It’s the enduring discrimination and even homophobia in rural and small-town Mexico that set the stage for Arely Vazquez to become the pioneering Santa Muertista in New York City who has appeared in numerous media reports and documentaries. Though it’s most likely that Mexico will eventually follow the same path of its North American neighbors and even a few in South America that have made gay marriage the law of the land over the past seven years or so. With the Mexican head of state suffering from historically low approval rates, the church-based opposition movement has torpedoed his legalization campaign.
In fact, in September, 2016, the Catholic Church organized a national protest called the “March for Life” of President Pena Nieto’s proposal to legalize same-sex unions on a national scale. However outside of Mexico City, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, and a handful of more liberal cities, homophobia persists in large swaths of the country. On the other side of the border, the strong presence of LGBT devotees is particularly noticeable on social media where they seem to compose the majority of Euro-American Santa Muertistas on Twitter and in Facebook groups dedicated to the Bony Lady. Among rank and file Santa Muertistas in Mexico images of the Powerful Lady have become commonplace at gay pride parades in Mexico City where rainbow-colored death saints process alongside their festive owners. However, Doña Queta appears to be grooming a gay devotee as the successor to her Tepito throne. In Mexico the trend isn’t as pronounced, as the three most prominent devotional authorities there are straight. The majority of top Saint Death leaders in the U.S., Britain and the Philippines are LGBT, with gay men predominating. From the most prominent devotional leaders to anonymous believers, the disproportionate number of devotees to death can’t be ignored. I had noticed her special attraction to those who aren’t heterosexual from the outset of my research eight years ago, but in the rush to publish wasn’t able to go beyond passing reference in my book. LGBT Santa Muertistas constitute an inordinately large sector of devotees in North and Central America and beyond. While the Lady of the Shadows is the saint of the margins par excellence, her strong appeal to one particular group, which has suffered persecution throughout the ages, is unparalleled.