A local leader of the Mexican folk saint cult “La Santa Muerte” was gunned down at an altar to the skeletal figure late Friday, authorities said. Two other people were killed and eight injured in the attack in the city of Leon, in Guanajuato state.
The saint – whose name means roughly “Holy Death” – is often worshipped by convicts, drug addicts and criminals, along with others experiencing difficulties in life. She is usually depicted as a female skeleton and is supposed to protect her followers from death, but that didn’t work for “La Madrina Chayo,” a woman considered a leader of the cult in Guanajuato.
Prosecutors did not provide the woman’s real name, in keeping with Mexican law, but the nickname “La Madrina Chayo” was used by a faith healer also known as “Chayito.” She, another woman and a boy were shot dead Friday as they prepared the annual Santa Muerte celebration on a street corner altar.
The attack occurred despite the friendly nature of the normal Santa Muerte celebrations, which honor the figure on November 1st and 2nd, similar to Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday. Roman Catholic leaders in Mexico have condemned the deity’s connection to violence and the illicit drug trade.
Clad in a black nun’s robe and holding a scythe, Santa Muerte appeals to people seeking all manner of otherworldly help, from fending off wrongdoing and carrying out vengeance to protecting drug shipments and warding off law enforcement.
Guanajuato has had the highest number of homicides of any state in Mexico in recent years due to ongoing turf battles between rival drug cartels. The killing of the “La Madrina Chayo” at the Santa Muerte altar underscores the intertwining of the folk cult with the violence and criminality plaguing parts of the country.
AP
