Santa Muerte Explained: Why Mexico’s Folk Saint of Death Keeps Growing
Santa Muerte Explained: Why Mexico’s Folk Saint of Death Keeps Growing Quick Answer Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint who personifies death and is commonly asked for protection, health, work, love, justice, and security. Her following includes working families, migrants, LGBTQ people, prisoners, merchants, police officers, and others living with uncertainty. Criminal devotees exist, but they do not represent the entire movement. The devotion became dramatically more public after a major street shrine opened in Mexico City's Tepito neighborhood in 2001. Claims that Santa Muerte is simply an unchanged survival of an ancient Aztec death religion are disputed by scholars. Her modern form also draws heavily on Catholic and European imagery. Reliable membership statistics do not exist. Recent scholarship describes rapid growth and international spread while cautioning against exaggerated estimates. If you have seen photos of Santa Muerte, the...