Pictured above is one of two (or three, if you count the orange shawl someone handed to me, just like that, in a restaurant last night) delightful gifts I received yesterday.
Nikipedia picked up this figurine of Dr. José Gregorio Hernández on his travels in Venezuela. A physician who, during his lifetime, ministered to the poor, Dr. Hernandez is “commonly invoked as “José Gregorio” by both doctors and patients for healing purposes. He is also called upon for protection during overland journeys.” The Vatican granted him the status of Venerable in 1985, and he’s also a lesser deity in the pantheon of the syncretic cult of María Lionza.
José Gregorio joins Babe the Blue Ox and others in one of my own personal pantheons — that comprising lovely and unusual gifts given to me by close friends.