Federico Stories

It was during the times of the Spanish conquest when a group of eight Indians was on a pilgrimage to a town called Sihuatehuacan. These faithful people were carrying a religious statue (figure 1), which was heavy and massive these days. That day the night came earlier than they expected, which forced them to spend the night in an unknown place called Santa Ana in the middle of their journey. Figure 1. Our Lady Saint Anne. ¹ The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the men who carried the statue of the Virgin decided to continue on their way. Otherwise, they would not arrive on time at the church where they had to place it. However, when they tried to lift her off the ground, they realized that there was no human power to move her. They started to ask for help, but no one was able to help them. Suddenly, an old lady suggested to them to erect a chapel there because it was a divine sign of Our Lady Saint Anne that she wanted to stay there. Nowadays, you can find the statu...

What I’m going to tell you, a man told me years ago. The same story was shared with him by someone else too. He told me that his grandfather, already deceased, had heard it from his grandparents. This is an old legend to cut a long story short. They said that this happened in those days when still many Indians lived in America and the first Spanish Conquistadors were arriving at these lands with more and more Spaniards. According to what old legends said, almost all these Spaniards came because they were not doing very well in their country, and they thought they would have a better life in these lands. That’s how Marcos Villegas came to El Salvador, who later renamed himself as Mr. Marcos Villegas de la Buena Nueva. If I remember correctly, he was born in a small town lost in the mountains of Spain. They said because he was unrude, he learned how to read and write thanks to the charity and patience of Priest Mateo Nuñez, a little priest who often visited that place...

Long ago, an evil and greedy sorcerer lived in Izalco. He used to be a common Indian man who got tired of the extreme poverty he was born with and decided to reach a unique deal with the Black Knight. After their deal, he was renamed Evil Pedro and pretended to be a farmer daily, while scaring people at night. On one 15 th of May, after Saint Isidore the Laborer’s mass, the local priest organized the wagons’ annual blessing. The priest blessed every farmer in town, so, they could have an abundant year. When Pedro’s time came to get his blessing, the priest almost blessed his wagon, when suddenly, he stopped and said aloud: “This wagon was already blessed by the devil himself! What are you doing here?” Pedro pretended he did not know what he was talking about. After a while, the priest started to spray his holy water over Pedro. For him, this was like acid. The holy water started to destroy his skin, causing several wounds. The priest also sprayed his oxen. They just knelled ...

Most of you might have heard about some twins who transformed into the Cadejos because of their bad behavior and uncountable mischief. However, these Cadejos are mostly seen in the rural areas while the good and the bad ones are from the urban side, and their story comes from the pre-colonial era. Do you want to hear it? Are you sure? Because it’s a scary story, are you sure? So, let’s dive deep into it. It was the year 400 BCE when the first inhabitants of Quelepa, a settlement of the Lenca people, were moving to a new land, a place that was beautiful and relatively close to a volcano. Plus, it was next to an impressive river full of fresh water. In this settlement, a couple had a difficult birth of fraternal twins, the first ones in centuries. The town rejoiced because a new pair of twins had come, and there were massive celebrations, even the Shaman and their King came and blessed them. Some years passed, and these twins grew up. One had beautiful red hair, and yellow eyes,...

It was a dark and cold night in the middle of 1933 when I was riding my horse near the old Guirola Estate. This night was foggier than I expected and I could barely see what was in front of me. I wasn’t sure what time it was when I heard the church of San Antonio clock rang and understood it was almost midnight. Several myths surrounded the Guirola Family because they were extremely rich and powerful. They were part of an elite group called “The 14 Families” or the Coffee Oligarchy. On my way back, I appreciated a spectacular light on the top of a hill not so far. It was in Guirola’s cottage when suddenly, a black rider reared his black horse. The view was crystal clear. It was the Black Knight (figure 1)! I used my spurs to make my horse faster than ever we needed to reach our house, we couldn’t stay here any longer! All legends say, “If the Black Knight caught you, you would not be able never to see the daylight again!” Figure 1. The Black Knight.  ¹ I tried to f...

It was a warm night of winter in San Pedro Perulapán, and I was coming very late, drunk and tired on Friday at midnight. I could barely remember where I was, or where I was going, I just fell down on the pavement and slept. A couple of hours later, some bells were ringing, and I woke up. I looked around; I was in a church that I didn’t recognize. It looked antique like the Colonial times. I merely took my hat off and sat on the closest empty chair. The priest was reciting in a language that I didn’t comprehend well. My grandma always said that 100 years ago, the churches celebrated the masses in Latin, but I wasn’t sure if it was that mythical language because I had never heard it before. The church seemed empty, and I tried going closer to the altar because I couldn’t see it. I felt the potent incense, and the smoke was considerably deep. The roof was completely dark from all the candles over the years. Plus, the saints on the walls, their faces seemed washed out or opaque. I ...