Tired of Begging: Picturing Private Devotion to Santa Muerte

Abstract

Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint, canonized by no one—but a Saint still. She emerged as a popular figure in Mexico City at the beginning of the twenty-first century and became mainstream during the security crisis in Mexico that started in 2007. She rapidly became a patron for people living on the edges of a monstrous city: sexual workers, soldiers, policemen, smugglers, and uninsured cancer patients. Represented as a white female skeleton dressed in colorful fabrics, her image appears suddenly on street corners, shops, and homes. Tired of Begging portrays Santa Muerte devotees and their private altars.