Federico Stories

Long ago, Cuzcatlán had different provinces, which had been appointed by chiefs. They were the local leaders and owed obedience to the Lord of Cuzcatlán. Prince Atonal governed the Izalco area. In Izalco, Atonal had the mission to confront the Spanish invaders and every Indian who joined them in the conquest of Cuzcatlán in 1524 (figure 1). One night, in his council, Atonal took the floor and exclaimed: “My life for our people. Oh, great Lord.” This declaration manifested immense satisfaction in the Atlacatl (the last lord of Cuzcatlán). Everyone presented the spirit of struggle and solidarity as never before. Figure 1. Prince Atonal vs the Conquistadors. ¹   Atonal and his assistants prepared the strategy that was to stop the invaders. He placed a few spies along the coastal paths from the River of La Paz to Caluco. Also, he put a parapet between Mochicalco and Acatepeque, where he placed a Calpulli (a small combat unit composed of a dozen of the best Pipil warriors). ...

In the 1600s, a poor old woman from the Santa Ana Volcano surroundings was expelled from her lands by the Conquistadors. They stole all that she had and laughed about how poor she was and how she looked like a bandari, they said: “You are just a bandari, get out of here and come back to the jungle with your relatives! You cannot even speak Spanish!” While she was walking around the place for days without food or water, she was starving near the lake when she met an elegant white man wearing a black coat, who asked her: “Dear, why are you so lonely? Did anything happen to you?” She was very surprised and thought she was suffering from some hallucinations because she had been in that place for days and never seen anyone and he spoke her language too. She felt some shivers from the presence of that man. However, she answered that she was expelled from her house and lost everything in the hands of some evil Spaniards. The man was thoughtful and for a while gave her a piece of bread fro...