00:00:00
anybody who's watched breaking bad true
00:00:02
detective or played ghost recon will
00:00:04
come across the image of santa muerte
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the mexican folk saint of death dressed
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in a long gown with a skull for a face
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and her bony hand holding a scythe the
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female figure of the grim reaper is
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often seen as morbid and menacing in tv
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shows in the press she's frequently tied
00:00:20
to drug cartels and other criminals
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nevertheless these depictions of holy
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death as she's often called in english
00:00:27
paint a grim picture of this grim reaper
00:00:30
that doesn't necessarily capture the
00:00:31
full depth and diversity of her
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veneration which is one of the fastest
00:00:35
growing religious movements in the
00:00:37
western hemisphere even though the
00:00:39
catholic church has publicly spoken out
00:00:41
against santa muerte calling her a
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heretical saint and stating that her
00:00:44
supplicants are satanic and even though
00:00:47
some priests have offered to exercise
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her spirit from people like some sort of
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demon most mexican devotees of santa
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muerte consider themselves to be
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catholic and see nothing wrong with
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worshiping her indeed as you can see
00:00:59
with these images on screen of shrines
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in mexico most pray to god jesus as well
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as holy death and though members of the
00:01:07
drug cartels are known to venerate santa
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muerte as we'll discuss later in this
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video most adherents are people just
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struggling to get by who feel called to
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worship the folk saint of death for the
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many miracles she's said to provide as
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one of the leading scholars of santa
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muerte andrew chestnut argues in his
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book devotees have been turning to her
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due to her reputation as the most
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powerful and fastest acting saint today
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let's learn more about this bony lady or
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uesuda as mexican devotees often call
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her we can learn a lot simply from santa
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muerte's name la muerte is a spanish
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feminine noun meaning death santa is the
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feminine form of santo which we can
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variably translate as saint or holy but
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she has tons of different names one of
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which is the bony lady as i just
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mentioned but she's also known as
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lamadrina the godmother sometimes she's
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known as la nina bonita which means the
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pretty girl and people also call her la
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flakita which means the skinny girl as
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well as many other names all of these
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less formal names evoke the familial and
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intimate relationship that devotees have
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with her unlike god who some might feel
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is distant and not very easy to approach
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given how mighty god is santa muerte is
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imagined to be open to listening to
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people's prayers
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and if they respect her and are loyal
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followers willing to directly intervene
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in their lives and gift them with
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miracles and as we'll see because she's
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death she judges nobody santa muerte is
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what is known as a folk saint that's to
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say a saint of the people particularly
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the working classes unlike catholic
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saints who were holy people that have
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been officially canonized by the church
00:02:46
folk saints are either real persons or
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mythical figures who have not been
00:02:50
officially recognized by the vatican but
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who local people believe to be holy and
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supercharged with supernatural powers to
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help them in their daily lives because
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folk saints unlike most catholic saints
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lived out their lives on local soil they
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feel like familiar faces among the
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pantheon of officially sanctioned and
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largely european saints who let's face
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it lived hundreds of years ago in a
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place far far away with lives that were
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just so different to the average mexican
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that they can be hard to relate to this
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means that folk saints offer a friendly
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supernatural face that's based on shared
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values shared culture and shared history
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another appealing thing about folk
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saints is that because they're not part
00:03:34
of the official catholic church they're
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also outside of the moral demands of the
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catholic church this means you can ask
00:03:41
them for things you might not want to
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ask god or other saints for who might
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judge you for what you're asking the
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folk saints history is mysterious and
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there's no general consensus among
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scholars on her origins but according to
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the anthropologist kate kingsbury who
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co-authored this episode as well as the
00:03:59
historian andrew chestnut and the
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mexican scholar peregon castaneda who
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all have researched the archives to try
00:04:05
to find out about how the saint of death
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was born she was created during the
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colonial era from combining indigenous
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death deities with the grim reaper when
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the spanish introduced catholicism
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during the conquest of the region in
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central mexico many say she originates
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from aztec religious practice but others
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give her perepucha maya or other
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indigenous origins instead like i said
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there's not a consensus for those in
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central mexico santa muerte is said to
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be an adaptation of mitikatsuwat the
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aztec goddess of death in aztech
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mythology she oversees the underworld
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miktlan with her husband michelante
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cootley like santa huerte the deathly
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couple was traditionally portrayed as
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human skeletons but some depictions in
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post-conquest codices depict them with
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fleshly bodies when spanish clergy as
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part of the colonial conquest of the
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region came to what is now known as
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mexico they encountered indigenous
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people who were worshiping their own
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gods including death gods the spanish
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while forcibly converting indigenous
00:05:05
people to catholicism introduced
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european christian iconography into the
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culture including the figures of mary
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jesus the saints and the grim reaper
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while for the spanish the grim reaper
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was simply a popular and artistic
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personification of death some argue that
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indigenous people influenced by their
00:05:22
practices involving ancestral bones and
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death deities interpreted the grim
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reaper as an actual saint of death to be
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venerated for favors just like any other
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saint and just like jesus santa muerte
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was worshiped covertly for hundreds of
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years due to punishment by the spanish
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when they discovered indigenous
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worshippers supplicating holy death
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spanish colonial documents from 1793 and
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1797 describe local devotion to santa
00:05:48
muerte in the present-day mexican states
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of kuretaro and guanajuato the former
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example is an inquisition record that
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reports to use their words so-called
00:05:56
indian idolatry revolving around
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skeletal figures of death petitioned by
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indigenous citizens for favors and
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justice after that all mention of holy
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death goes silent in the historical
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record until the 1940s
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the first written references to the folk
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saint in the 20th century mention her as
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a supernatural love doctor who's
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summoned by women when they light a red
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candle holy death of the crimson candle
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is said to come to the aid of women and
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girls who feel betrayed in love so for a
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span of over 200 years santa muerte
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veneration was covert skeletons were
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literally hidden in closets this is a
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far cry from today when we see her
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publicly shown on clothing or tattoos so
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how did we get here the folk saint
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emerged publicly when enrique romero a
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quesadilla seller in topeto mexico city
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placed her statue outside of her home in
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2001 to thank the folk saint for freeing
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her son from jail after this devotion to
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death exploded with many becoming
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devotees or declaring their faith
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publicly following the footsteps of
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romero people began opening temples to
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the saint of death jonathan ligari of
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argos also known as commandante pontera
00:07:08
or commander panther was a charismatic
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and outspoken leader in the growing
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public devotional traditions surrounding
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santa muerte he built a towering 75 foot
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tall effigy of santa muerte just outside
00:07:20
of mexico city founding santa muerte
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internationale a temple to the folk
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saint he was on his way to becoming a
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centralizing figure in the loose-knit
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community of santa muerte devotees
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however in 2008 he was gunned down in
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his car his mother enriquet of argos was
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appalled at the impunity with which her
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son's murderers were treated she was not
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a devotee of santa muerte like her son
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and she venerated the virgin of
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guadalupe instead nevertheless at the
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time of his death she turned to holy
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death she vowed to extend the folk
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saints reputation if she brought justice
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to those who assassinated her son
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events following her plea to santa
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muerte transpired in such a way that
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vargas believed that the saint of death
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had responded to her request vargas made
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good on her promise she expanded santa
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muerte internacional into a
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transnational network of temples and
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shrines spanning across the americas she
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became a major public spokesperson
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acquiring significant social status
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spiritual prestige and financial capital
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following enriqueta's death in 2018 her
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daughter has taken over the temple to
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read more about this new phase of santa
00:08:31
muerte internationale check out recent
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research published in 2021 by dr kate
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kingsbury a leading expert on santa
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muerte other leaders include david romo
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who established the traditional holy
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catholic apostolic church but was
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arrested in 2011 on various charges
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including kidnapping and his church
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abruptly closed it's been estimated that
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between five to seven million mexicans
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venerate santa muerte but numbers are
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hard to gauge and no official polls
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exist as of the publication of this
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video the folk saint appeals to
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basically everyone while breaking bad
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might lead you to believe only drug
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cartels venerate her devotees include
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everyone from farmers to taxi drivers to
00:09:11
lawyers though as the historian andrew
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chestnut describes in his book wealthier
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adherents generally keep their devotion
00:09:18
private because of her association in
00:09:20
the media with organized crime as well
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as condemnation by both protestant and
00:09:24
catholic religious authorities and this
00:09:27
privacy is partly why it's so difficult
00:09:29
to quantify just how many individuals
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venerate the skeleton saint holy death
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has a huge following among the most
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marginalized and those with dangerous
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professions this does include drug
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cartel members but it also includes
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police officers sex workers prisoners
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delivery drivers firefighters or miners
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and while media outlets portray the
00:09:50
skeleton saint as a dark deity that you
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turn to for evil deeds like most folk
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saints she actually is a moral she can
00:09:59
be asked for anything and not just
00:10:00
criminal activities santa muerte as
00:10:03
worshiped by most believers is not a
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black and white figure who's either evil
00:10:07
or good but a flexible supernatural
00:10:10
figure who can be called on for all
00:10:12
manner of miracles and is precisely her
00:10:14
multifaceted miracle working that has
00:10:16
enabled her to flourish among people
00:10:18
from all walks of life including among
00:10:20
people of power and money also because
00:10:23
she's death she does not discriminate
00:10:26
since death comes to us all rich or poor
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so the folk saint is said to listen to
00:10:30
prayers from anyone no matter who they
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are or what they do in life santa muerte
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provides miracles to devotees granting
00:10:38
them not only life and protection but
00:10:40
also love luck well-being wealth and
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much more as i mentioned she's most
00:10:45
often depicted as a female grim reaper
00:10:47
outfitted with a scythe and wearing a
00:10:49
shroud but often she holds a set of
00:10:51
scales representing her ability to exact
00:10:54
justice for those in trouble with the
00:10:56
law or who require revenge for acts of
00:10:59
violence that go unpunished by the
00:11:00
police as i mentioned before when her
00:11:03
son jonathan was murdered enriqueta
00:11:05
turned to sante muerte for revenge this
00:11:07
is because she felt the authorities in
00:11:09
mexico did little about the murder in
00:11:11
fact vargas even wrote a book
00:11:12
complaining that the police did nothing
00:11:15
which is why she turned to holy death to
00:11:17
avenge the death of her son as far as
00:11:20
vargas was concerned santa muerte
00:11:22
delivered death to those who had cut her
00:11:24
son's life short and many others turn to
00:11:27
the saint for her help with the law
00:11:29
whether it's to be freed from jail such
00:11:31
as in the case of enrique to romero or
00:11:34
to ask for someone to be punished for
00:11:35
their misdeeds
00:11:37
ritual practice generally involves
00:11:39
visiting shrines and temples to pay
00:11:41
respects to her creating altars in one's
00:11:43
house and giving her gifts as offerings
00:11:46
these offerings might involve sharing
00:11:48
meals alcoholic beverages or tobacco
00:11:50
with her as well as marijuana products
00:11:52
adherents also give her flowers candy
00:11:54
and other such items to thank her for
00:11:56
the miracles that they believe she
00:11:57
bestowed upon them a person's favorite
00:12:00
offering to give to her might be their
00:12:02
own favorite brand of beer or tequila
00:12:05
this illustrates that in some ways
00:12:07
adherents view her as a supernatural
00:12:09
version of themselves one of the main
00:12:12
attractions of folk saints is similarity
00:12:14
and familiarity and so for this very
00:12:16
reason people might feel closer to folk
00:12:17
saints than official saints and believe
00:12:19
they can establish stronger bonds with
00:12:22
folk saints because devotees typically
00:12:24
share the same nationality and social
00:12:26
class with them as well as the same
00:12:28
tastes indeed the only official catholic
00:12:31
saint who's any rival to santa muerte is
00:12:33
saint jude but the sheer amount of santa
00:12:36
muerte items for sale compared to saint
00:12:38
jude paraphernalia demonstrates he might
00:12:41
be outclassed stores and market stalls
00:12:43
specializing in the sale of devotional
00:12:45
items throughout mexico sell santa
00:12:47
muerte items chief among these are
00:12:50
candles the best selling of all the
00:12:53
santa muerte products they are a popular
00:12:55
way to petition the saint not only
00:12:57
because candles are relatively
00:12:58
inexpensive but they also are a
00:13:00
traditional votive and catholic practice
00:13:03
the color of the candle aligns with the
00:13:05
petition for example as i said earlier
00:13:07
red is used for petitions of love white
00:13:10
for peace and healing and black for
00:13:13
vengeance which according to the
00:13:14
scholars who study this tradition is a
00:13:17
less common candle and rarely seen at
00:13:19
devotional sites case in point research
00:13:22
conducted by the anthropologist dr kate
00:13:24
kingsbury has demonstrated that during
00:13:26
the covid19 pandemic santa muerte's role
00:13:29
as a healing saint has intensified as
00:13:32
she's been imagined to have the healing
00:13:34
powers to fight kovid what's interesting
00:13:36
is that the black candle which typically
00:13:38
is associated with black magic or
00:13:40
vengeance as depicted in breaking bad
00:13:43
actually is also believed to have
00:13:44
protective powers and is being used to
00:13:47
ward off kovid prayer cards have also
00:13:50
circulated throughout mexico with one
00:13:52
reading praying was is and will continue
00:13:55
to be the most powerful vaccine to cure
00:13:58
you of coronavirus do you have faith in
00:14:01
santa muerte if so pray to her and say
00:14:04
amen as a folk religion santa muerte
00:14:07
lacks any official governing institution
00:14:10
and is largely unstructured and informal
00:14:13
because of this it's absorbed many
00:14:14
influences from other religions such as
00:14:16
the african diaspora religions palo
00:14:18
mayombe and santeria new age influences
00:14:21
have also become integral to santa
00:14:23
muerte indeed most devotees practice
00:14:25
their faith any way they see fit because
00:14:28
there's no overarching body stipulating
00:14:30
rules and regulations now practice
00:14:32
sometimes differs among second
00:14:34
generation adherents and immigrant
00:14:35
communities their practices and beliefs
00:14:37
change from that of their parents who
00:14:39
brought with them more mexican
00:14:41
traditions in the younger generations
00:14:43
devotees often absorb influences from
00:14:45
other religious traditions from the
00:14:46
region nevertheless prayer candles and
00:14:49
visiting shrines remain the most common
00:14:52
forms of practice over the last two
00:14:54
decades the bony lady has been moving
00:14:56
north growing in the united states
00:14:58
especially within mexican immigrant
00:15:00
communities she's most popular in the
00:15:02
border states but devotion to santa
00:15:04
muerte has spread to cities and towns
00:15:06
deeper within the united states too los
00:15:09
angeles is the american center of the
00:15:11
skeleton saint in la you can find
00:15:14
several shops that sell santa muerte
00:15:16
devotional items and devotees can visit
00:15:18
several places of worship some of the
00:15:20
first temples dedicated to her in the
00:15:22
united states including one of the
00:15:24
largest shrines to the folk saint la
00:15:26
basilica de la santa muerte santa muerte
00:15:29
also has become the matron saint of the
00:15:30
penal system both in mexico and the
00:15:33
southwestern u.s popular among prisoners
00:15:36
but even the prison guards which leads
00:15:38
us to the topic of the media drug
00:15:40
cartels and criminals in general almost
00:15:43
all news coverage of santa muerte
00:15:45
follows the old mantra if it bleeds it
00:15:47
leads generally tying santa muerte to
00:15:50
drug trafficking and murder and it's
00:15:52
true that devotion to her is common
00:15:53
among drug cartels as andrew chestnut
00:15:56
describes in his book everyone from
00:15:57
low-level drug dealers to high-ranking
00:16:00
cartel bosses have been found with santa
00:16:02
muerte paraphernalia and shrines to her
00:16:04
have been found in cartel safe houses
00:16:07
though as we've seen throughout this
00:16:08
video it's important to stress that this
00:16:10
is only one aspect of the saint a more
00:16:13
robust understanding of santa muerte
00:16:15
requires that we remember the more
00:16:17
commonplace devotion among the many
00:16:19
other groups who venerate her a diverse
00:16:21
group of people who turn to her for a
00:16:22
range of favors the most popular of
00:16:25
which tend to be the sort of thing that
00:16:26
people throughout history have always
00:16:28
wished for love health and wealth as dr
00:16:32
kingsbury will cover in her upcoming
00:16:33
book daughters of death the movement is
00:16:36
particularly popular among women and
00:16:38
women have dominated as leaders and
00:16:40
founders of important shrines and
00:16:41
temples we've already seen this earlier
00:16:44
in the video whether it's the pioneer
00:16:45
enriqueta romero or the person who made
00:16:48
santa muerte to go transnational enrique
00:16:51
to vargas many younger women across the
00:16:53
country have followed in the footsteps
00:16:55
of this older generation and are
00:16:57
building devotional centers where
00:16:59
thousands flock to this is interesting
00:17:01
when we consider santa muerte's position
00:17:03
in mexican culture especially with its
00:17:05
catholic majority population while
00:17:07
institutional authority in the catholic
00:17:09
church remains a male-only priesthood
00:17:11
the santa muerte movement centered
00:17:13
around a powerful female saint and
00:17:15
lacking any institutional regulations
00:17:17
has become a place where women have
00:17:19
carved out powerful roles for themselves
00:17:21
in the religious landscape acquiring
00:17:23
social prestige financial independence
00:17:25
and recognition as leaders healers and
00:17:27
witches of santa muerte research like
00:17:30
this helps us gain a more nuanced
00:17:32
understanding of the santa muerte
00:17:34
movement many devotees feel insulted by
00:17:36
sensationalized media coverage they're
00:17:38
tired of associations with drug cartels
00:17:40
given that most notorious cartel leaders
00:17:43
don't venerate santa muerte as dr
00:17:45
chestnut and dr kingsbury emphasize in a
00:17:47
recent co-authored article santa muerte
00:17:50
is not just a narco saint but rather we
00:17:52
should think of her as a matron saint
00:17:54
for people on all sides of cartel
00:17:56
violence whether they are drug cartel
00:17:58
members themselves or the police
00:17:59
officers praying to bring down the
00:18:01
narcos devotion to her is common among
00:18:03
mexican police soldiers and prison
00:18:05
guards but she's also a matron saint of
00:18:08
the victims of cartels who pray to her
00:18:10
to keep the violence far from their
00:18:12
family and friends this is one of the
00:18:14
appealing aspects of the skinny lady
00:18:17
she's perceived to control life and
00:18:19
death santa muerte as a flexible amoral
00:18:22
multi-faceted miracle worker offers
00:18:25
something to them all and above all as
00:18:27
holy death she is the only one believed
00:18:30
to be able to delay demise
00:18:34
hey everyone thanks for watching i would
00:18:36
not have been able to make this video
00:18:37
without help so i just want to thank a
00:18:39
few people first of all thanks to dr
00:18:41
kate kingsbury she's an expert on santa
00:18:43
muerte and she was the writer of this
00:18:44
episode you should all keep an eye out
00:18:46
for her book daughters of death it will
00:18:47
be published by oxford university press
00:18:49
very soon and also special thanks to our
00:18:51
patrons on patreon who support the show
00:18:53
and enable me to bring in help to make
00:18:55
these videos as good as possible so we
00:18:58
are celebrating our seventh year of
00:19:00
religion for breakfast and to celebrate
00:19:01
i'm launching a patreon pledge drive to
00:19:04
try to get to 700 patrons by the end of
00:19:06
our seventh year and as of publishing
00:19:08
this video we are only 13 patrons away
00:19:11
so if you'd like to be one of those 13
00:19:13
patrons and support the show and to help
00:19:15
us make better religious literacy
00:19:16
content then head on over to patreon.com
00:19:19
religion for breakfast and sign up
00:19:21
thanks everyone
00:19:33
you
