The cult of "la Santa Muerte" in Mexico: a socio-historical study and its reflection in a short story by Homero Aridjis

Abstract

In the culture of Meso-Latin America, the cults of Death were significant rites within the context of these civilizations, especially those of the Aztecs and the Mayans. With the arrival of Hernan Cortez in America and later with the Catholic catechization to the natives of Mesoamerica, Death continued to occupy a place of prominence. According to Olmos, after the Christian colonization, Death received many more requests for protection from the faithful than the Virgin of Guadalupe herself; in the face of this, the morbid icon was expelled from the churches on the allegation that it was a divinity originating from the natives and linked to witchcraft; in other words, the contest was more political than religious. Over the years, in the Mexican ghettos, the cult of what is now called la Santa Muerte has grown significantly, and consequently, most of those who worship this deity are stigmatized as drug traffickers, prostitutes, and the marginalized class in general. In view of this, the short story ``La Santa Muerte'' (2006) by Homer Aridjis is used as a means of analysis with the purpose of discussing the relations between the real and the imaginary. For this, a socio-historical analysis is presented of the dimensions that ``The Cult of Death'' has taken on in the contemporary world and the construction of religious identity in Mexico in its current context, which concludes that, from the mixtures of cultures and their fragmentations, often, where there are no rules, syncretic cults emerge.