3. Santos Malandros
Maria Lionza is said to have been the daughter of a native chief who sent her into the wild. She would later become a folk hero in Venezuela. WhenSpiritism entered the region in the early 20th century, she came to be considered a guardian spirit around the holy mountain of Sorta in Yaracuy State. Her legend combined with Spiritism as well as Catholic, African, and indigenous beliefs to form a new religion based around the consultation of spirits. These spirits are arranged into courts: the Celestial Court, the court of the Africans (which includes Santeria Orisha figures), the Liberator’s Court (which includes the revolutionary Simon Bolivar), the court of the Indians, and even the court of the Vikings.
One of these spirit courts is the court of the criminals, also known as Santos Malandros, or the Holy Thugs. It is headed by Ishmael Sanchez, a petty criminal who was gunned down by police in the 1970s. The Santos Malandros gained popularity following three days of riots in Caracas in 1989 and were absorbed into the syncretic Maria Lionza faith. The Holy Thugs are depicted as garish figurines with baseball caps on backward, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and guns in their belts. Tobacco is considered sacred to the court, and all worshipers, even children, will smoke cigars during worship. Back in Caracas, worshipers offer liquor and cigarettes at Ishmael Sanchez’s grave site. The criminal’s court attracts criminal worshipers who want help with their illegal activities—but also those who want to protect themselves from the depredations of crime. Like Jesus Malverde, Ishmael Sanchez was allegedly a figure who robbed to give to the poor and was gunned down by a crooked cop.
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