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[[File:Muerte-Blanca 6.jpg|350px|thumb|Icon of Santa Muerte]] | [[File:Muerte-Blanca 6.jpg|350px|thumb|Icon of Santa Muerte]] | ||
'''Santa Muerte''' ('''Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte''' [Spanish for ''Our Lady of Holy Death'']) is a female deity and folk [[saint]] in Mexican folk [[Christianity|Catholicism]] and [[Paganism|Neopaganism]]. A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Despite condemnation by the Catholic Church, and more recently Evangelical pastors, her cult has become increasingly prominent since the turn of the 21st century. | '''Santa Muerte''' ('''Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte''' [Spanish for ''Our Lady of Holy Death'']) is a female deity and folk [[saint]] in Mexican folk [[Christianity|Catholicism]] and [[Paganism|Neopaganism]]. A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Despite condemnation by the Catholic Church, and more recently Evangelical pastors, her [[cult]] has become increasingly prominent since the turn of the 21st century. | ||
Her present day following was first reported in Mexico by American anthropologists in the 1940s and was an [[occult]] practice until the early 2000s. According to R. Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D. in Latin American history and professor of religious studies, Santa Muerte is at the center of the single fastest-growing new religious movement in the world. | Her present day following was first reported in Mexico by American anthropologists in the 1940s and was an [[occult]] practice until the early 2000s. According to R. Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D. in Latin American history and professor of religious studies, Santa Muerte is at the center of the single fastest-growing new religious movement in the world. | ||
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==Criminal associations== | ==Criminal associations== | ||
In the Mexican and U.S. press, devotion to Santa Muerte is often associated with violence, criminality, and the illegal drug trade. She is a popular religious figure in prisons, both among inmates and staff, and shrines dedicated to her can be found in many cells. | In the Mexican and U.S. press, devotion to Santa Muerte is often associated with violence, criminality, and the [[recreational drug|illegal drug]] trade. She is a popular religious figure in prisons, both among inmates and staff, and shrines dedicated to her can be found in many cells. In this respect, she is similar to the [[African diaspora religion|Afro-Brazilian]] spirit [[Zé Pilintra]]. | ||
Altars with images of Santa Muerte have been found in many drug safe houses in both Mexico and the United States. Among Santa Muerte's more infamous devotees are kidnapper Daniel Arizmendi López, known as El Mochaorejas, and Gilberto García Mena, one of the bosses of the Gulf Cartel. In March 2012, the Sonora State Investigative Police announced that they had arrested eight people for murder for allegedly having performed a human sacrifice of a woman and two ten-year-old boys to Santa Muerte. | Altars with images of Santa Muerte have been found in many drug safe houses in both Mexico and the United States. Among Santa Muerte's more infamous devotees are kidnapper Daniel Arizmendi López, known as ''El Mochaorejas'', and Gilberto García Mena, one of the bosses of the Gulf Cartel. In March 2012, the Sonora State Investigative Police announced that they had arrested eight people for murder for allegedly having performed a human sacrifice of a woman and two ten-year-old boys to Santa Muerte. | ||
==Criticisms== | ==Criticisms== | ||
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[[Category:Saints]] | [[Category:Saints]] | ||
[[Category:Deities]] | [[Category:Deities]] | ||
[[Category:Featured Articles]] | |||