Feminine Belonging and Resistance in Mexican Santa Muerte Devotional Communities
Publication information:
Abstract
This presentation will discuss the growing and migratory community of Santa Muerte (Saint Death/Holy Death) devotees in Mexico and how women and LGBTQ+ communities find belonging and resistance through their devotion. Santa Muerte devotion sits in opposition and alignment with Mexican Catholicism and is an alternative space where women and femmes can seek kinship and protection while also protesting state violence and oppression.
Presenter Biography
Cass Morales is a religious studies scholar studying the intersections of race, gender, and coloniality in Mesoamerica and how Native American and Indigenous traditions are embedded in the spiritual lives of Latine/Latino people today. She is interested in how spirituality and religion can be tools of resistance for women and queer communities in Mexico and for Mexican-Americans.