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Members of Mexico’s Angelito Negro Cult Believe the Devil Will Protect Them

​ A few weeks back, we featured a story on Mexico’s​ Santa Muerte followers by New Zealand photographer Erin Lee. While shooting Santa Muerte, a cult associated with violence and crime that is said to be the fastest-​growing religion in the world, she came across a stranger and lesser-known sect called Angelito Negro. We spoke to her about the “devil cleansings” she witnessed.

VICE: What is Angelito Negro about?
​ Erin Lee: Angelito Negro basically translates to “Black Angel.” It’s a sculpture of this black angel dressed in a mariachi outfit and holding tequila, except he’s a devil with massive horns. What we were told about Angelito Negro is that you shouldn’t use the Devil as an excuse to do bad things and say, “Oh, the Devil made me do it.” The Devil only exists to judge whether you get through to heaven or hell when you die. He’s there to judge you, not to push you into bad things. So it’s different from Satanism.

What happened during the Devil cleansing that you photographed?
​ They put a woman in a circle of fire and made these four symbols out of salt. Then they cut all these lines in her back. We were told that the symbols represented the four portal doors to the invocation of the summoning of the supernatural. And then they drew the same symbols that she’s standing in the middle of with her own blood on her back. After that they threw salt and alcohol all over the wound—the whole thing probably only lasted 20 minutes.

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