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In recent years there has been a collision and confusion spreading into Los Angeles from Mexico, between the Mexican "Santa Muerte" (Holy Death) and the Virgin of Guadalupe (Feast day December 12th).
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La Virgen de Guadalupe
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So-called Santa Muerte is a pagan diety that confused followers think can be venerated and prayed to in order to achieve some material objective such as money, love or friendship, power, health, popularity, safe crossing from Mexico to the United States, or the reconquest of California to Mexico. Each kind of objective is represented by a different color of clothing on Santa Muerte. It is generally associated with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Nov. 2nd -- (for Catholics this is the Feast of the Holy Souls). Not too much later comes the Feast of La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dec. 12th. Actually, it's 40 days later.
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There is a profusion of novelty shops in the greater Los Angeles area where an assortment of Santa Muerte statues or pictures can be purchased, along with various Catholic saint statues and crucifixes and pictures.
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"Santa Muerte"
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Over time, the frequency of confusion has crept into customs being practiced in Los Angeles to the point where party costumes for Dia de los Muertos (Nov. 2nd) have merged with Halloween (Oct. 31st) and you get young females dressing up like the following:
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