Little Miracles, Kept Promises

Little Miracles, Kept Promises Summary | Detailed Summary

"Little Miracles, Kept Promises" is a short story comprised of a collection of 23 letters of request, praise, thanks and enlightenment that have been left by Mexican-Americans at a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe at a church in Texas.

In the first letter, the Arteaga family gives thanks for being spared in a tragic auto accident, which claimed the life of a mother and her daughter. The only effect of the accident with which the family must now live with is a fear of riding on the bus. The second letter, written by Sidronio Tijerina and addressed to Blessed Santo Nino de Atocha, gives thanks for Sidronio's son-in-laws defeat of alcoholism and his keeping his job when his truck was stolen. Adelfa Vasquez asks for help replacing household items lost in a fire and asks that if Zulema decides to drop out of school in order to help the family in the third letter. The destitute family needs everything.

In the fourth letter, written to San Antonio de Padua, Barbara Yhanez asks for a man who is not "a pain in the nalgas." Barbara writes that all of the educated Hispanic men have moved to California and that none remain in Texas. She is looking for a man who takes pride in his heritage, seeks gainful employment and helps around the house. A man seeking gainful employment writes the fifth letter. He prays for a job with good pay, benefits and a retirement plan. He promises to bring flowers to the saint's tomb if his prayers are answered.

The sixth letter contains two parts. The first part is written on behalf of a 2-½ year-old cancer patient asking that she does not have to go through chemotherapy for the next year of her life. The second part of the letter is from the girl's grandmother, thanking God for sending the doctors and technology needed to save her granddaughter. The writer of the seventh letter requests peace, prosperity and the removal of demons from his or her life.

A woman expresses a desire to love her husband again and requests forgiveness in the eighth letter, which is addressed to the Father Almighty. A person seeking wealth and protection from evil people writes the ninth letter. He wants to win the Illinois lottery and not to be cheated by his cousin who buys the tickets. An immigrant seeking back-wages owed by his employer, who has borrowed all he can, and whose family waits at home for the money writes the tenth letter.

Victor A. Lozano writes the eleventh letter, to Saint Sebastian, praying for a solution to a family problem. His letter is accompanied by a promised donation, which he leaves at the shrine. He now wants all to be even, because his "word like his deeds is solid gold." The twelfth letter is a request by Ruben Ledesma to clear his acne. He was advised to write the letter, light a candle every day for a week and pray.

Teresa Galindo writes the thirteenth letter to Santisima Senora de San Juan de los Lagos Teresa, her mother, her sister and two aunts all prayed at the shrine at the same time, but Teresa's request was the only one granted. She prayed for a man that would love her forever. Now she is asking that the request be reversed. She wants her life back the way it was before. Grandparents who want their grandson to be nicer to them, want him to find a job and to move out of their house write the fourteenth letter. The fifteenth letter is written by a homosexual who is in love with a man overseas. Because he is ashamed of his feelings, he writes his letter in code, using numbers for vowels.

The sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth letters, written in Spanish, are letters of thanks. The seventeenth one, written in a combination of Spanish and English, thanks Milagroso Cristo Negro for a high school graduation. In the nineteenth letter, Deborah Abrego asks Jesus Christ to keep her and her husband together forever.

In the twentieth letter, from Senor Gustavo Corchado to the Blessed Virgin de los Remedios, the writer says his wife suffered complications from surgery and is very ill. He prays for the Virgin to decide if she lives or dies because he cannot make such a decision. Rene and Janie Garzagive thanks for having a healthy baby in the twenty-first letter. The twenty-second letter, written to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, is written by a student asking for help passing his English class.

The final letter is from Rosario (Chayo) De Leon written to the Virgin de Guadalupe. Chayo has cut off her hair, as promised, and has pinned it to the statue. She notes the things that surround the tuft of hair: an employee nametag, several hospital bracelets, business cards, flowers, photos and other things. She begins to tell about her life. Her mother is furious that she cut her hair, because it had never been cut since she was born. Chayo says that cutting her hair lifted the grief that she carried all those years. Her family wanted her to get married, to have children, and to be like all of the other women in the family. Chayo, on the other hand, wanted to go to school, to become an artist and to live her life alone. She blamed the hard times in the lives of her mother, her grandmother and all other women in her life on their faith in God. Since she did not want to be like them, she could not have their faith. She does not understand the events that have lead to her enlightenment, but Chayo has found her own faith. She now realizes that faith helped the women she knew survive their burdens. It is okay to be the person she wants to be. She writes "I could love you, and finally, learn to love me." With this, she leaves her little miracle-a braid of hair and a thank you.