Doing some research into the matter, I recently stumbled upon Frank Graziano's Cultures of Devotion: Folk Saints of Spanish America, which offers fascinating insight into the genesis of both Santa Muerte and the very similar San La Muerte tradition, which developed independently from a similar native/Catholic syncretism in other areas of Latin America; I also would give anything to see one of the bizarre theatrical productions described below:
In the Jesuit missions, the publication of many books included, in 1705, a translation of Juan Eusebio Nieremberg's De la Diferencia Entre lo Temporal y Eterno. Among the engravings in the book was one of a triumphant personified death, holding a sickle (a variation on the scythe) in one and and an hourglass in the other. Death as a skeleton also appears in another image, which was likewise copied from a European original.
These engravings document the presence of the Grim Reaper in the missions, but more important in folk culture were theatrical productions staged by the Jesuits for the Guaranís' religious instruction. The performances often included Christ's resurrection, with props of skulls and bones and with the Grim Reaper in the supporting cast for dramatization of Christ's triumph over death. Such performances contributed to fixing the personified image of death within a religious context.
Almost all the artists in Jesuit missions were Guaranís who were trained by Europeans. These indigenous carvers of saints thought of their work more religiously than artistically: "Image-makers quite literally believed that they were making saints and gods." This observation is particularly suggestive in the context of San La Muerte, whose traditionalal carvers were likewise creating, not representing, a supernatural power. For the Guaraní mission artists, "The reality of things was not expressed by imitating their visual appearance, as in European art, but by capturing their essence." The imagery, including the image of death personified, was adopted from European traditions and then invested with this "essence." The carvings transcend mere representation and become empowered in themselves like amulets.
All of this also brings to mind the wonderful 18th century book La Portentosa Vida de la Muerte (The Astounding Life of Death); more on that here.
All photos you see above are from my trips to Los Angeles to document the Santa Muerta phenomenon; for more, click here to see my complete Flickr set.
Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2012/10/santa-muerte-and-history-of-death.html