Federico Stories

In the 19th century, during the times of the Federal Republic of Central America, the Indian Anastasio Aquino led a powerful uprising in El Salvador. Aquino belonged to the Taytes (chiefs) of the Nonualco, an Indigenous tribe of the Pipil nation, and was tired of the oppression that he and his relatives had suffered for generations by the Spaniards and their decedents. In late 1832 and early 1833, Aquino was a worker on an indigo plantation where he rebelled following the arrest of his brother by the estate owner. Aquino called for disobedience to the government. He and his followers attacked army posts, recruited the Indigenous conscripts there, and burned estates all across El Salvador. They distributed spoils to the poor on their way. By the end of January 1833, Aquino managed to assemble an army large enough to do battle. His force was estimated at 2,000 to 5,000 men, armed mostly with lances, but apparently with some firearms. The revolt started in the hacienda Jalponguita, in...

Thousands of years ago, the creation was threatened. Humanity was in its infancy. The earth was in the form of a long gray cloud that was creeping through moist space, and it had recently condensed, giving rise to this immense ball in which everyone lived. The worst was that the sky was already crumbling, and it barely wavered under the weight of the stars, and all hope seemed to be lost. Such was the collapse, and the complaints of the earth were so numerous, that a God seriously thought of cutting off the evil and he created four giants. The four giants (figure 1) were assigned to each of the corners of the sky, and they should support it on their backs firmly. They would prevent the sky from falling while the stars strengthened their shreds of light. Figure 1. The Giants. ¹ The almighty giants are: Kan-Xibchac, the yellow is in the South. Chac-Xibchac, the red is in the East. Zac-Xibchac, the white is in the North. Ek-Xibchac, the black is in the West. They each led the mi...

In 1529, the warrior Shúri ruled Yusique (Chinameca). He belonged to the Lenca people and was a very thin cacique about thirty years old. He looked weak, but he had special physical abilities like a few people in  Cuzcatlan . He possessed the agility of the jaguar; the versatility of the deer and he was incredible flexibility as a bow. His personality was amazing because he used his brain more than pure brute force. His spirit inspired every Indian in his lands, he was considered the warlord of the warlords by his men (figure 1). Figure 1. Shúri.  ¹ At the beginning of that year, Shúri heard of some evil conquistadors taking full control of  Cuzcatlan (the western part of El Salvador) . He was concerned because of their military power and the 4-legged animals they were using to take control extremely fast. This seemed like an extremely challenging battle to win, but they had to stop them at any cost. In 1530, the situation in the central of the country got out of control ...

Cuicuizcatl was a legendary Indian (figure 1), who was born in Tehuacán City and her name in Nawat means  swallow bird . Figure 1. Cuicuizcatl.  ¹ She lost her husband during the Spanish colonization as many other women and became widowed. After this, she fled with her daughter, who hid in her chest, so no one noticed she wasn’t alone. She only spoke the Indians’ language. During the following weeks, she hid in uncountable forests, jumped ravines, thorns, and wildflowers until she reached the Chinchontepec. As a newly widowed mother, she wanted to retain a low profile. Especially that the Spanish Conquistadors had kidnapped them before, and now they were fleeing from them. Cuicuizcatl walked for hundreds of km until she reached the demonized god’s abode, where water boils and dances happily when it burns in hell. She was tired, thirsty, injured by the soles of her feet that she fell with her little daughter on a bed of colored pebbles. The stars gav...

In ancient times many Indians lived in the Anamorós Hamlet called Los Ríos. The cacique (chief) hated and lived in a constant disagreement with the Anamorós’ Indians, whom he swore to exterminate. One day, the man who had sworn to destroy Anamorós. He used his using magical powers to transform himself into a gigantic snake, long and thick and went under the rocks towards Anamorós. He wanted to fulfil his promise and devastate them once and for all. He would collapse the hill, causing a tremendous avalanche that would fall on Anamorós, therefore executing all of them. On the other hand, Anamorós’s Indian cacique recognized the cruel intentions of his neighbor. He immediately decided to go to the top of the hill of his town and built protection in the shape of a small stage. Additionally, he tirelessly walked until he reached a good height on the hill, and tried to see the snake warlock, but he failed. Later in his journey, he realized he was traveling under the hill, with a st...

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...

Many moons ago, long before the Spanish colonization of the Americas, a unique kid was born in a Lenca region called: Tangolona. He possessed unique and divine powers like a few people in the world. Everyone who met him said he could perform many miracles plus possessed surprising wisdom for his age, but he had a notorious physical malformation, he had several extra legs. For this reason, his parents never allowed him to play or meet with other kids in their town. The life of this kid was challenging and full of health problems. One day he was seriously ill, and this unfortunate and uncommon disease led him to his death. Nevertheless, because of his unique powers, he was allowed to talk with the beautiful  Moon  in his last minutes of life. During their conversation, the Moon politely asked him: “What would be your last wish, my dear?” The boy replied he had always dreamed of visiting the sea, and if the beautiful Moon allowed it, he wanted to enter the seawate...

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...

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 before the Spanish conquest, there was a bloody war between the Nonualco and the Mazahua tribes. Two tribes who had lived in peace and harmony for centuries till the day the Nonualco Prince made a huge mistake because he was madly in love with the Mazahua Princess and was willing to do everything to have her. One night during the dry season, the Nonualco Prince was desperate, couldn’t wait any longer, and decided to kidnap the princess and leave with her to a faraway land where they could start a new life outside their royal duties and where no one could find or know them. In the middle of that night, the prince sneaked into the princess’s room, sedated her with some pitos potion, put a black band on her eyes, kidnapped her, and vanished with her to some remote lands. Unfortunately, when they arrived at those distant lands, and the princess woke up, and they spoke, he discovered that she also loved him. At this moment, they were frightened and knew this was the beg...