Federico Stories

In the 1990s, an elegant and imponent hotel was constructed on one of the best beaches of El Salvador, Costa del Sol. A place recognized for its golden sand. The hotel was called Puerto Ventura and the locals called its location Las Isletas. The hotel was relatively hidden and mainly visited by wealthy visitors. Its hidden nature allowed them to escape from their daily routines and enjoy a peaceful stay outside the public eye. The magnificent beaches, proximity to the Lempa River, some small forests, and the powerful Pacific Ocean were the ideal combination for a short or long-deserved vacation. Everyone who visited this hotel enjoyed their experience and shared it with their close ones. However, everything changed drastically in 1998 when the tail of Hurricane Mitch hit El Salvador. Its fierce winds and storms were an extremely destructive force that caused billions of dollars of destruction all over Central America and the Caribbean, just in El Salvador perished 240 people and the d...

At the end of the last century, the corncob of corn (figure 1) was not burned in El Salvador. Salvadorans believed that the corncob of corn was the skeleton of corn and the elders said that the devil stored corn and sorghum so that our Lord’s children would die. Figure 1. The Corncob. Our Lord was disappointed by the devil’s actions and tried to think of a strategy on how to fight him, but he couldn’t find a good one. After a couple of days, he spoke with a yellow ant and a mouse. He asked them if they had any idea how to handle it. They told him this was easy, they would make a tunnel under the earth and in this way, the yellow ant took out the sorghum and the mouse the corn. After this event, sorghum became the favorite grain of yellow for ants and corn for the mice. In this way, the Salvadoran ancestors discovered corn and sorghum. Inspired by Salvador Hernández’s version collected by Ennis Arely Arevalo Girón, Lissette Amelia Gutierrez Paz, and Karen Liseth Manc...