When Catholics in the Southwest ask God or a saint for help, many of them do not merely pray. They also promise or present a gift a tiny metal object known as a milagro. A milagro, which means "miracle" in Spanish, depicts the object for which a miracle is sought, such as a crippled leg or a new house. Milagros are offered for everything people pray for, and so they can represent almost anything imaginable arms, lungs, hearts, and eyes; men, women, and children; animals, cars, boats even lost handbags and imprisoned men.
In Answered Prayers, the Mexicans, Mexican Americans,...