Answered Prayers: Miracles and Milagros along the Border (Southwest Center Series) - Hardcover

Oktavec, Eileen

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9780816515578: Answered Prayers: Miracles and Milagros along the Border (Southwest Center Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816515573 ISBN 13: 9780816515578

Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 1995

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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, Tohono O'odham, and Yaquis who practice this tradition share their stories of unwavering faith and divine intervention. Anthropologist and photographer Eileen Oktavec has spent more than two decades documenting this fascinating tradition in the Arizona-Mexico borderlands. Quoting extensive interviews, she explains the beliefs of the people who perform this ancient folk ritual and the many rules guiding this practice. She also describes the many places where milagros are offered—from the elaborate Mexican baroque Mission San Xavier near Tucson, Arizona, to tiny household shrines and hospitals on both sides of the border. Oktavec also explains how milagros are made, where they are bought, and how they are used in jewelry, sculpture, and art.

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About the Author:

Eileen Oktavec first became interested in milagros when she was a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Arizona. She lives in Goffstown, New Hampshire, and returns to Arizona each year to conduct research.

From Booklist:

Examined here is the age-old practice of using, as a petition to the saints, tiny gold and silver figures of women, men, hearts, eyes, limbs, babies, children, cars, boats, and many other items that need fixing or healing, all of which are known as milagros. Oktavec's book provides a thorough history of milagros (the usage actually originated in Europe and was brought to the New World with the conquistadors). She talks with persons who have had their prayers answered and observes many of the faithful as they visit statues of their patron saints to request favors or blessings. Milagros are usually left as an expression of thanks for favors granted or as a tangible reminder to the saint that the favor still needs granting. However, as Oktavec discovers, they are increasingly being used in jewelry and other decorative arts. Answered Prayers is a superb look at the intensity of religious faith and a brief glimpse of the fascinating cultural traditions that support the customs and beliefs associated with milagros. Kathleen Hughes

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