Strange Fellows

One Saturday, Linda and I went to Guatemala City by chicken bus. On our way back, we got off at the entrance to La Antigua and noticed these two strange fellows, who were against the side of a small building built over the Rio Pensitivo.

The first two lines are in Latin and translate as "I prefer to die than to be dishonored." The remainder, in Spanish, translates as "Secret password used by the Nazarenes (one of the brotherhoods who organize the processions and carry the processional barges) described by Pepe Milla (famous 19th. Century Guatemalan author)." Now, if the password is supposed to be secret, I wonder why Pepe (nickname for José, i.e. Joseph) felt the need to reveal it and why someone else decided to place it on a statue?