Exploring the fastest growing popular faith in the Americas – La Santa Muerte
La Madrina Enriqueta Vargas Ortiz (b. 1959 - d. 2018), the charismatic leader of Santa Muerte Internacional, has died after a prolonged battle with cancer. The SMI temple in Tultitlan will hold a viewing on December 19th at noon, beneath the feet of the largest statue of Santa Muerte in the world. On December … Continue reading Top Santa Muerte Leader Enriqueta Vargas is in the Bony Lady’s Embrace
Text and photos by Heather Buckley* The taxi pulled up to a blocked off street in Tepito. Today was October 31, Halloween, and I was drawn to see Her. This was my second full day in Mexico City. I do not speak the language—I went by myself. I might have looked out-of-place dressed as I … Continue reading A Gringa in Tepito – American Devotee Documents the 17th Anniversary of Famous Santa Muerte Shrine
Text and photo by guest contributor Stephen Patrick Guagliardo* I’ve wanted to write this for a while. Before I actually begin, this is going to be specifically about my own personal devotion to Santa Muerte, not me teaching about her or anything like that. So, if you find yourself wanting to learn more about … Continue reading Healed by Death – Santa Muerte as Curandera
By Aliza Einhorn* I will crawl on my hands and knees back to New York City and out of this fetid Florida swamp if I have to, up three flights of stairs to that 105-year old Staten Island walk-up where she lunged at me for the first time from the blue light of my MacBook … Continue reading Santa Muerte Calls Me Home
By Aliza Einhorn* 1 I’m an astrologer. I started blogging in 2011 as a way to attract clients. Blogs were business cards back then. Less so today. And I named my site Moon Pluto Astrology because in my natal chart (that thing astrologers analyze to figure you out), I have my Moon and my Pluto … Continue reading Santa Muerte, My Mother, and Me
"Main stream media reports which unfairly categorize Santa Muerte as nothing more than a ‘narco-saint’ and criminal spiritual tradition are a good reminder that the current media is not capable of hosting a real dialogue on this topic. While the majority of Santa Muerte’s devotees are not satanic cartel hitmen, the struggle to pull her … Continue reading Santa Muerte and the Culture of Violence
Since going public in 2001 devotion to Santa Muerte has spread rapidly beyond Mexico to the four corners of the globe. In the piece below anthropologist Dr. Kate Kingsbury* reveals the robust presence of the Bony Lady in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. In the middle of bustling Toronto, Kensington Market offers respite from the … Continue reading British Anthropologist Discovers Santa Muerte in Bone-Chilling Toronto
La Casa de la Santa Muerte in the tiny town of Santa Ana Chapitiro, just a 15-minute drive from Day of the Dead Mecca, Patzcuaro, is one of the most unique shrines to the Bony Lady in Mexico. I first visited it in the summer of 2009 when I was just starting my decade-long research … Continue reading Move Over Mictecacihuatl: Santa Muerte as Purepecha Goddess Xaratanga
Yes, it has been a very good day... The gentleman who rescued me at the airport the last time I visited (see Born in Texas, Complete in Mexico) is the one who I went with today. I got called up to speak and be introduced to the people and I told how Flaca has given … Continue reading 10 Años Enalteciendo a Nuestra Santa Muerte – Reflections on the 2017 anniversary celebration for Santa Muerte Internacional from Hank Vine
Dr. Andrew Chesnut, autor del libro Santa Muerte: La Segadora Segura, dara' dos platicas sobre el culto a la Santa Muerte a mediados de diciembre del 2017. Su primera charla "Santa Muerte: el Nuevo Movimiento de Mayor Crecimiento en Mexico y toda America" se llevara' a cabo el dia 14 de este mes a las 12:00 … Continue reading Boletín de Prensa: Dr. Andrew Chesnut Dará Dos Platicas en México en Diciembre sobre la Santa Muerte
