This idea about Santa Muerte being explained as a form of Syncretism quoting the Pre-Christian view of death by the Aztec civilizations, by so called experts and historians is pure hogwash. While it is certainly true that skulls were depicted and are depicted in traditional craft before and after the arrival of Europeans, Santa Muerte is a recent creation and our national culture and history are being abused in order to justify such disgusting and Pagan cult... Santa Muerte's debut in literture came around the 1950's... when a Mexican Nationalist (a former German SA officer known for his pseudonym B. Traven) wrote the book "Macarius" which is a work of beautiful work of literture that deals with Mexican religious feelings about death according to indigenous and Christian cosmology. Unfortunately, this book was taken by some US "Chicanos" who later got involved in gang activity and used the depiction of Saint Death for purposes of Mafia-like idolatry and witchcraft whose tennets are not at all indigenous as it was also influenced by voudou and Afrocaribbean magic, and so on. No true indigenous healer or witch doctor would ever use such hideous modern pseudo-Mexican "uncle Sam" idol as legitimate... And no true Christian would ever accept it as part of the Christian worship. Unfortunately, Communism consolidated in Mexico after the Cristero crack down in the 1930's and the Catholic Church was effectively supressed for several years until the WWII liberal cruzade when President Manuel Avila Camacho realized that religion could be used as a way to control people. At that time, he allowed priests to say mass again, and restored the role of the Roman Catholic Church as the main religion in Mexico... However, the Vatican had already agreed to replace militant bishops with men acceptable to the government with US mediation. Religious orders had been banned, religious education in schools outlawed and intense Anti-Christian propaganda was launched. Around the 1960's when the reforms of Vatican II were promulgated, "belonging without believing" was the norm everywhere... Many forms were readopted but the meanings faded away... Some Mexicans simply turned to the veneration of saints but knew nothing about those saints as their granparents did... their religion was taken away from them by both local Marxism and the worldwide destruction of Christianity in the 1960's... In the 70's, American-born children of Mexican labourers who lived in the US since WWII came back regularly to visit their relatives. Many of them were active in gang activities and brought Saint Death to their young relatives in Mexico...