With the rise of drug culture in rural Sinaloa between the 1970s and '80s, Malverde's image morphed into something less benevolent. In the years after his purported death in 1909, and as his legend was repeated over time by poor Mexican farm workers, those who paid homage to Malverde grew in numbers. As the legend goes, Malverde told his friend to kill him, turn his body in and give the reward money to the people of Sinaloa. Mexican authorities were said to have hunted the elusive Malverde relentlessly and then offered a sizeable reward for his capture - dead or alive. Those who perpetuate the legend speak of a man who was the "son of the pueblo" during the turn of the 20th century. Unlike his contemporary - the more politically minded legendary Mexican hero Pancho Villa - there is no proof Malverde existed. For the young Martinez-Gonzalez, sharing the first name with a railroad bandito legend was "pretty cool," but what appealed to him more were the stories of Malverde's philanthropy and how he made his legend by helping the poor hard-working families in the western state of Sinaloa, Mexico. The story about Jesus Malverde caught his attention. Being first-generation Mexican-American he kept close ties to his culture, listening intently to the stories his grandfather told him growing up. The son of a Mexican immigrant grape picker, he spent childhood summers running through the grapevines of Southern California's Coachella Valley, side by side with his mother while she worked. Martinez-Gonzalez chose the name innocently. So, the folk hero became inextricably linked with a dark business. That made those figures spiritually attractive to nefarious people, including drug traffickers. Unlike traditional Mexican Catholicism, there is no hard and fast ritual to worshipping figures like Malverde or Santa Muerte, Kail said. Later, he saw Santa Muerte's image tied to one figure who kept coming up. He saw images of Santa Muerte, the protector of death. He said in the 1980s, he began seeing anti-Christian imagery in Mexico. Kail spent more than 20 years writing about deviant religious groups, researching Santeria communities and healers in East Africa. When they believe those miracles materialize, they return with more offerings. It is believed thousands visit it every year to give offerings to the "narco saint." People leave messages pleading for miracles. law enforcement staff about religious practices, said the cartels embraced figures like Jesus Malverde because they "hear prayers from dark places - prayers traditional deities like the Mother Mary don't."Ī shrine dedicated to Malverde is located in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Tony Kail, creator of Worldview Consulting, which helps train U.S. "I get people that hit me up," he said about the threats, "but once they realize what I'm about they're cool," he said without elaborating. And because he lives with a tainted name, some of the messages are threats. The messages come sporadically on his social media pages, he said. "It's crazy, I get messages and e-mails from people who think I'm really him," Martinez-Gonzalez said in an interview at the Center for Hispanic Leadership conference in Los Angeles. But as drug violence plagues parts of Mexico, the stigma has forced the musician to reconsider what he's created for himself. Martinez-Gonzalez says he was fascinated with the mystical folklore and was not aware of the negative perception of Malverde. If that wasn't enough, he even introduces himself to people as "Jesus Malverde." The musician has also embraced activism, taking the side of the disenfranchised, something he says Malverde would have done.
In one picture, Martinez-Gonzalez is dressed in a traditional white Mexican button-up, his usual beard shaved into a thin mustache, a strikingly similar pose to how Malverde is portrayed. A photo on one of his social media sites shows just how much. Since he can remember, he's crafted his image after his boyhood hero. As a musician he performs under the stage name "Malverde." Malverde's name has become so inextricably linked with drug trafficking that busts and other paraphernalia of him have been used as evidence against defendants in drug trials.įor Latino hip-hop star Jesus Martinez-Gonzalez, that presents some problems. They worship the folk hero as a type of secular saint. His story was embraced by the poor and, more recently, by drug traffickers. Widely known as the Robin Hood of Mexico, Malverde was said to be the quintessential son of the pueblo.
(CNN) - The legend of Jesus Malverde is a more than century-old story handed down from generation to generation of disenfranchised Mexicans.
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