Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, often shortened to Santa Muerte, is a new religious movement, female deity, Folk-Catholic Saint, and folk saint in Mexican folk Catholicism and Neopaganism. A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Despite condemnation by the Catholic Church and Evangelical pastors, her cult has become increasingly prominent since the turn of the 21st century.

Colonia Morelos is a colonia located just north of the historic center of Mexico City in the Cuauhtémoc borough. It has been a poor area since Aztec times, with many residents today living in large tenements called vecindades. The area, particularly the Tepito neighborhood, is known for crime, especially the sale of stolen merchandise and drugs. It is home to the very large Tepito tianguis or market, and also has two major places of worship dedicated to Santa Muerte.