At Death’s Door in Cancun: Sun, Sea, and Santa Muerte

Abstract

SummaryThis article describes a visit to a Santa Muerte shrine in Cancun, offering insight into why devotees are dedicated to the Mexican Saint of Death. Rites to the folk saint allow locals to express their needs and demands in a tourist city where they are otherwise beholden to visitors and their requirements. A quiet form of feminism is at play at the shrine, run by a woman, self‐identified bruja, shaman, and curandera, Yuri Mendez, and her all‐women team who support their community through their spiritual offerings and in return acquire prestige and financial independence.