. Raul is afraid of blood, but it was him who had the honor of killing the animal according to the tradition.

Carmelo Contreras decided to participate in the town day contest. He entrusted himself to Saint Peter the Apostle and also asked Pedrito Infante for help promising to offer a retablo after the victory. His dream came true and he fulfills his promise.

Guamuchil, 1959

The night of November 1, the sisters Ballesteros were coming back from the mass. In an alley, they ran into a skeleton party. The dead gallantly invited them to join the party but the sisters ran away frightened. They thank the Virgin of Zapopan for the skeletons didn’t follow them. They locked themselves in the house, and didn’t get out for a few days, nor they opened the door for anybody.

1927, during the celebration of the town day in Zacatlan, a son of doña Cleta Sandoval fell of the fortune wheel. She thanks the Holy Child of Atocha for the boy resist the hit and didn’t die, although he remained little bit dumb.

Following the family tradition, I participated in the Huejotzingo carnival ever since I was a child. But after a grave accident I couldn’t walk anymore. I prayed, with al my faith, to the Lord of Chalma, and he granted me healing. This year, I’m back again to participate in the celebrating of the carnival. I’m eternally grateful for that.

Hipólito Mendoza
Huejotzingo, Puebla