"For most devotees Santa Muerte is neither grim nor satanic. Instead, she is a saint who is as familiar to Mexicans as death itself. And her familiarity is reflected in her most common nicknames: Skinny Lady, White Sister, Godmother, Co-Godmother, White Girl and Pretty Girl. As godmother and sister, the saint becomes a supernatural family member, approached with the same type of intimacy Mexicans would typically accord their relatives. Much, of course, has been written about the uniqueness of the concept of death in Mexican culture. In his illuminating book on the subject, "Death and the Idea of Mexico," anthropologist Claudio Lomnitz even argues that death is totemic of the nation itself; that along with the Virgin of Guadalupe and 19th-century president, Benito Juarez, the figure of Catrina Calavera, the "playful skeleton." is one of the three great totems or powerful emblems of Mexicanness."
Vatican Cultural Minister Declares Santa Muerte “Blasphemous”
The battle between the Catholic orthodoxy and devotees of Santa Muerte has hit a high water mark with a visit to Mexico from the Vatican's Cultural Minister, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. Sarah C. Nelson, writing for Huffington Post UK, reports on the news that Ravasi has given a charge of blasphemy to Santa Muerte in a … Continue reading Vatican Cultural Minister Declares Santa Muerte “Blasphemous”
Saint or Sinner? Mexico Debates A Cult’s Status (NPR – All Things Considered, 2009)
An episode from NPR's All Things Considered dedicated to Santa Muerte demonstrates a trend in reportage that has had an unfortunate effect on understanding the complexity of these faith traditions. Within three short paragraphs we already descend into a narrative laden with adjectives like dangerous, dark, shacklike (an authorial invention to describe just how shack … Continue reading Saint or Sinner? Mexico Debates A Cult’s Status (NPR – All Things Considered, 2009)
Vatican Official Denounces Santa Muerte as ‘Sinister and Infernal’
The Mexican offensive against Santa Muerte (Saint Death) launched by former president, Felipe Calderon, has now gone global. In an interview last week with a Peruvian Catholic news site (Aciprensa), the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, condemned the cult of the skeleton saint as "sinister and infernal." The Italian prelate, … Continue reading Vatican Official Denounces Santa Muerte as ‘Sinister and Infernal’
Santa Muerte: My Search for the Bony Lady (Courtesy of Morbid Anatomy Library)
New York Times bestselling author Tony Hurley helped bring La Nina Blanca to The Morbid Anatomy Library in Brooklyn, New York after an introduction to Santa Muerte during a recent book tour. As the creator of the ghostgirl series and the new Blessed Trilogy, Hurley's work focuses on contemporary explorations of traditional ideas, making her a valued voice of … Continue reading Santa Muerte: My Search for the Bony Lady (Courtesy of Morbid Anatomy Library)
Orthodox Prayers for a Holy Death
Although the Catholic church has denounced most of the folk traditions which sanctify death, there is a long standing tradition within Catholicism that includes prayers for a holy death. While most of these prayers keep the process of dying firmly outside of saintly personhood, this is not always the case. The much beloved Francis of Assisi gave … Continue reading Orthodox Prayers for a Holy Death
La Santa Muerte en México (Espacio Crítico 1)
An excellent article from the Espacio Critico 1 blog detailing the Santa Muerte tradition from the perspective of someone who has seen the devotional tradition grow through commercialization, and increasingly trying social conditions in Mexico: "La adoración a la “Santa Muerte” como la conocemos actualmente comienza en la década de los cincuentas en la Ciudad … Continue reading La Santa Muerte en México (Espacio Crítico 1)
Selling Holy Death – From Grim Reaper to Skeletal Virgin, A Brief Look at Commercializing an Emerging Iconography
"In all of this, if we are really searching for the White Flower, we have to ask ourselves if we are truly seeing the face of Holy Death that Her devotees see..."
Santa Muerte: Mexico’s Devotion To the Saint of Death
(This article originally appeared in January, 2012 on Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut's Huffington Post blog along with a photo essay. Click Here to see the original article and photos.) While tens of thousands of Mexicans have lost their lives in the ongoing drug war, millions more have become devoted to death. Saint Death (Santa Muerte) … Continue reading Santa Muerte: Mexico’s Devotion To the Saint of Death
She comes from the West with flowers in Her hair…
"Santa Muerte...hears prayers from dark places...She was sent to rescue the lost, society's rejects...She understands us, because she is a cabrona like us. We are hard people and we live hard lives. But she accepts us all, when we do good and bad." - Hayde Solís Cárdenas, a 65 year old street merchant and devotee … Continue reading She comes from the West with flowers in Her hair…
Most Holy Death 