Mexican Milagros

Do you want to buy Mexican milagros?

In our online shop you will find a large assortment of Mexican milagros (miracles). These Mexican milagros are used to create a wide variety of decorative pieces.

Meaning of Mexican milagros

Mexican milagritos are one of the elements of the Mexican Catholic tradition. These small metal pieces are a type of votive offering.

The ex-voto are offerings made to different divinities as a token of gratitude for a divine favour received. These votive offerings have their origins in cultures and religions prior to Christianity. Thus, nowadays, it is a sign of syncretism between Christianity and other previous rites.

Currently in Mexico, milagritos are used for two main purposes:

• To thank a favour performed by the Virgin or Saint to whom the Mexican believer is devoted. In many cases it is a reward to the Virgin or Saint for a promise made by the devotee, when the petition has been fulfilled.
• Requesting divine help in an earthly matter. In this case, the believer attaches the miracle to the mantle of the Virgin or Saint to whom he or she has devotion, and prays for the miracle to be worked.

What are Mexican milagros?

This particular type of votive offering are small metal pieces in different shapes. Each milagrito has a shape, as the request for help or thanks is associated with the shape of the milagro.

Thus, if a believer wants his corn to grow strong, he will choose a milagro in the shape of a corn cob. There are multiple forms designed to improve crops or livestock, different parts of the body to cure ailments, even computers to prevent viruses, or different means of transport to try to make a particular journey smooth and safe.

Although this is the most correct definition of Mexican milagro, you can also call milagritos to different forms of the Sacred Heart, such as Mexican tin plates in the shape of a heart, sequin patches or even stickers with this shape.

In our online shop we have a wide variety of pieces in which Mexican milagros have been used. Thus we see different pieces of the Sacred Heart made of wood with milagros, crosses with milagros or even hands painted with milagros. When a piece has a milagro of the Sacred Heart in the centre, and the rest of the piece is filled with different milagros nailed to it, the whole piece is called a “detente”.

Mexicans use this detente in their homes and place it on top of the door frame. The purpose of the detente is to stop or prevent evil spirits or vibrations from entering the home. In this way, the detente is used as an amulet for the protection of the home. Thus, the different pieces with milagritos that are for sale on our website are not only beautiful decorative pieces, but they are also intended to protect your home.

History of Mexican milagros

Legend has it that it was Hernán Cortés who introduced the milagros in Mexico. At the time of the conquest, Hernán Cortés was attacked by a scorpion, and after surviving the scorpion’s powerful venom and as a sign of gratitude, he made a little miracle in the shape of a scorpion.

The Mexicans witnessed the “miracle” and began to use these little milagros to ask for divine favours or to thank for those received.

This custom has practically disappeared in Spain (votive offerings made of wax or other materials are still preserved in some churches), but it is still used in Mexico, as well as in other Latin American countries.