Santa Muerte has various names: she is la Flaquita (Skinnybones) or la Huesuda, the Bony Lady, and she has attracted many other euphemisms in the centuries that she has enjoyed underground devotion. But whatever we call her, this sinister folk saint has acquired astonishing popularity in very recent years. During the present century, she has become an unavoidable presence across Mexico and Central America. As Chesnut writes, “In just ten years, Santa Muerte has become one of the most important religious figures among Mexicans from all walks of life and thousands of Mexican and Central American immigrants in this country.” Many specialized stores cater to the needs of devotees in search of herbs, potions and powders, votive candles and statuettes, many of which bear threatening slogans: “Death to my enemies!” or “Law, stay away!” Increasingly, such items appear in the religious goods sections of U.S. supermarkets as well (I have seen them in Texas, Arizona, and California). Although we have no exact idea of the scale of her following, Chesnut deliberately errs on the side of caution when he estimates a constituency of perhaps five percent of all Mexican citizens, some five million people. In underclass and criminal settings, she has far outpaced the Virgin of Guadalupe in popularity. In fact, she can well be considered an anti-Guadalupe, a dark shadow of Mexico’s beloved mother figure.
She’s no more “shocking” than all of the grinning skeletons wearing a variety of costumes and posed in a plethora of contexts that are sold in Mexican gift shops and such. They are most popular around the “Dia de los Muertos” celebrations but you can find them pretty much year-round now. For some reason, Mexican culture and art loves to invoke and demystify the macabre.
La Virgen de Guadalupe is invoked more often than Jesus by many Mexicans and the RCC doesn’t do much to discourage such a heavy emphasis on her. They insist that the Mother always points to the Son. Baloney. She has become a cultural, spiritual and folk hero.
So it’s not surprising that abuses have brought forth another, darker image. Santa Muerte. At any store chain here in Texas, you can find articles involving magical thinking/practice disguised with the images of saints. Candles, incense, even aerosol sprays have pictures of the saints, prayers to them, and promises of money, love, power, etc. It’s similar to the Afro-Caribbean practice of santeria.
The Church, RC in particular but others, too, has to address the abuses involving the saints, the superstition and magical practice, and the cultural abuses.