Federico Stories

Long ago, on a farm owned by Mr. Ceferino Mancía in El Congo, some of his workers found a massive rock, and for unknown reasons, decided to move it. They were ecstatic because when they moved it, they noticed an old clay jar underneath it that was full of gold and silver coins! (Figure 1) Figure 1. The jar of El Congo.  ¹ One of the workers saw Mr. Ceferino walking around, ran to him, and told him the great news! The farmer without thinking ran rapidly to collect this treasure and went to his house back. Everyone thought, Mr. Ceferino as the owner was very lucky, and the treasure seemed like a blessing at first glance, and perhaps, he would share a bit with them. Nevertheless, in the following days, the farmer became mysteriously ill and died without any sign. No doctor could comprehend what had happened, and everyone agreed he died of natural death. Hours later, the workers heard the news and decided to bury this cursed treasure one more time, where they found it; th...

One day, Quetzalcoatl, the god who symbolized life, light, wisdom, fertility, and knowledge, and was considered the patron of the winds and the day, gave the cocoa tree (figure 1) to all loyal men as a reward for their love and fidelity of their wives. In those days, all men preferred to sacrifice their lives for good people before searching for quick wins and treasures. Figure 1. A cocoa tree. Cocoa was a gift from the gods that could only be consumed by the elite. The flavor of the fruit was bitter, a characteristic that the ancestors related to the suffering of Princess Cacahuaquahitl, who had died during a war. Some Indians said the cocoa was popularized when the princess died, and her blood fertilized the earth and gave life to the most splendid cocoa trees. The Olmecs ground the cocoa beans mixed with water and savored the delight of the seed in the form of a drink. Over time, the cocoa culture spread to the Mayan (600 BCE) and Aztec (1400 BCE) populations. At that t...

Many years ago, during the colonization, a mischievous dwarf traveled from Ireland in one of the British Empire ships, which arrived in Belize. He lived for a while there, but later he started to travel across Central America and settled down in El Salvador because he enjoyed its diverse ecosystem and preferred the Spanish language. During his trips around El Salvador, he met Nora, a beautiful lady from Ilobasco. She was the most beautiful lady in her town even though she won many pageant contests like “Miss Cabañas” because of her fabulous smile, tan and impressive rear. She inherited the best from her father, who was a Spaniard, and her mother, who was from the western part of El Salvador. The perfect mix, you would say. For most of her childhood and teenage years, she was an extremely popular girl, but one day her misfortune happened. She was on a school trip, and she decided to take a shower in the Lempa river because it was a hot day in the last days of summer. While she wa...