Federico Stories

Emeterio Ruano was a very ambitious man (figure 1) who owned the Zapotitan Estate in the 1860s. His businesses were going all right, but he wanted more, and one day, he called the devil to make a deal. Figure 1.  Emeterio Ruano. Emeterio approached a mysterious rock inside a tiny lagoon and invoked the devil. The devil came around midnight and granted his wish, that Emeterio would become extremely wealthy. The rock would be the place where every couple of weeks, Emeterio would receive a new gift until the day the deal had to be paid. The rock was extremely unique and frightened anyone who came closer. It was extremely massive,  10 meters wide by 13 long. Also,  the figure of a snake and a shoe that belonged to  Emeterio  was engraved on the rock.  However, the most curious part was its top. It had several holes, two of them with a perfect circumference, where the gold and silver came out from hell. Over the years, the locals renamed the canton Silver Hil...

A long time ago, a mystical cave connected Cuscatlán and Chalatenango (figure 1). People for generations used it to make all kinds of businesses. Some of them were good, and some of them were evil. Figure 1. The Stinky Cave.  ¹ However, one day, one of the bad deals went completely wrong and a powerful stinky smell started to come from its mouth. It was so powerful that people tend to believe it was sulfur, but no one dares to investigate to know what it is. What’s more, the cave became darker and darker than its extreme darkness scares the bravest of the men. Also, some people believe the exit vanished after the wrong deal, but who knows what really happened. Will you be brave enough to enter? Inspired by  Leyendas de El Salvador ’s version. Credits: ¹  Gaceta Suchitoto

Thousands of years ago, the creation was threatened. Humanity was in its infancy. The earth was in the form of a long gray cloud that was creeping through moist space, and it had recently condensed, giving rise to this immense ball in which everyone lived. The worst was that the sky was already crumbling, and it barely wavered under the weight of the stars, and all hope seemed to be lost. Such was the collapse, and the complaints of the earth were so numerous, that a God seriously thought of cutting off the evil and he created four giants. The four giants (figure 1) were assigned to each of the corners of the sky, and they should support it on their backs firmly. They would prevent the sky from falling while the stars strengthened their shreds of light. Figure 1. The Giants. ¹ The almighty giants are: Kan-Xibchac, the yellow is in the South. Chac-Xibchac, the red is in the East. Zac-Xibchac, the white is in the North. Ek-Xibchac, the black is in the West. They each led the mi...

When Pedro de Alvarado arrived at Atehuan (Ateos) he received a message from Atlacatl (figure 1) in which he accepted his surrender since they had taken control of a large part of the territory. Figure 1. Atlacatl. ¹ Pedro de Alvarado was extremely surprised by such a fast surrender since Atlacatl was one of the mightiest chiefs. However, he still agreed to visit Atehuan and take control of it. However, when he arrived, he found the entire town in revolt since all the Pipil people had fled to the mountains. Pedro de Alvarado was angry and sent a letter to Atlacatl asking him to surrender for good. However, Atlacatl replied: "If you want our weapons, come and bring them to the mountains." The conquistador was furious and on July 4, 1524, attacked all surrounding mountains. Many horses, Spaniards, and indigenous people died. However, Atlacatl survived and never bowed to any foreign authority, and from the mountains, he kept attacking the invaders. Pedro de Alvarado tried to cap...

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In Chalchuapa, on some special nights, many mysterious people walk along the main street of the town. They walk while carrying candles, and flowers and some of them carry a curious black coffin (figure 1). Figure 1. The Funeral. ¹ The crew stops for a brief moment at the entrance of the town and if any curious person was looking at them, one of the people leaves the event briefly. The person offers them a lighted candle as a souvenir. However, the next morning, the candle had transformed into a human bone! The curious person who received it begins to go silent and gets feverish and dreams about what they had seen until they go crazy and in a couple of days he dies of fright. Be careful if you ever walk in Chalchuapa alone! Inspired by  Hilos Narrativos ’ version. Credits: ¹  Hilos Narrativos