Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (Spanish: [ˈnwestɾa seˈɲoɾa ðe la ˈsanta ˈmweɾte]; Spanish for Our Lady of Holy Death), often shortened to Santa Muerte, is a new religious movement, female deity, folk-Catholic saint,[1][2] and folk saint in Mexican folk Catholicism and Neopaganism.

[8] Santa Muerte almost always appears as a female skeletal figure, clad in a long robe and holding one or more objects, usually a scythe and a globe.

According to one account, recorded in the annals of the Spanish Inquisition, Chichimecs in central Mexico tied up a skeletal figure, whom they addressed as "Santa Muerte", and threatened it with lashings if it did not perform miracles or grant their wishes.

Nevertheless, ethnoarchaeological research by Kingsbury and Chesnut as well as archival work by Perdigón Castañeda, has established clear links between pre-Columbian death deity worship and Santa Muerte supplication.

[23] At the beginning of the 20th century, José Guadalupe Posada created a similar, but secular, figure by the name of Catrina, a female skeleton dressed in fancy clothing of the period.

As opposed to being the political message Posada intended, the skeletons of equality became skeletal images which were appealing to tourists and the national folkloric Mexican identity.

[11] The new religious movement of Santa Muerte first came to widespread popular attention in Mexico in August 1998, when police arrested the notorious gangster Daniel Arizmendi López and discovered a shrine to the saint in his home.

Widely reported in the press, this discovery inspired the common association between Santa Muerte, violence, and criminality in Mexican popular consciousness.

Her scythe reflects her origins as the Grim Reaper (la Parca of medieval Spain),[23] and can represent the moment of death, when it is said to cut a silver thread.

Usually, her vestments are differently colored robes, but it is also common for the effigies to be dressed as a bride (for those seeking a husband)[22] or in European medieval nun's garments similar to female Catholic saints.

The one on Dr. Vertiz Street in Colonia Doctores is unique in Mexico City because it features statues of Jesús Malverde and Saint Jude along with Santa Muerte.

As veneration of Santa Muerte becomes more accepted, stores specializing in religious articles, such as botánicas, are carrying more and more paraphernalia related to her worship.

[11] In 2001, Enriqueta Romero built a shrine for a life-sized statue of Santa Muerte in her home in Mexico City, visible from the street.

This Santa Muerte is dressed as a bride and wears hundreds of pieces of gold jewelry given by the faithful to show gratitude for miracles granted, or to ask for one.

Food such as cake, chicken with mole, hot chocolate, coffee, and atole are served during the celebrations, which features performances by mariachis and marimba bands.

In herbal shops and markets one can find a plethora of Santa Muerte paraphernalia like the votive candles that have her image on the front and in a color representative of its purpose.

[53] The new religious movement of Santa Muerte was established in the United States c. 2005, brought to the country by Mexican and Central American immigrants.

[24][15] There are fifteen religious groups dedicated to her in Los Angeles alone,[22] which include the Temple of Santa Muerte on Melrose Avenue in East Hollywood.

[15] Opposition to the veneration of Santa Muerte took a violent turn in late January, 2013, when one or more vandals smashed a statue of the folk saint, which had appeared in the San Benito, Texas, municipal cemetery earlier that month.

[15][16] Devotion is based mostly among people with scarce resources, excluded from the formal market economy, as well as the judicial and educational systems, primarily in the inner cities and the very rural areas.

[16] Santa Muerte tends to attract those in extremely difficult or hopeless situations but also appeals to smaller sectors of middle class professionals and even the affluent.

[16][22] In essence they have created their own new religious movement that reflects their realities, hardships, identity, and practices, especially since it speaks to the violence and struggles for life that many of these people face.

[22] While worship is largely based in poor neighborhoods, Santa Muerte is also venerated in affluent areas such as Mexico City's Condesa and Coyoacán districts.

[63] However, negative media coverage of the worship and condemnation by the Catholic Church in Mexico and certain Protestant denominations have influenced public perception of the cult of Santa Muerte.

With the exception of some artists and politicians, some of whom perform rituals secretly, those in higher socioeconomic strata look upon the veneration with distaste as a form of superstition.

[68][69] The now defunct Iglesia Católica Tradicional México-Estados Unidos, also known as the Church of Santa Muerte, recognized gay marriage and performed religious wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples.

[22] 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.

[63][76] 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.

[77] In December 2010, the self-proclaimed Santa Muerte bishop David Romo was arrested on charges of managing funds of a kidnapping gang linked to a cartel.

[79][80][81][82] The Catholic Church has condemned devotion to Santa Muerte in Mexico and Latin America as blasphemous and satanic,[24] calling it a "degeneration of religion".