We all hear tales about how life in México City is scary – most especially the stories of getting robed after hailing a taxi.

This evening I went to the movies at Reforma 222.  It was late when I got out of the movie place and I noted that it hadn’t rained yet – this is the rainy season.  As I was hailing a cab I, as always, thought is this my time to get robbed? Or worse yet, kidnapped?

But this evening when I got into the cab I felt safe.  Safe because the taxi driver had a lighted altar to the Virgen de Guadalupe on his dashboard.   Sharing space with the Virgen de Guadalupe on the dashboard altar was San Judas Tadeo, St. Judas, patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.

Since the driver had gone through a lot of work to build a small altar on his dashboard I felt safe.  We had only traveled about half a block when I mentioned the altar and said “I felt safe,” not so much because the statues would offer protection but in that the taxi driver believed he was being protected, I felt him honest and and not life threatening.  Too it had started to rain just as I was getting into the cab – coincidence?

My comments got the got the taxi driver talking and he told me he built the altar 5 years ago when he got the new car, cab, I was riding in.  The little lights used to light the altar were dashboard lights from his old cab, a VW bug.  He was most proud of this altar and spoke with such reverence about it and the Virgen de Guadalupe.  He also mentioned that he had several altars to the Vigen at home and even had one in his garden too.  The taxi driver said that since he built his altar in his cab, nothing has happened to him.

My only thoughts were:  I wish I had my camera.  As we got near my home I asked my driver if he didn’t mind waiting for me while I got my camera and he said joyfully said – no problem

When we got to my apartment, I ran upstairs got my camera.  And like he said, he waited for me.  As I started to take pictures I noted that he had moved his taxi identification card that he had hanging on the rear view mirror -   he wanted to make sure I could get a good shot of his altar.

I found the taxi driver charming and I could see that he found it moving that I to wanted to take pictures of  his altar. So if you see a taxi driver with an altar on his dashboard, take it, it’s safe.

Click here to see slide show of the traveling altar