9/6/2017 ...

Latin American Myths and Legends | Latino Life

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...Latin American Myths and Legends
Arts and Culture (/arts_and_culture)
Things You Should Know About... (/things%20you%20shoud%20%20know%20about)
"I'm learning about really scary myths and legends..." my son recently told me,
recounting all the famous Greek tales, Cyclops, The Trojan Horse etc etc. "Ha," I
replied. "Those are nothing compared to the myths and legends from Latin
America." His eyes widened as I began to tell him the characters I grew up
fearing and revering. All Latinos grew up with these tales, from around the
continent, passed down through the generations. Here are my Top Ten...

by: Jose Luis Seijas

El Silbón - Venezuela
“The Whistler” is a terrifying man that haunts the Venezuelan and Colombian Llanos
region. According to the legend, the ghost is a black-hearted young man who killed his
father in to eat his organs. Tis apparently rather tall character is forever doomed to
walk the region as a lost soul, carrying a bag filled with his father's bones. The Whistler
gets his name from the harmonic bone-chilling whistling sound he emits: When the
whistling sounds far away, El Silbón is actually near by and vice versa. Some people
barely notice the seemingly long-distant music...and when they do, it’s usually too late.

La Ciguapa – Dominican Republic

La Ciguapa is a mythological creature who is described as a strange, wild women
living in the high mountains, with magical powers. This beautiful women boasts a long
mane of hair that wraps their naked bodies. Spookily, the feet of La Ciguapa face
backwards, making it hard to see which way they are moving by looking at their
footprints. Legend says that if you look them in the eye, you’ll be enchanted by their
power and fall completely at their mercy...

El Duende - Guatemala
This Guatemalan folktale tells the story of spooky hobbit-like who goes out walking
after dusk. No one is quite sure if it’s a ghost, a demon, a man, or a goblin. All agree
that he’s very small, dressed in all-black, and dons a big shiny belt, a pair of heavy
boots and a large hat that hides his face. El Sombrerón seduces young women,
wooing them with his sweet voice and beautiful melodies. Once they become
bewitched, he stalks them and braids their hair. Under his spell, they become unable to
eat or sleep...until, eventually, they die.

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El Chupacabras - Puerto Rico and Mexico

The most media friendly and contemporary of all latin american monsters and ghosts,
due to very recent and documented "sightings". A blood sucker creature who has been
seen from Mexico. Although it has never attacked people, his appearance is enough to
scare the hell out of anyone. It has become a global celebrity being featured in the X
Files, Scooby-Doo, Marvel Comics and a few independent films

El Coco - From all over!

The Latino version of the bogeyman, El Cucuy has terrified children for generations.
Used by daddies across the world to dissuade their children from misbehaving, El
Coco, or Cucuy as it is also known is a shapeshifting figure that hides in closets or
under beds and torments -- and eats -- niños who don’t listen to their parents.

La Llorona - From All over too!

Also known as La Sayona the most famous Latin American legend of all time, La
Llorona is a beautiful woman who brutally killed her kids to be with the man she loved.
When he rejected her, she killed herself. Now, the muderouus mum is doomed to
wander, crying constantly, and vainly searching for her children for all eternity.
According to legend, she’ll kidnap wandering kids

La Patasola - Colombia
This one legged creature is one of Colombia's scariest tales. It first appears as a
beautiful and seductive women, often looking like someone loved by the unfortunate
soul that happens to see her, that would ultimately lure them away from their
companions deep into the jungles to reveal their true appearance as one-legged freaks
with ferocious vampire-like lust for human flesh and blood, attacking and eating the
flesh or sucking the blood of their victims. They protect nature and wild animals and
attack humans who seem to be harming the wild.

La Luz Mala - Argentina

These mythic lights are among the most famous legends in Argentine folklore. Some
people claim that the unexplained flashes of light remained still on the horizon, not
doing much, Others have a more horrific tale to tell, and say that the lights chased
them at high speeds. The unexplained phenomenon is widely known, but many believe
the lights are the spirits of the dead who didn’t get a proper Christian burial when they
died.

La Casa Matusita - Peru

A boring looking yellowish building in the centre of the Peruvian capital, La Casa
Matusita is actually a hub of ghosts activity. everyone has a version on the origins of
the house: some people say a former resident killed his family t then kill himself . Other
less conventional tales talk about a party where guest, after taking a rather generous
doss of hallucinogens turned crazy and started killing each other. Another version put
the rent-a-witch lady who sold her services to the higher bidder in that hues.
Apparently she caused a lot of misfortunes across the city. Regardless of what
happened before, people say that of what happened before Anyone who enters is said
to completely lose their sanity…so they say.

La Planchada - Mexico
The ironed lady , got her name from being dressed in a very pristine and well ironed
nurse uniform. Legend says she was a nurse who was rejected by a doctor and in
revenge she killed one of the doctor's patients. After that she has been regretting in so
she cures people in Mexico DF hospitals, appearing at night healing badly injured
people who then claim to have been visited by the nurse who just came and cured
them!

Which legend haunted you as a child? Post your comment...

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