Federico Stories

Long ago, a dirty and scary woman (figure 1) started to visit Guatajiagua’s rivers every midnight. Every citizen believes she came from the Honduran virgin jungles. Figure 1. The dirty woman. The men described her as an evil spirit. She presents herself mainly when they are drunk, returning to their homes as a beautiful woman washing her clothes on the banks of the closest river. She later calls the men asking them for their support. The men tend to fall in love and approached her. After they speak for a while, she presents her true face! Most men tried running, but only a few have escaped. The lucky ones returned to their homes and for the unlucky ones, no one knows their destiny. Inspired by Valdemar Bolainez’s version collected by Ennis Arely Arevalo Girón, Lissette Amelia Gutierrez Paz, and Karen Liseth Mancia Bonilla in their  thesis  Cultura Popular de Guatajiagua.

Many years ago, when La Nahuaterique (a small village in Honduras) was part of El Salvador, there used to live an old and peculiar sorcerer. This village was well known for its Lenca population. The sorcerer was grumpy and unfriendly; barely anyone had ever spoken with him over his long time living there. His face was a complete mystery because he always wore a mask in the shape of an owl (figure 1). He used to live in a tiny cave where barely any light entered. From time to time, the people could see a campfire, but no one was sure if it was real. Figure 1. The Sorcerer.   ¹ Some people believe he was a shapeshifter who transformed himself into other animals, mainly owls. Others had the impression he was one of the few sorcerers who were not fully cursed by the shaman centuries ago. One of those who could revert to his human form at his own will, but to retain his secret identity, he always wore that mask. While a few people believed he had an odd business of selling ointmen...

Long ago, a young man called Serapio used to live next to a borehole in Santa Elena, Honduras. He was the richest man there and possessed uncountable goods that graved everyone’s attention. Everyone said that one day he appeared with a table, the next one with a bed, later with a new mattress, and many more things every day. Who knew what the next thing on his list would be! Serapio was a very peculiar person. Every night he came to the town with his black mule (figure 1), and they did some unusual business with chosen people. Only a few people were aware of what these businesses were, but as soon as they concluded, they vanished, and, suddenly, they were in El Salvador. No one could understand how it was possible to move from Honduras to El Salvador in less than 5 minutes! Figure 1. The young and the black mule.   ¹ Over the years, everyone was more and more concerned; his wealth and goods were unmeasurable! Hence, a couple of them investigated his trick and they d...

At the foot of the hill, there was an indigenous population. This place was ruled by a strong and bad-tempered cacique, who had a very beautiful daughter, which everyone pretended and coveted, even the character we have discovered so far. The warrior was named Cayaguanca. Cayaguanca was a powerful and respected warrior. He did not possess any wealth for which he was well unseen by the bitter and protective father. However, Cayaguanca managed to conquer the young maiden’s heart, and with his love, they met secretly. Nevertheless, you cannot hide a secret forever, and the inevitable day arrived. The cacique realized the romance between the warrior and his daughter, he was enraged and granted the order to capture Cayaguanca. After the warriors had caught Cayaguanca, the cacique ordered to fasten him to the rock and depart from it there until he died of hunger and cold, Cayaguanca’s tears were unmeasurable that flooded the indigenous tribe, then he started to become solid until he trans...

In the 13th century, a white woman appeared on Honduras’s north coast. The Lenca people were surprised by her appearance since she looked completely atypical to them. They wondered where she came from because she was able to speak their mother tongue as if she was any of them. Plus, she understood all their traditions and rituals. The white woman started traveling through the entire Lenca region between Honduras’s north coast and the southeast part of El Salvador. In all these lands, she was called Cozumel (figure 1), which means “The flying tiger.” Figure 1. Cozumel “The Flying Tiger.” Some people said she was as light as air and flew through their lands, so they nicknamed it that way. Cozumel was a fierce, powerful, and clever woman. Many people acknowledged her as a force to recognize because she was a sorceress who was capable of casting impressive spells that surprised all tribes. She protected the Lenca people from multiple invasions and brought the rain back dur...

Many years ago, an Indian man was banished from his tribe and forced to live in the forests and mountains of what is now called Central America.   It was there where a demon took possession of him, and from that fusion, the Midnight Yeller (figure 1), a half-human and half-demon beast, of great size was born. Figure 1. The Midnight Yeller. ¹ Theoretically, no one can see such a creature, but its eerie yells break the nocturnal silence in the jungles and mountains of those lands. However, one day, one man swore had seen it, his name is Julio, and his story is as follows. On a Friday in July of 1963, he was returning from a wild party in the streets of Santa Ana. Julio was a very strong man who loved to walk at night. This time, he was walking on a small trail when he passed by the church of El Calvario and heard its bell, he thought it had to be midnight. He got a little scared and stride. Almost, a block near City Hall, for the first time in many years, he noticed that ...