Federico Stories

In the times when the Amerindians lived alone in the lands of Conchagua, an expected situation happened. One day, all the men gathered to give themselves the task of building a huge water container called: “The Pilona” (figure 1), at the top of a mountain called Chilagual. This was because the goddess of the waters in a dream showed their leader that in that place, he would sprout a spring that would give water to the thirsty people of the lands and their descendants forever. Figure 1. The Pilona. For the following months, the people from Conchagua worked for long periods of time without resting until they finished the Pilona. However, after they finished it, the water did not sprout as promised, not even a drop fell into the huge Pilona. After many months of an intense drought, the citizens gathered and agreed to celebrate a consecration to the goddess of the waters. During the middle of their celebration in the volcano of Conchagua, a cloud appeared in the shape of a winged

Many moons, when I was just a child and a “good” kid and attended my school in El Salvador, I never stopped doing the mandatory inspection among my classmates. As “good” kids, I had a daily hobby with my friends. We approached trembling with emotion to spy “the underground,” the devil’s treasure hidden location. Something that everybody wanted, but no one had got it! And now, it’s time to go deeper into this adventure. Let’s go! In 1752 in Izalco (figure 1), there was a large excavation near the cabildo of a church. In its background, we could see from a distance, the entrance to two masonry tunnels. Some people said they discovered them while they were taking soil to make clay, this was a gigantic work. Another curious person explored the tunnels “without being able to find the end,” and they thought it was the entry to the hell itself! Figure 1. Izalco Volcano. Around the town, there was a lot of gossip about this. Some midwives intervened, and after discussions and suspicio