Images From Around The World

This is a temple devoted to Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, saint of the dead. Deeply frowned upon by the Catholic Church, this freak fest of a cult, which has seen a recent resurgence with several million followers, has its roots in Mesoamerican folk lore in which devotees believe Santa Muerte will deliver them safely to the afterlife. But we saw nothing safe or serene in those ossified faces and ghastly images that would convince us to entrust our souls to this creepy saint. This incongruous temple of death out here in Santa Ana Chapitiro, in the bucolic Lake Patzcuaro countryside, was truly bewildering.