Small Miracles’ is an exploration of the relationship between image, miracle and faith in contemporary Mexico. For this series, Echeverría visited the shrine of the Virgin of Juquila which is hidden in the highlands of Oaxaca in southern Mexico : a rural state facing deep economic crisis, mass emmigration to the USA and a prevailing drug war. Popular legend asserts that the statue of the Virgin and her long black hair remained undamaged during a tragic fire that destroyed the village. Since then, she has been venerated by millions who visit her shrine in order to ask for ‘miracles’ and give thanks for those she has bestowed upon them. Echeverría isolates the ‘milagritos’ - bronze pendants that are attached to the Virgin and represent the object of prayer - and photographs them using the pin and string they originally came with..

The ‘Small Miracles’ series gives us an insight into the prayers of the faithful : for example we see images of body parts to give thanks for the healing of broken bones, as well as images which appeal for help e.g. to produce breastmilk. We also see more modest concerns manifested - a plea for a chicken or a good crop of maize - to more symbolic images such as a husband conquering his alcoholism or a heart for love. For the pilgrim, the image depicted empowers the prayer, and becomes a tangible testimony of the act of praying before the miraculous Virgin.