September 13, 2025 • 14 mins
In 1963 a woman became a cult leader and led an entire town into weeks of horror.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to Mexico Unexplained, where we will explore the magic,
the mysteries, and the miracles of Mexico. This series presents
information based partly on theory and conjecture. The podcaster's purpose
is to suggest some possible explanation, but not necessarily the
only ones to the subjects we will examine. Here is
your host, Robert Bitto.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome and Muibian Benitos to episode number four hundred and
twenty four of Mexico Unexplained, where we examine the magic,
the mysteries, and the miracles of Mexico. I'm your host,
Robert Bitto. In the rugged, isolated hills of southern Tamolipas, Mexico,
where the eastern Sierra Madre Mountains cast long shadows over
(00:56):
small villages, a dark chapter unfolded in the earth early
nineteen sixties. The tiny community of Yerbabuena, a place of
fewer than fifty souls, became the stage for one of
Mexico's most gruesome and bizarre true crime stories. At the
center of this nightmare was Magdalena Solise, a young woman
(01:17):
who transformed from a marginalized sex worker into a self
proclaimed goddess leading a cult that descended into ritualistic murder
and blood drinking, known as the High Priestess of blood
Solis's story is a haunting blend of desperation, manipulation, and
the seductive power of belief, revealing the vulnerabilities of an
(01:41):
impoverished community and the dangers of unchecked charisma. This is
the chilling tale of Magdalena Solise and her reign of
terror in Yerbabuena, a story that continues to captivate and
horrify those who delve into Mexico's unexplained mysteries. The origins
of Magdalena Solise are shrouded in the kind of obscurity
(02:05):
that often cloaks those born into poverty. Born around nineteen
forty seven in Monterreynuevo, Leon, Solise grew up in a
world of hardship. Details of her early life range from
scarce to mythic, but it's believed she came from a
dysfunctional family trapped in the grinding poverty that defined much
(02:26):
of rural Mexico in the mid twentieth century. By her
early teens, she was working as a prostitute, a trade
often overseen by her brother Eleazar who acted as her pimp.
Life in Monterey's underbelly was harsh, and Solise learned early
how to navigate a world where survival often meant exploiting others, trust,
(02:49):
or desperation. Yet nothing in her early years suggested she
would one day command a cult that would shock a
nation and reverberate around the world. The stage for Solisa's
infamy was set in Yerbabuena, a remote village in Tamolipas,
nestled near the Sierra Madre in the early nineteen sixties.
(03:11):
This community was a microcosm of rural Mexico struggles. Most
residents were illiterate, living in extreme poverty and cut off
from the modernizing currents sweeping through urban centers like Mexico City.
Superstition and folklore were woven into daily life, and the
promise of divine intervention or hidden treasure held immense appeal.
(03:36):
It was here that two brothers, Santos and Cayetano Hernandez,
saw an opportunity to exploit the villager's desperation. The Hernandez Brothers,
small time con artists with a knack for manipulation, arrived
in Yerbabuena around nineteen sixty two, proclaiming themselves prophets of
ancient Incan gods. Never mind that the Incas where a
(04:00):
South American civilization with no historical ties to Mexico. The villagers,
uneducated and eager for hope, were easily swayed. The Hernandez
Brothers scam was audacious. They claimed that the Incan gods,
exiled but powerful, would soon return to bestow wealth and
(04:20):
prosperity on their followers. In exchange, they demanded tributes, money, goods,
and sexual favors for men and women alike. The brothers
organized rituals in the nearby caves, using sleight of hand
tricks and narcotics like marijuana to dazzle their followers. These
gatherings often devolved into orgies fueled by drugs and the
(04:44):
promise of divine favor. For a time, the scam worked
with the villagers offering what little they had in hopes
of uncovering the fabled treasures hidden in the mountains. But
as months passed and no riches materialized, skin septicism began
to creep in. The brothers, sensing their grip on the
(05:04):
village slipping, needed a new spectacle to maintain control. Enter
Magdalena Solise. In late nineteen sixty two or early nineteen
sixty three, the Hernandez brothers traveled to Monterey, seeking a
charismatic figure to bolster their faltering scheme. They found Magdalena
(05:25):
and Eleazer Solise, a brother and sister team willing to
join their operation. The plan was simple. Magdalena would pose
as the reincarnation of an incun goddess, a divine figure
to reinvigorate the villager's faith. The brothers orchestrated a dramatic
reveal in yer Babuena's caves, using a smoke screen to
(05:48):
unveil Magdalena as the goddess Coatlique, a figure they mistakenly
tied to Incan mythology, but who was in fact an
old Aztec deity associated with creation and destruction. The villagers,
awe struck by the theatrics, accepted Magdalena as divine. For a
young woman who had known only exploitation and poverty throughout
(06:12):
her miserable life, this moment of adoration must have been intoxicating.
What began as a calculated performance soon spiraled into something
far darker. Magdalena, perhaps fueled by her own psychological unraveling,
began to believe she was indeed a goddess. This delusion,
(06:32):
possibly rooted in a mix of religious psychosis and the
thrill of power, marked a turning point. She seized control
of the cult, relegating the Hernandez brothers and her own
brother to subordinate roles as her high priests. Her charisma
and commanding presence held the villagers in thrall, and she
(06:53):
began to reshape the cult's practices to reflect her increasingly
sadistic vision. The rituals grew more extreme, blending elements of
Aztec mythology, likely drawn from the cultural memory of Mexico's
indigenous past, with her own twisted and perverse innovations. The
cult's descent into extreme violence began when two members, disillusioned
(07:18):
by the lack of promised wealth and tired of the
various forms of exploitation, attempted to leave the group. Magdalena,
unwilling to tolerate even the slightest forms of descent, declared
them traitors to the goddess. In a chilling display of control,
she ordered the villagers to lynch the defectors. The community,
(07:40):
gripped by fear and devotion complied, beating the two to death.
This act of collective violence bound the villagers to Magdalena's will,
as their complicity made rebellion unthinkable. The murders marked the
beginning of a six week reign of terror that would
cement Magdalena's inns infamy in the history of Mexican true crime.
(08:03):
Magdalena devised a new ritual, one that would define her
cult and earn her the moniker High Priestess of Blood.
Dissatisfied with the orgiastic rites, she introduced a blood ritual
that combined extreme violence with a macabre reinterpretation of Aztec
history and religion. Victims, typically dissenting cult members, were subjected
(08:28):
to brutal beatings, burnings, and mutilations by the entire group.
The victim was then bled to death, their blood collected
in a chalice mixed with chicken blood and narcotics like
peote or marijuana. Magdalena drank first, proclaiming that the blood
sustained her divine youth and power, before passing the chalice
(08:50):
to her priests and followers. In the ritual's final act,
the victim's heart was torn out, echoing the Aztec practice
of offering hearts to the gods. Over six weeks, at
least four more villagers met this gruesome fate, their bodies
dismembered and left in the caves. The cult's atrocities might
(09:11):
have continued unchecked if not for a chance discovery. In
May nineteen sixty three, a fourteen year old boy named
Sebastian Guerrero, drawn by flickering lights and strange sounds from
a cave near Yerbabuena, stumbled upon one of Magdalena's rituals.
Horrified by the sight of blood and sacrifice, he fled
(09:34):
over fifty miles to the nearest police station in Villa gran.
His tale of vampires drinking blood seemed fantastical, and the
police initially dismissed him as a mere child making up stories. However,
one investigator, Luis Martinez, agreed to accompany Guerrero back to
Yerbabuena to investigate. Neither returned. Martinez's disappearance, along with goret arrows,
(10:00):
raised alarms, prompting a joint operation between the police and
the Mexican Army. On May thirty first, nineteen sixty three,
authorities raided Yerbabuena, sparking a violent confrontation. Many cult members
armed and barricaded in the caves were killed in lengthy shootouts.
(10:20):
Santo Sernandez died resisting arrest, while Cayetano had already been
killed by a cult member, Jesus Rubio, who claimed he
wanted a piece of the High Priest's body for protection.
Magdalena Solus and her brother were captured at a nearby
rancho under the influence of marijuana. The raid uncovered a
(10:41):
grizzly scene. The dismembered bodies of Guerrero and Martinez, the
latter with his heart removed, were found near the farm.
Searches of the caves revealed six more mutilated corpses, though
authorities suspected the cult's death toll could be as high
as fifteen. The trial in Sudod Victoria was a media sensation,
(11:04):
exposing the horrors of Magdalena's cult to a shocked nation.
Magdalena and her brother were convicted of the murders of
Guerrero and Martinez, each receiving a fifty year sentence. The
lack of testimony from surviving cult members still under Magdalena's
psychological sway prevented convictions for the other deaths. Other villagers
(11:28):
were sentenced to thirty years for group murder or lynching.
With their illiteracy and poverty considered mitigating factors, the true
extent of the cult's crimes remained unclear, as many details
were suppressed or lost due to the community's isolation and
the reluctance of survivors to speak. Magdalena's Soles's story raises
(11:51):
profound questions about the intersection of poverty, ignorance, charisma, and
the power of belief. Year Babwena's residence, desperate for hope
were easy prey for the Hernandez brother's initial scam, but
it was Magdalena's transformation into a figure of divine authority
(12:11):
that pushed the cult into unimaginable violence. Her ability to
manipulate an entire community speaks to the psychological grip of cults,
where fear, devotion, and collective guilt can override reason. The
blending of Aztec mythology with her rituals, though muddled and inaccurate,
tapped into Mexico's deep cultural reverence for its indigenous past,
(12:36):
giving her actions a veneer of spiritual legitimacy. The legacy
of Magdalena Solis endures as a cautionary tale. Here Babuena,
scarred by the trauma, struggled to heal, with survivors forming
support groups and a memorial to honor the victims. Magdalena's
fate after her conviction is uncertain. Some reports shorts suggest
(13:01):
she died in prison, while others speculate she may have
been released in twenty thirteen after serving her sentence. Regardless,
her story remains a dark stain on Mexico's history, a
reminder of how charisma and desperation can ignite horrors in
even the smallest of places. In the caves of Yerbabuena,
(13:22):
where the echoes of Blood rituals linger, the tale of
the High Priestess of Blood continues to haunt a chilling
chapter in the annals of Mexico's Unexplained Mysteries. Thank you
once again for listening to another episode of Mexican Explained.
Remember to like and subscribe to us on YouTube and
follow us on ax and TikTok. Tell your friends by
(13:44):
sharing these shows with others. Please go to our website
Mexican Explained dot com for references, illustrations, and for free
access to transcripts. Of past shows. Please visit Amazon dot
com to purchase the books Mexican Explained, Mexican Monsters and
Mexican Miracles to get hard copies of the magic, the
mysteries and the Miracles of Mexico. We appreciate your kind attention.
(14:08):
Once again, until next time, Thank you, eh graciers.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Thank you for listening to another episode of Mexico Unexplained
with host Robert Bitto. For show summary, relevant links and commentary,
Please check out our website at Mexicoanexplained dot com, Like
us on Facebook and be a part of the conversation.
Addie on sant Haste la Vista
Welcome to Mexico Unexplained, where we will explore the magic,
the mysteries, and the miracles of Mexico. This series presents
information based partly on theory and conjecture. The podcaster's purpose
is to suggest some possible explanation, but not necessarily the
only ones to the subjects we will examine. Here is
your host, Robert Bitto.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome and Muibian Benitos to episode number four hundred and
twenty four of Mexico Unexplained, where we examine the magic,
the mysteries, and the miracles of Mexico. I'm your host,
Robert Bitto. In the rugged, isolated hills of southern Tamolipas, Mexico,
where the eastern Sierra Madre Mountains cast long shadows over
(00:56):
small villages, a dark chapter unfolded in the earth early
nineteen sixties. The tiny community of Yerbabuena, a place of
fewer than fifty souls, became the stage for one of
Mexico's most gruesome and bizarre true crime stories. At the
center of this nightmare was Magdalena Solise, a young woman
(01:17):
who transformed from a marginalized sex worker into a self
proclaimed goddess leading a cult that descended into ritualistic murder
and blood drinking, known as the High Priestess of blood
Solis's story is a haunting blend of desperation, manipulation, and
the seductive power of belief, revealing the vulnerabilities of an
(01:41):
impoverished community and the dangers of unchecked charisma. This is
the chilling tale of Magdalena Solise and her reign of
terror in Yerbabuena, a story that continues to captivate and
horrify those who delve into Mexico's unexplained mysteries. The origins
of Magdalena Solise are shrouded in the kind of obscurity
(02:05):
that often cloaks those born into poverty. Born around nineteen
forty seven in Monterreynuevo, Leon, Solise grew up in a
world of hardship. Details of her early life range from
scarce to mythic, but it's believed she came from a
dysfunctional family trapped in the grinding poverty that defined much
(02:26):
of rural Mexico in the mid twentieth century. By her
early teens, she was working as a prostitute, a trade
often overseen by her brother Eleazar who acted as her pimp.
Life in Monterey's underbelly was harsh, and Solise learned early
how to navigate a world where survival often meant exploiting others, trust,
(02:49):
or desperation. Yet nothing in her early years suggested she
would one day command a cult that would shock a
nation and reverberate around the world. The stage for Solisa's
infamy was set in Yerbabuena, a remote village in Tamolipas,
nestled near the Sierra Madre in the early nineteen sixties.
(03:11):
This community was a microcosm of rural Mexico struggles. Most
residents were illiterate, living in extreme poverty and cut off
from the modernizing currents sweeping through urban centers like Mexico City.
Superstition and folklore were woven into daily life, and the
promise of divine intervention or hidden treasure held immense appeal.
(03:36):
It was here that two brothers, Santos and Cayetano Hernandez,
saw an opportunity to exploit the villager's desperation. The Hernandez Brothers,
small time con artists with a knack for manipulation, arrived
in Yerbabuena around nineteen sixty two, proclaiming themselves prophets of
ancient Incan gods. Never mind that the Incas where a
(04:00):
South American civilization with no historical ties to Mexico. The villagers,
uneducated and eager for hope, were easily swayed. The Hernandez
Brothers scam was audacious. They claimed that the Incan gods,
exiled but powerful, would soon return to bestow wealth and
(04:20):
prosperity on their followers. In exchange, they demanded tributes, money, goods,
and sexual favors for men and women alike. The brothers
organized rituals in the nearby caves, using sleight of hand
tricks and narcotics like marijuana to dazzle their followers. These
gatherings often devolved into orgies fueled by drugs and the
(04:44):
promise of divine favor. For a time, the scam worked
with the villagers offering what little they had in hopes
of uncovering the fabled treasures hidden in the mountains. But
as months passed and no riches materialized, skin septicism began
to creep in. The brothers, sensing their grip on the
(05:04):
village slipping, needed a new spectacle to maintain control. Enter
Magdalena Solise. In late nineteen sixty two or early nineteen
sixty three, the Hernandez brothers traveled to Monterey, seeking a
charismatic figure to bolster their faltering scheme. They found Magdalena
(05:25):
and Eleazer Solise, a brother and sister team willing to
join their operation. The plan was simple. Magdalena would pose
as the reincarnation of an incun goddess, a divine figure
to reinvigorate the villager's faith. The brothers orchestrated a dramatic
reveal in yer Babuena's caves, using a smoke screen to
(05:48):
unveil Magdalena as the goddess Coatlique, a figure they mistakenly
tied to Incan mythology, but who was in fact an
old Aztec deity associated with creation and destruction. The villagers,
awe struck by the theatrics, accepted Magdalena as divine. For a
young woman who had known only exploitation and poverty throughout
(06:12):
her miserable life, this moment of adoration must have been intoxicating.
What began as a calculated performance soon spiraled into something
far darker. Magdalena, perhaps fueled by her own psychological unraveling,
began to believe she was indeed a goddess. This delusion,
(06:32):
possibly rooted in a mix of religious psychosis and the
thrill of power, marked a turning point. She seized control
of the cult, relegating the Hernandez brothers and her own
brother to subordinate roles as her high priests. Her charisma
and commanding presence held the villagers in thrall, and she
(06:53):
began to reshape the cult's practices to reflect her increasingly
sadistic vision. The rituals grew more extreme, blending elements of
Aztec mythology, likely drawn from the cultural memory of Mexico's
indigenous past, with her own twisted and perverse innovations. The
cult's descent into extreme violence began when two members, disillusioned
(07:18):
by the lack of promised wealth and tired of the
various forms of exploitation, attempted to leave the group. Magdalena,
unwilling to tolerate even the slightest forms of descent, declared
them traitors to the goddess. In a chilling display of control,
she ordered the villagers to lynch the defectors. The community,
(07:40):
gripped by fear and devotion complied, beating the two to death.
This act of collective violence bound the villagers to Magdalena's will,
as their complicity made rebellion unthinkable. The murders marked the
beginning of a six week reign of terror that would
cement Magdalena's inns infamy in the history of Mexican true crime.
(08:03):
Magdalena devised a new ritual, one that would define her
cult and earn her the moniker High Priestess of Blood.
Dissatisfied with the orgiastic rites, she introduced a blood ritual
that combined extreme violence with a macabre reinterpretation of Aztec
history and religion. Victims, typically dissenting cult members, were subjected
(08:28):
to brutal beatings, burnings, and mutilations by the entire group.
The victim was then bled to death, their blood collected
in a chalice mixed with chicken blood and narcotics like
peote or marijuana. Magdalena drank first, proclaiming that the blood
sustained her divine youth and power, before passing the chalice
(08:50):
to her priests and followers. In the ritual's final act,
the victim's heart was torn out, echoing the Aztec practice
of offering hearts to the gods. Over six weeks, at
least four more villagers met this gruesome fate, their bodies
dismembered and left in the caves. The cult's atrocities might
(09:11):
have continued unchecked if not for a chance discovery. In
May nineteen sixty three, a fourteen year old boy named
Sebastian Guerrero, drawn by flickering lights and strange sounds from
a cave near Yerbabuena, stumbled upon one of Magdalena's rituals.
Horrified by the sight of blood and sacrifice, he fled
(09:34):
over fifty miles to the nearest police station in Villa gran.
His tale of vampires drinking blood seemed fantastical, and the
police initially dismissed him as a mere child making up stories. However,
one investigator, Luis Martinez, agreed to accompany Guerrero back to
Yerbabuena to investigate. Neither returned. Martinez's disappearance, along with goret arrows,
(10:00):
raised alarms, prompting a joint operation between the police and
the Mexican Army. On May thirty first, nineteen sixty three,
authorities raided Yerbabuena, sparking a violent confrontation. Many cult members
armed and barricaded in the caves were killed in lengthy shootouts.
(10:20):
Santo Sernandez died resisting arrest, while Cayetano had already been
killed by a cult member, Jesus Rubio, who claimed he
wanted a piece of the High Priest's body for protection.
Magdalena Solus and her brother were captured at a nearby
rancho under the influence of marijuana. The raid uncovered a
(10:41):
grizzly scene. The dismembered bodies of Guerrero and Martinez, the
latter with his heart removed, were found near the farm.
Searches of the caves revealed six more mutilated corpses, though
authorities suspected the cult's death toll could be as high
as fifteen. The trial in Sudod Victoria was a media sensation,
(11:04):
exposing the horrors of Magdalena's cult to a shocked nation.
Magdalena and her brother were convicted of the murders of
Guerrero and Martinez, each receiving a fifty year sentence. The
lack of testimony from surviving cult members still under Magdalena's
psychological sway prevented convictions for the other deaths. Other villagers
(11:28):
were sentenced to thirty years for group murder or lynching.
With their illiteracy and poverty considered mitigating factors, the true
extent of the cult's crimes remained unclear, as many details
were suppressed or lost due to the community's isolation and
the reluctance of survivors to speak. Magdalena's Soles's story raises
(11:51):
profound questions about the intersection of poverty, ignorance, charisma, and
the power of belief. Year Babwena's residence, desperate for hope
were easy prey for the Hernandez brother's initial scam, but
it was Magdalena's transformation into a figure of divine authority
(12:11):
that pushed the cult into unimaginable violence. Her ability to
manipulate an entire community speaks to the psychological grip of cults,
where fear, devotion, and collective guilt can override reason. The
blending of Aztec mythology with her rituals, though muddled and inaccurate,
tapped into Mexico's deep cultural reverence for its indigenous past,
(12:36):
giving her actions a veneer of spiritual legitimacy. The legacy
of Magdalena Solis endures as a cautionary tale. Here Babuena,
scarred by the trauma, struggled to heal, with survivors forming
support groups and a memorial to honor the victims. Magdalena's
fate after her conviction is uncertain. Some reports shorts suggest
(13:01):
she died in prison, while others speculate she may have
been released in twenty thirteen after serving her sentence. Regardless,
her story remains a dark stain on Mexico's history, a
reminder of how charisma and desperation can ignite horrors in
even the smallest of places. In the caves of Yerbabuena,
(13:22):
where the echoes of Blood rituals linger, the tale of
the High Priestess of Blood continues to haunt a chilling
chapter in the annals of Mexico's Unexplained Mysteries. Thank you
once again for listening to another episode of Mexican Explained.
Remember to like and subscribe to us on YouTube and
follow us on ax and TikTok. Tell your friends by
(13:44):
sharing these shows with others. Please go to our website
Mexican Explained dot com for references, illustrations, and for free
access to transcripts. Of past shows. Please visit Amazon dot
com to purchase the books Mexican Explained, Mexican Monsters and
Mexican Miracles to get hard copies of the magic, the
mysteries and the Miracles of Mexico. We appreciate your kind attention.
(14:08):
Once again, until next time, Thank you, eh graciers.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Thank you for listening to another episode of Mexico Unexplained
with host Robert Bitto. For show summary, relevant links and commentary,
Please check out our website at Mexicoanexplained dot com, Like
us on Facebook and be a part of the conversation.
Addie on sant Haste la Vista
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