Who Is Santa Muerte, The Mexican-Catholic Folklore Goddess Of Death?

As The Daily Chela points out, Mexico's cartel-driven sociopolitical instability only strengthens the desires of the disillusioned, disenchanted, and marginalized to cling to a spiritual figure that actually "gets" them. Santa Muerte — Holy Death — may indeed be the most that some in Mexico and elsewhere can hope for; for the terrified, she makes death less terrifying. Along those lines, The Collector points out that Santa Muerte is perfectly situated as a go-to entity for those who want to "find solace in an abstract folk healer saint who doesn't play favorites with believers."

And yet, Santa Muerte has already become commodified. Factories in places like Mexico and China churn out Santa Muerte statues and other goods, which sell on Mexican streets to locals and tourists alike. A quick search online reveals gobs of Santa Muerte products, from low-end kitsch on Amazon to upscale Etsy marketplace goods. We're talking candles, phone cases, figurines, rosaries, rings, whiskey flasks, pendants, fragrant air sprays, and much more. 

The Washington Post describes a "Salvadoran seamstress" in Los Angeles who makes $1,000 dresses for large Santa Muerte statues. Cristina Perez, owner of "folk-medicine and esoteric store" Botica El Angel in Richmond, Virginia, says that Santa Muerte "makes up half of my sales." She prays to the Santa Muerte statue in her shop every morning, invoking "the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit" for "abundance, work, health, and family unity." 

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