In the infamous Barrio Bravo de Tepito in Mexico City, the number of individuals who render cult service to the patron Santa Muerte, grows each day with more and more adherents seeking divine favors in their illicit trades. The Santa Muerte is the alternative saint for the Narcos, because the Catholic Church condems their line of work and rejects their offerings, or so it is claimed.

Everywhere through out the neighborhood, the altars are found, all set up complete with its image, and with near-by vendors that sell candles which are needed for the offerings.

La Santa Muerte incorporates much of the Santeria rites, but the locals render a peculiar cult form by adding next to the lit candle, a chunk of cocaine, a syringe filled with heroin, a glass with liquor and money. Each of these offerings is representative of what is being asked for. But don’t try to take any of these when the requestor leaves, because these offerings are being watched and protected at all times.

Nobody knows how the cult arrived at this neighborhood. But most quickly affirm that it came hand-in-hand with the arrival of cocaine.

The Goddess of Tepito

Mexico City appears to be the hub of the Santa Muerte cult, with ten shrines. These include one shrine at 12 Alfarería Street (between Mineros Street and Panaderos Street), a shrine at the corner of Matamoros and Peralvillo Streets, another at Villa de Guadalupe in the Plaza del Peregrino, a fourth at 16 Canarias Street, another shrine at 352 Retrograbados Street in Colonia 20 de Noviembre, and a sixth at the Parrish of the Suffering and Sanctuary of Santa Muerte at 35 Bravo Street, Colonia Morelos. There are reportedly at least four shrines at other locations in the city and 120 altars where her figure is venerated.

Within Mexico City itself, these shrines are concentrated within one particular neighborhood: Tepito. Tepito is not just any neighborhood, however. Also known as Tepis, Tepiscoloya, and Tepistock, Tepito is without doubt the most infamous barrio in Mexico. Its tough reputation dates back to pre-Hispanic times. The neighborhood market is the black market – knockoff goods, drugs, and weapons are sold openly on the street. The police are seen as unable to control the crime. Indeed, it is in the poverty and desperation that her cult seems to thrive. Thus, the very heart of the cult is a place associated with poverty, crime, and defiance.

Santa Muerte is not limited to Tepito, however. There are at least 35 different locations in Mexico where Santa Muerte is venerated and where her skeletal figure is paraded. There are also twelve locations where Santa Muerte pilgrimages take place. Increasingly, the cult is appearing along the border, where it seems to have reached almost every town. Such a spread, from the heart of Mexico City to various border communities, conveniently coincides with the routes of illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

I am so elated, and finally proud about the old becoming "new"(and news). And with this said, perhaps before I exit this life, ppls will have recuperated at least a portion of their indigenous practices. None of these ways surprise me especially( SANTERIA, and La Purisima MUERTE)..once upon a when, and once upon a where, we all had BEAUTIFUL indigenous practices. When our ancestors were"colonised" the order of the day(post-conquest) might have been DEATH to you and yours-IF you were reported or caught engaged in any practice/s {PAGAN} that had not been set down thru RECOGNISED RELIGIOUS ORDER. So once upon a time {not to long agoes}we were NEVER supposed to be ashamed of our dead ,BUT consequently today we, bury our dead, and vaguely remember we must honor them.-A~Ho!
Que VIVAN Los Muertos!...ha ha

..i hate to read...this is to much..

i get back to it..

Normies wrote:umm.. I'll stick to Catholic saint Candles Juan Martin Caballero being my favorite

I'm with you there. Better yet, I think I'll just stick to a simple prayer-I know my Father will hear me.

Topic resurrected