"There is a complete disappointment with the government, people can't expect anything from the politicians, the parties or the established Church," he said.
A shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's beloved dark-skinned version of Mary, stands on the next street corner from the macabre Tepito shrine.
"Santa Muerte is a saint like any other. She performs many miracles," said shaven-headed taxi driver Eduardo Ruben Villegas, 35, who sports multiple tattoos and has an altar in his home to Santa Muerte.
He has been a devotee since she cured his sister of cancer, he said.
Villegas has an image of Santa Muerte hanging from the rear view mirror of his taxi, on his car keys and on three pendants he wears around his neck.
"She protects me a lot in my car. I haven't ever been assaulted," he said.
PAYING RESPECTS
On the first day of every month, hundreds of devotees line up around the block to pay their respects to the skeletal saint, who with her scythe resembles the Grim Reaper.
Romero changes Santa Muerte's dress before each monthly ceremony, at which mariachis serenade her in a celebration of death and life.
The offerings multiply and followers light different colored candles -- red for love, white for protection and black to do harm to an enemy.
Romero also leaves out food daily for the grinning figurine -- tamales, or corn dumplings, "for breakfast" and quesadillas and other treats later in the day.
Police presence is rare in Tepito, where drugs, firearms and smuggled goods are peddled freely.
But there is an unspoken rule that at Santa Muerte's shrine, worshippers pray in safety by day and by night and Romero asks no questions of them.
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