Let St. Anthony Find Your True Love (A Valentine's Day Ritual from Mexico)

In honor of St. Anthony's day, which was yesterday, I'm re-posting this photo-essay which was first published on Feb. 10, 2011. 

On Tuesday, arriving in Morelia, Mexico on Day One of the Monarch Butterflies and Michoacån Cuisine tour, I didn’t see a single butterfly but did learn about a place that may be more efficient than E-Harmony and Match.com in helping single ladies find the man of their dreams.

It was San Miguelito, the restaurant in Morelia where we ate the first night.  It calls itself a “Restaurante, Bazar, Galeria, & Museo” and they’re not kidding. 

 In addition to scrumptious Mexican food, they sell Day of the Dead figures, Botero-like fat little angels, a wooden chair that is also a skeleton, and aprons imprinted with Guadalupe.

 But the main draw is the back room, which, in addition to dining tables and chairs, holds more than 700 images of St. Anthony of Padua all UPSIDE DOWN.

For over twenty years, according to proprietor Cynthia Martinez, single women have been thronging to this room to beg St. Anthony to intercede for them and send their destined mate to their side.

 There are bulletin boards filled with photos and thanks from satisfied customers who have finally met their soul mate.

Here is what you have to do:  take 13 coins of the same  denomination from two bags hanging nearby.  Line up 13  coins on the base of the main St Anthony statue.  Walk around the statue 13 times.  Pray to St. Anthony.  (Suggested prayer below.  The restaurant also provides a Spanish-language version.)

There is a three-hole notebook below the statue on which you can write your specific request.  One woman covered 21 pages detailing her requirements in a mate.

Nearby is a shelf holding some of the dozens of notebooks  which have been filled in the past two decades with single women’s requests.

Back in the U.S. I had heard that people wanting to sell their homes would bury a statue of St Anthony in the front year, upside down of course, to speed up the sale. (A new friend, Christina, tells me that that’s actually St. Joseph.)

I think the point of the St. Anthony ritual is that, when your wish is fulfilled, you will release the saint and turn him back over.  But the St. Anthonys at San  Miguelito restaurant in Morelia have been standing upside-down for so long, while bringing couples together, that I  don’t think they have any hope of landing on their feet again.

Here is a poster on the restaurant’s wall advertising the Saint’s miraculous powers to lead you to love.

If you want to try this ritual at home:  get your own statue of St. Anthony and 13 identical coins and give it a try.  Here is a suggested prayer I found on the internet.  If you would like to have the Spanish-language prayer given out by San Miguelito Restaurant, write me at JoanPGage@yahoo.com.

Oh Wonderful St.Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of thy miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in thy arms, obtain for me of his bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart. Thou who was so loving towards miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to thee, but the glory of God that it may be once again magnified by this request which I now make to you. Amen

Amalia's South Beach Valentine's Day

 

 Granddaughter Amalia and her parents were back home in swinging South Beach, Miami for the week leading up to Valentine's Day, before returning to quaint, quiet, colonial Granada, Nicaragua until April.  So Nick and I, better known as Papou and Yiayia, flew down to hang out with them.

Here are some of the ways Amalía celebrated the South Beach way.  She greeted us at dawn on  Thursday with a valentine cookie each and the words: "I love you Yiaya.  I love you Papou." (And I think she did it unprompted by parents!)

 

Horseback time with Papi .

Opening a musical Valentine.

Rockin' out to her musical "Dora the Explorer" guitar.

Her favorite game is opening an entire box of kiddie band-aids and using them to decorate Papou's legs and Yiayia's arms.

 

Lunch with Mommy, while sharing sun screen, on Lincoln Road.

.

 

Watching the balloon sellers and playing with friends on the grassy knoll.

Sliding at the park with Papi.

 

Happy  hour at the Ritz with friends.

 

While making the biggest possible mess with the seashell gravel.

And finally, Valentine's Day dinner on Lincoln Road with Papou and Yiayia.

Mas pollo, please!

Let St. Anthony Find Your True Love (A Valentine Day Ritual from Mexico)

(Back by popular demand! Two years ago, in February of 2011, while I was traveling in Mexico, I posted this story about a ritual and a restaurant I encountered in Morelia.  The restaurant owners claim that thousands of women have found their soul-mates thanks to their "shrine" to St. Anthony.  I'm reprinting this  because the post turned out to be so popular  And at the end I'm adding a photograph of the Spanish- language pledge to the saint posted in the restaurant, because so many women have asked me for it.   Here's hoping that it will work for many more in 2013.)

On Tuesday, arriving in Morelia, Mexico on Day One of the Monarch Butterflies and Michoacån Cuisine tour, I didn’t see a single butterfly but did learn about a place that may be more efficient than E-Harmony and Match.com in helping single ladies find the man of their dreams.

It was San Miguelito, the restaurant in Morelia where we ate the first night.  It calls itself a “Restaurante, Bazar, Galeria, & Museo” and they’re not kidding. 

 In addition to scrumptious Mexican food, they sell Day of the Dead figures, Botero-like fat little angels, a wooden chair that is also a skeleton, and aprons imprinted with Guadalupe.

 But the main draw is the back room, which, in addition to dining tables and chairs, holds more than 700 images of St. Anthony of Padua all UPSIDE DOWN.

For over twenty years, according to proprietor Cynthia Martinez, single women have been thronging to this room to beg St. Anthony to intercede for them and send their destined mate to their side.

 There are bulletin boards filled with photos and thanks from satisfied customers who have finally met their soul mate.

Here is what you have to do:  take 13 coins of the same  denomination from two bags hanging nearby.  Line up 13  coins on the base of the main St Anthony statue.   Walk around the statue 13 times.  Pray to St. Anthony.  (Suggested prayer below.  The restaurant also provides a Spanish-language version.)

There is a three-hole notebook below the statue on which you can write your specific request.  One woman covered 21 pages detailing her requirements in a mate.

Nearby is a shelf holding some of the dozens of notebooks  which have been filled in the past two decades with single women’s requests.

Back in the U.S. I had heard that people wanting to sell their homes would bury a statue of St Anthony in the front year, upside down of course, to speed up the sale. (A new friend, Christina, tells me that that’s actually St. Joseph.)

I think the point of the St. Anthony ritual is that, when your wish is fulfilled, you will release the saint and turn him back over.  But the St. Anthonys at San  Miguelito restaurant in Morelia have been standing upside-down for so long, while bringing couples together, that I  don’t think they have any hope of landing on their feet again.

Here is a poster on the restaurant’s wall advertising the Saint’s miraculous powers to lead you to love.

If you want to try this ritual at home:  get your own statue of St. Anthony and 13 identical coins and give it a try.  Here is a suggested prayer I found on the internet.  If you would like to have the Spanish-language prayer given out by San Miguelito Restaurant, a photograph of it is below.

Oh Wonderful St.Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of thy miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in thy arms, obtain for me of his bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart. Thou who was so loving towards miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to thee, but the glory of God that it may be once again magnified by this request which I now make to you. Amen

Here is  a photograph of the St. Antonio pledge that was posted at the restaurant:

Valentine’s Day the South Beach Way

(This Valentine Vision, seen on Lincoln Road selling the plants perched atop her  voluminous skirt, seems to have escaped from "Alice in Wonderland".)

I’m back in Miami Beach and every day I push my grand-daughter in her stroller up and down Lincoln Road, the 8-block long pedestrian mall which is the main street of South Beach.  As we promenade,  my jaw often drops at the exotic, outrageous and just plain weird things I encounter on this Main Street of Bizzaro World, home to art galleries, drag brunches, mimes, clowns, evangelists, flea markets, produce sellers, Hasidic Jews, bikinied beauties and a whole lot of homeless people rubbing elbows with tourists, models and club goers.  Adding to the excitement are the many kinds of vehicles threading through the crowds: skateboards, Segways, bicycles, and every kind of stroller and motorized chair.

Like every Main Street in the U.S.,  Lincoln Road is now awash in Valentine’s Day decorations and gifts, but here in South Beach they do Valentine’s Day their own way.

The Britto Art Gallery on Lincoln Road is devoted entirely to selling the work of Miami’s most famous (and controversial) artist, Romero Britto.  He was born into abject poverty in Brazil in 1963, is self-taught and arrived in Miami in the 1980’s.  His cheery, comic-book-like images of Mickey Mouse and smiling cats, the Statue of Liberty and the Virgin of Guadalupe now sell for many thousands of dollars each, and he has  designed for Miami huge street art, parking meters, china, purses, umbrellas, luggage, even the uniforms worn at Miami airport.

Serious art critics in Miami scorn his art and dismiss Britto as a “hack” but yesterday, people were streaming into the gallery, filled with his “heart” images for Valentine’s day and streaming out with purchases in his distinctive winged-heart shopping bags.

 Many other stores on Lincoln Road had striking Valentine-themed displays yesterday, suggesting that you tell your valentine you love him/her/it with:

 Lingerie,

 Wigs and dresses,

 Jewelry,

 Shoes,

 Books.

 Paul’s French bakery had heart-shaped bread and macaroons.

 A sports bar encouraged Happy Hour with an inflatable teddy bear

 A man was kissing two parrots he had saved – one fell from a tree, the other was given up by his owner.

 A psychic was busy doing readings.

By this morning (Monday) things had quieted down a lot and the crowds had thinned out except for two models being photographed.

 But on Valentine’s Day lovers of every persuasion will be thronging to the outdoor restaurants, bars and happy hours, the flames of the outdoor heaters will flicker (because it’s unusually cool for Miami Beach), music will be blaring from every restaurant and bar, and South Beach will be celebrating love—every kind of love—in its own unique way.

Let St. Anthony Find Your True Love (A Valentine Day Ritual from Mexico)

(Last year, while I was traveling in Mexico, I posted this blog post about a ritual and a restaurant I encountered in Morelia.  The restaurant owners claim that thousands of women have found their soul-mates thanks to their "shrine" to St. Anthony.  I'm reprinting this again because the post turned out to be so popular  And at the very end I'm adding a photograph of the Spanish language pledge to the saint posted in the restaurant, because so many women have asked me for it. )

On Tuesday, arriving in Morelia, Mexico on Day One of the Monarch Butterflies and Michoacån Cuisine tour, I didn’t see a single butterfly but did learn about a place that may be more efficient than E-Harmony and Match.com in helping single ladies find the man of their dreams.

It was San Miguelito, the restaurant in Morelia where we ate the first night.  It calls itself a “Restaurante, Bazar, Galeria, & Museo” and they’re not kidding. 

 In addition to scrumptious Mexican food, they sell Day of the Dead figures, Botero-like fat little angels, a wooden chair that is also a skeleton, and aprons imprinted with Guadalupe.

 But the main draw is the back room, which, in addition to dining tables and chairs, holds more than 700 images of St. Anthony of Padua all UPSIDE DOWN.

For over twenty years, according to proprietor Cynthia Martinez, single women have been thronging to this room to beg St. Anthony to intercede for them and send their destined mate to their side.

 There are bulletin boards filled with photos and thanks from satisfied customers who have finally met their soul mate.

Here is what you have to do:  take 13 coins of the same  denomination from two bags hanging nearby.  Line up 13  coins on the base of the main St Anthony statue.  Walk around the statue 13 times.  Pray to St. Anthony.  (Suggested prayer below.  The restaurant also provides a Spanish-language version.)

There is a three-hole notebook below the statue on which you can write your specific request.  One woman covered 21 pages detailing her requirements in a mate.

Nearby is a shelf holding some of the dozens of notebooks  which have been filled in the past two decades with single women’s requests.

Back in the U.S. I had heard that people wanting to sell their homes would bury a statue of St Anthony in the front year, upside down of course, to speed up the sale. (A new friend, Christina, tells me that that’s actually St. Joseph.)

I think the point of the St. Anthony ritual is that, when your wish is fulfilled, you will release the saint and turn him back over.  But the St. Anthonys at San  Miguelito restaurant in Morelia have been standing upside-down for so long, while bringing couples together, that I  don’t think they have any hope of landing on their feet again.

Here is a poster on the restaurant’s wall advertising the Saint’s miraculous powers to lead you to love.

If you want to try this ritual at home:  get your own statue of St. Anthony and 13 identical coins and give it a try.  Here is a suggested prayer I found on the internet.  If you would like to have the Spanish-language prayer given out by San Miguelito Restaurant, a photograph of it is below.

Oh Wonderful St.Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of thy miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in thy arms, obtain for me of his bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart. Thou who was so loving towards miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to thee, but the glory of God that it may be once again magnified by this request which I now make to you. Amen

Here is  a photograph of the St. Antonio pledge that was posted at the restaurant: