That view above of the cathedral and center of Puebla is from a the wonderful rooftop terrace at the Museo Amparo, where they've added a glass-enclosed cafe:
There's lots more than good coffee at the museum, from pre-hispanic art to an exhibit on the modern architecture of Mario Pani. Harlan dug this show in particular for its 8x10" silver gelatin contact prints that were clearly the work of a master. We also got completely absorbed in a display of retablos or ex-votos: paintings on metal, generally maybe 9 inches by 12 inches, made to give thanks for miracles. Many of these are powerfully moving, even as they seem like such simple pictures.
In 1897, Francisco Padilla was crossing the Sierra and met a tiger who wanted to devour him, and having endured two days and a night "he put himself in the hands of the holy Virgin of San Juan of the Lakes and in brief she granted him the miracle and he offers her this retablo."
In 1960, Jose Mosquedo Paramo thanked the Lord for two operations that turned out well.
A soldier wounded in the arm by a canon in 1849 had a long story about operation and amputation and relief:
And there are the more mundane disasters, from one's son falling down a well (and being rescued from all danger), to oneself falling from a power line, to a boy being run over by a truck, along with his burro:
In 1901: "When we found ourselves Juan and I at the top of a ladder we had just lifted the last load of adobe when the ladder broke and we fell on our heads[.] When we were falling I commended myself to the Sr SA Santiago del Moro and we didn't get killed." I enlarge this one here for the details: a man looks down from the roof at the two poor guys on the ground, while life goes on at the nearby well where people are drawing water.
I hope to ever be so grateful for good fortune.
More inspiration at the Museo Amparo:
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