Andrew Chesnut’s comprehensive survey of Mexican folk saint Santa Muerte is a detailed and highly entertaining read. Organized by the colors symbolizing her various powers, the book neatly encapsulates the themes significant to devotees. As a researcher with a keen interest in vernacular religion and folk saints in particular, I found this book strongly appealing and an informative, engaging text.
Santa Muerte has only been in the public awareness for the last decade or so; although her cult has been known to anthropologists since at least 1947, media publicity catapulted her to sudden popularity in 2001. Since then, she has attracted millions of devotees and her candles and statues are outselling even those of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Jude. Most non-devotees know her as a vengeful, anti-Christian saint who neutralizes enemies and helps drug traffickers move narcotics safely. However, Chesnut reveals that she is multifaceted and in fact more popular in matters of love and healing. Indeed, “Santa Muerte is first and foremost an unofficial saint who heals, protects, and delivers devotees to their destinations in the afterlife” (7).
In the introduction, Chesnut gives a brief overview of Santa Muerte and discusses his own personal interest in folk saints. The section is named for the blue candle of insight and concentration. The author provides an impressive literature review; he has clearly been immersed in this and similar topics for quite some time. I was pleased to see that he is building on the work of Frank Graziano, the respected scholar of Latin American folk saints. Chapter 1 is named for the brown candle of wisdom and discernment, and delves into the history and origins of the cult. Interestingly, Santa Muerte has no origin story; she was not a healer or martyr in life, but seems to actually personify and embody death itself.
Chapter 2 (white candle of purity and gratitude) explores the beliefs and practices of Santa Muerte believers. Here, Chesnut discusses prayers, altars, masses, and ritual paraphernalia, using personal anecdotes, photographs, and detailed descriptions. Fans of material culture and ritual will enjoy this chapter. Photographs, though black and white, are excellent aids to understanding ritual practice, and the captions and explanations are comprehensive. Certainly, as the cult has grown, religious artifacts and products such as masses and cleansings have become more commercialized, attractive, and competitive.
In chapter 3, the black candle of protection and harm is investigated. Santa Muerte received national media attention in 1989 when she was linked to ritual human sacrifice and drug trafficking, and this sensational reputation has followed her since, leading most devotees to avoid this color of candle (at least in public). The red candle of love and passion is examined in chapter 4. Most often used by women attempting to rein in wandering husbands and lovers, the red candle is powerful and very popular. Chesnut offers several examples of the love prayers and rituals designed to attract or sometimes repel men. As Chesnut states, “the combination of enduring sexism and very restricted labor markets continues to create strong demand for love magic” (124).
Chapter 5 focuses on the gold candle of prosperity and abundance. This candle is particularly popular in small businesses; Chesnut describes several family businesses where he has observed this candle, often in conjunction with a statue. In chapter 6, he moves to the purple candle of healing. Santa Muerte is known as a powerful healer who helps devotees with health problems and is especially efficacious with recovery from substance abuse. It is fascinating that the same saint who will bless a drug shipment will also help drug abusers remove their addiction. As Chesnut quips several times throughout the book, Santa Muerte doesn’t discriminate. This theme is continued in chapter 7, named for the green candle of law and justice. Prisoners and attorneys both use the green candle to avoid arrest, shorten sentences, and sway judges. In a judicial system notorious for corruption, the guilty and innocent alike seek justice from an impartial supernatural helper.
Chesnut’s conclusion describes the seven-color candle of multiple miracles, the combination of Santa Muerte’s various aspects in a single powerful candle. Prior to reading this book, I had only heard of the folk saint associated with murder and drug trafficking. I appreciate this thorough exploration of Santa Muerte as a complex supernatural helper with many diverse characteristics. Chesnut provides vivid historical context and his descriptions are exceptional. It is obvious that he has not only done his research, but also that he has many years of experience living in and studying this culture.
Although this text does not offer rigorous theory, it is an entertaining and highly informative survey of this folk saint. Each chapter explores a different aspect of Santa Muerte, with great detail and descriptions. Chesnut’s references are very strong and I appreciated the index to look up specific concepts. This book would have benefited from closer proofreading; there is some repetition in phrasing, and one confusing passage where names are switched. There were also rather too many puns for this reader. However, despite these minor complaints, I find this text to be an excellent companion to Graziano’s Cultures of Devotion and a very relevant read for scholars and students interested in Mexican druglore, faith healing, and vernacular religion.
Works Cited
Graziano, Frank. 2007. Cultures of Devotion: Folk Saints of Spanish America. New York: Oxford University Press.
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[Review length: 894 words • Review posted on September 26, 2012]