Jude's Law
Not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus the night of the Last Supper, San Judas Tadeo (St. Jude) is the patron saint of lost causes, hopeless cases and desperate situations. He's also the favorite saint in Tepito, where drug dealers, thieves and even murderers have made him a gangster icon and keep his image on prayer cards inside their wallets and on cloth escapularios around their necks. In the barrio, the good guys and bad guys alike visit the nearby Iglesia de San Hipólito to buy San Judas statues at the kiosk just outside the church doors, or light candles and request favors at the popular shrine erected within.
