The story of the Santa Muerte shrine in rural Oaxaca is deeply intertwined with the sea and the fates of fishermen who brave sharks, killer whales, sea snakes, storms and wild winds, as this article details.
Devoting Myself to Death on Day of the Dead: a Santa Muerte Devotee in Rural Oaxaca
Abby describes how she watched, initially a non-believer herself, as her family and the whole community came together to care for a statue of Santa Muerte during a hurricane and eventually built a large chapel that would come to house many statues where la Santa would be celebrated on Day of the Dead and Abby would come to realise she was devoted to death.