Juan Soldado is an uncanonized folk saint of northern Mexico – the supernatural recipient of illicit prayers and inexpensive floral arrangements and lighted candles; but Juan was once a genuine living, breathing, and fucking human being. During his days in human form, Juan Soldado was a soldier executed for raping and killing a young girl in Tijuana – a rather strange biography for what is now a divine being.
Although the locals now provide him with all the offerings befitting a spiritual entity, Juan Castillo Morales was an actual historical person; back in 1938, Castillo had the misfortune to be conscripted into the Mexican army and stationed in the sin city of Tijuana, Mexico. When the decapitated body of the 8 year-old Olga Camacho was found in the border town; Castillo was accused of the butchery. However, his true guilt is still a matter of dispute.
There were several possible perpetrators of the crime. First, Castillo’s commanding officer had a certain predilection for young girls, and Castillo might well have been a convenient scapegoat. Second, a pedophile ring was involved in a labor dispute at the local casino, and a transient soldier would have been an excellent fallguy. Third, Juan Castillo might well have done the deed. However, what seems most interesting is not who might have molested and murdered the girl, but that a sex crime gave rise to a celestial being.
After a hasty burial, mournful sounds and materializations began to appear at Juan Castillo’s grave. Local Mexicans began using the deceased offender as a sacred intercessor. As a guardian spirit, Juan Soldado has now become a supernatural defender of anyone manipulating the system. Asking for Soldado’s assistance gives you an edge when subverting social rules. This tutelary spirit gives you a work-around when facing the prospect of conventional morality; this heavenly being has become the protector of everyone involved in the underground economy. Juan Soldado is an otherworldly patron of all of us who transgress against the established order, a guardian spirit for lawbreakers indulging their nefarious proclivities. A true badass of the borderlands.
You do not approach Juan Soldado on behalf of your neighbors – as much as improving life for yourself. You don’t come to Juan Soldado make the world better – as much as getting away with some questionable activity here on earth. Juan Soldado is not about world peace – as much as ensuring that the bureaucracy is so inefficient that you aren’t caught. You don’t pray to Juan Soldado to feed the hungry and cure the sick – as much as to work some trick against the authorities. Juan Soldado isn’t about doing good deeds – as much as playing the system. A supernatural being isn’t there to put meaning in your life – as much as money in your wallet.
Juan Soldado doesn’t require you to mend your ways. Juan Soldado doesn’t compel you to change your life. The folk saint wants only for you to become more successful at being yourself. If you are an outlaw, then Juan Soldado makes you a triumphant outlaw. If you are an illegal immigrant, then Juan Soldado helps you to sneak past the Border Patrol. If you operate on the black market, then devotion to Juan Soldado makes you a more profitable criminal. Make no mistake about it, Juan Soldado does miracles – but such wonders do not ever make the world more fair and just: no, certainly not – the miraculous just puts a little extra in your pocket at the end of the day.
Although the locals now provide him with all the offerings befitting a spiritual entity, Juan Castillo Morales was an actual historical person; back in 1938, Castillo had the misfortune to be conscripted into the Mexican army and stationed in the sin city of Tijuana, Mexico. When the decapitated body of the 8 year-old Olga Camacho was found in the border town; Castillo was accused of the butchery. However, his true guilt is still a matter of dispute.
There were several possible perpetrators of the crime. First, Castillo’s commanding officer had a certain predilection for young girls, and Castillo might well have been a convenient scapegoat. Second, a pedophile ring was involved in a labor dispute at the local casino, and a transient soldier would have been an excellent fallguy. Third, Juan Castillo might well have done the deed. However, what seems most interesting is not who might have molested and murdered the girl, but that a sex crime gave rise to a celestial being.
After a hasty burial, mournful sounds and materializations began to appear at Juan Castillo’s grave. Local Mexicans began using the deceased offender as a sacred intercessor. As a guardian spirit, Juan Soldado has now become a supernatural defender of anyone manipulating the system. Asking for Soldado’s assistance gives you an edge when subverting social rules. This tutelary spirit gives you a work-around when facing the prospect of conventional morality; this heavenly being has become the protector of everyone involved in the underground economy. Juan Soldado is an otherworldly patron of all of us who transgress against the established order, a guardian spirit for lawbreakers indulging their nefarious proclivities. A true badass of the borderlands.
You do not approach Juan Soldado on behalf of your neighbors – as much as improving life for yourself. You don’t come to Juan Soldado make the world better – as much as getting away with some questionable activity here on earth. Juan Soldado is not about world peace – as much as ensuring that the bureaucracy is so inefficient that you aren’t caught. You don’t pray to Juan Soldado to feed the hungry and cure the sick – as much as to work some trick against the authorities. Juan Soldado isn’t about doing good deeds – as much as playing the system. A supernatural being isn’t there to put meaning in your life – as much as money in your wallet.
Juan Soldado doesn’t require you to mend your ways. Juan Soldado doesn’t compel you to change your life. The folk saint wants only for you to become more successful at being yourself. If you are an outlaw, then Juan Soldado makes you a triumphant outlaw. If you are an illegal immigrant, then Juan Soldado helps you to sneak past the Border Patrol. If you operate on the black market, then devotion to Juan Soldado makes you a more profitable criminal. Make no mistake about it, Juan Soldado does miracles – but such wonders do not ever make the world more fair and just: no, certainly not – the miraculous just puts a little extra in your pocket at the end of the day.
A Dastardly Deity living in the brains and sinews of those respect he has gained!
ReplyDelete*those whose
DeleteI guess I could just skip good old Juan and go straight to sky daddy God with the request to help me get the job (over the other person) or aid my team in victory versus the other group of idiots.
ReplyDeleteUnless the Sky Daddy God only deals with prayers on a wholesale level. You may need to find a local distributor, who will provide the one-on-one service for all your supernatural needs.
DeleteGreat response.
DeleteI believe there is a monument to "Saint" Che built by the local peasants in Bolivia in the area where he was killed by the CIA/Bolivian military. The man had stones, whatever you think of his politics. He could have been a wealthy medical doctor in Argentina had he chose.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. There is a shrine to Che Guevara at La Higuera, Bolivia. And while it is true that the native Guaraní peasants will “pray” to the executed revolutionary, I don’t know how successful the disembodied spirit has been at delivering the goods from beyond the grave.
Deletethe supposed God is also recient of illegal prayers. at least this is more authentic. Raul
ReplyDeleteAnother is Jesús Malverde,patron saint of narcos in México, saint for the mass murderers Raúl
ReplyDelete