My teenage son has had a "Santa Muerte" head tattooed on his arm. This scares me, as I'm worried it means that he's part of a cult, or into gangs, or drugs, or has an unwholesome fixation on death, though I don't have any evidence of any of that. He's a good kid and a good student. I still think he should have it removed. What do you think?
Frightened Mother
Dear Frightened:
Madame Olivia is biased, as she is fond of skeleton images of all sorts. A little research does suggest that La Santa Muerte probably has its roots in the drug trade. Madame Olivia suspects, however, and there is some evidence, that the image has passed into the mainstream and is used as a groovy but essentially innocent good luck token by many. You say you don't have evidence your son is into any bad stuff. Madame Olivia advises you to be diligent and keep on top of those things but so far the tattoo sounds benign.
Wishing you and your family buena suerte.
~Madame Olivia
