Esquibel presents what he calls a “more promising vision of modern day santo usage” than simply considering a contemporary santo as just another possession  or something to match the colors in the couch.

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He presents a vision wherein santos can serve to enhance peoples lives.  To reconnect us to each other by touching our universal humanity, to mark occasions, to lift us out of our ordinary thinking, or to ease some of the pain and sorrow  of this time and the circumstance in which we live.

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He summaries the modern usage as: (1) Use of santos as surrogates or substitutes for our presence; (2) use of santos as teaching aides and devices; (3) use of santos to express a profound sentiment that cannot be expressed in any other way; and (4) to celebrate accomplishments or to mark special significant public events.  He gives numerous Denver based examples of these usages.