I wanted to impress my neighbor whom I was attracted to. I climbed up a tree to save her kitten, totally forgetting that I have a fear of heights. I thank the Holy Child of Atocha because the firefighters arrived to bring me down, since I was so scared I couldn’t move. The cat meanwhile came down by itself giving me a great embarrassment in front of the people and the girl. I promise not to pretend to be brave anymore to avoid being a ridicule.

Benito Segura / Morelia, Michoacan

It happened so that miserable coronabitch got into my little daughter’s house. Thanks, Virgin, for she didn’t have it very bad and for she has her kitten Jose Jose who keeps her a company and her roomie who looks after her. I send her my blessings and my prayers from far away (although, she’s not a believer) and I hope to hug her as soon as she completely recovered.

— You know Silvia, this is Zalo’s doggy, it appeared on the news.

This retablo is going to be dedicated to those two neighbors who were spending their evening smoking near the grocery store and saw my dog Rocky who had been lost for seven days when I got my seven toes amputated as an effect of diabetes. I thank CHV (Chilean Television) for recording the exact moment of the epiphany. Thanks God!

Zalo Reyes, October 2010
Conchali, Santiago, Chile

Regino Suarez wanted to impress his neighbor and climbed a pole to save a cat. He’s infinitely thankful, with this retablo, to Saint Francis because he didn’t fell down, although he got scratched all over, but the girl granted him her friendship.

There were some strange plants growing in my flower pots. They looked nice, so I let them grow. Then I noticed that the plants were eating insect. That was intriguing. But then they tried to catch my cats. I prayed the Virgin of the Rosary to protect my cats. I was going to throw these plants away, but my neighbor, a teacher, offered me good money for them. He wanted to take them to the school because they were rare specimens.

San Luis Potosi, 31-12-1960

Virgin of Juquila, I thank you for protecting me on the New Year’s night when a thief broke into my apartment. The most valuable thing I had was my saxophone, but he didn’t know that it was under my bed. The thief had enough time to take out everything, and I slept like a log. But he didn’t know that a neighbor noticed him in a window. Thanks to the Virgin, the police caught him and I got my things back.

Vicente Lucas

I liked my neighbor very much, and she responded me. But we were secretly seeing each other for she had a grumpy and violent father who didn’t let her to have a boyfriend. One night I climbed to her room to see her, and her father caught us by surprise with a pistol in his hand. I thank Saint Raymond for illuminating me to act like a sleep-walker. With his divine help, her father believed it, so I saved my skin.

Nepomuceno Diaz / Zacatecas, Mexico

— We’ve already paid!

The Son of Santo thank the Virgin of Guadalupe because on May 17, 2018, when he came back after a fight and saw some collectors behaving too haughty with his wife, he gave some boxing to those three collectors, until a neighbor started shooting.

When I moved to my neighborhood, I was told that Trinidad is a shithole full of potheads. I was sad and afraid to go out for beer at night. Now my neighbors know me, they care about me and even call me “a blond girl”. They give me fruits, and the tortilla-maker lent me his blender when mine broke down. I thank the Virgin for these people, now I’m very happy and proud to be the girl from Trini.

Thank you, Virgin of Carmel, my old man didn’t find out that I put horns on him with our neighbor each time he goes on a business trip.

Oaxaca, Mexico, 1969

Doña Romanita Montiel felt very lonely, that’s why she implored Saint Pancras, and the next day a neighbor presented her to the painter Frida Kahlo who gave her a parrot. Now she’s not so lonely, and she’s infinitely grateful for that, although the parrot is very insolent.

Puebla, 1937

I give thanks to Saint Anthony the Great for having found a loyal dog who has become my real guard. I always go out to my garden to take the sun but my nosy neighbor used to look at me and pester me, and I felt insecure and uncomfortable. But now my Spike protects me.

Valentina Segura ~ Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon

Holy Virgin Mary, a neighbor wanted to revenge for the noise and set a building where I lived on fire. Thank you very much, Holy Virgin, for saving my piano from this terrible fire.

Catalina