Fava Milagro |
Milagros are tiny votive offerings placed on altars.
The word milagro means "miracle" alluding to divine intercession on behalf
of the petitioner for relief from suffering. Milagros may be offered as
prayers or they may be placed upon altars to commemorate the moments when
an illness is cured or misfortune is reversed.1
 In many of the images created for the Saints exhibition I have invoked the toad milagro. Those who make the altars dedicate their service to the needs of others, praying not for their own well-being but for the welfare of others. "Toad ex-votos were offered to the saints by women to express concerns about infertility or miscarriage and in thanks for a successful delivery. "In southern Germany, the toad was a symbol of the uterus.2 Common symbols used in the St. Joseph's feast day altars also appear. Fava beans are considered lucky because the fava plant was the only plant that thrived during a major famine in Sicily. Reprieve from this famine was attributed to St. Joseph's intercession. Lilies forecast Easter and the resurrection. Other imagery in Fava Milagro is derived from photographs of St. Joseph altars laden with food and flowers, candles and images of the Saints. NOTES 1. Egan, Martha. 1991. Milagros, Votive Offerings from the Americas. Santa Fe: The Museum of New Mexico Press. pp. 1-2. 2. Ibid, p. 13 |