Federico Stories

A long time ago, the Spaniards started to conquer the lands of El Salvador. One of the last strongholds of the Lenca tribe was the Morazan, and they had to protect it at any cost. The Spaniards were tired of the Lenca tribe and decided to carry out a massacre. Eventually, all corpses were reclaimed by other Indians except one. Nobody ever claimed nor picked up. No one ever knew who he belonged. For this reason, the new locals called this place the Plain of the Dead Man  (El Llano del Muerto in Spanish) (figure 1). Figure 1. The Plain of the Dead Man.  ¹ Nowadays, the Plain of the Dead is a place with abundant natural wealth, full of forests, rivers, and mountains that offer tourists a good space for camping, hiking, and swimming in pools of crystal-clear water. Credits: ¹  Natalia Galarza

Long ago, a siren from some faraway lands mysteriously reached the Olomega Lagoon. In those days, the lagoon was inhabited mainly by hard-working fishermen from the Lenca tribe. The siren started to swim in the lagoon until it reached the largest island called Olomegón. She decided that this would become her new kingdom (figure 1). A place that she would rule with her melodic voice. Figure 1. The Siren. Over the years, the inhabitants started to listen to a lovely voice singing inside the lake. One that captivated everyone and could be heard at night mainly. One night, a very brave fisherman decided to chase that song. He could not believe what he was listening to. He fell in love. He started to paddle his canoe, trying to find that melodic voice. Several minutes later, he discovered the voice was coming from Olomegón Island. He started to walk around it, and on its summit, he discovered who was singing. He saw the most alluring woman he had ever seen. Her beauty and voice were extrem...

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...

The Lenca people believed that from the confines of the volcano of San Miguel, a huge flying serpent came from its first eruption. On that day, the place was full of magma and ashes, and the serpent went to take refuge in the enchanted Ulupa Lagoon (figure 1). Figure 1. The Ulupa lagoon. ¹ The Ulupa Lagoon, in the Lenca language, meant: “place of the eels.” It used to look more or less circular, and apparently, it had deep waters. However, it had a unique peculiarity, from there was born a drainage stream that led its excesses to the right bank of the Río Grande de San Miguel River. The lagoon was about 5 km north of the Jocotal Lagoon, in the south or right band, and about 2 km away from the ancient road that joined the extinct populations of Xiriualtique and Elenuayquin, and shortly before reaching the prehistoric lava flows that were thrown the aforementioned volcanic towards the SE, in the direction of the San Juan Lagoon, whose last rebound cuts today The Litoral Hig...

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 moons ago, in a place not so far from San Juan Canton. It used to live a girl of magnificent beauty and impressive smile. She lived with her parents, brothers, and other relatives in a small wooden cabin. Her name was Xiri, which means “Star.” She belonged to the Lenca tribe. The Lenca tribe was very calm and smart. They were never involved in any wars with their neighbors until the Tecolucas-Nonualcos attacked them by surprise to conquer and seize all their lands, women, and gold. It was a bloody war, which unfortunately they lost. Lamani led this war and was the most powerful shaman of those times. He was a ruthless and cruel ruler who kidnapped Xiri because he fell in love at first sight. He saved her from the war. However, it was not the same luck for her family, who died immediately after the archers had invaded her hometown. In addition, when the war was ongoing, the Tecapa Volcano erupted with great fury, as if the gods thought this was enough! The eruptions continued...

Most of you might have heard about some twins who transformed into the Cadejos because of their bad behavior and uncountable mischief. However, these Cadejos are mostly seen in the rural areas while the good and the bad ones are from the urban side, and their story comes from the pre-colonial era. Do you want to hear it? Are you sure? Because it’s a scary story, are you sure? So, let’s dive deep into it. It was the year 400 BCE when the first inhabitants of Quelepa, a settlement of the Lenca people, were moving to a new land, a place that was beautiful and relatively close to a volcano. Plus, it was next to an impressive river full of fresh water. In this settlement, a couple had a difficult birth of fraternal twins, the first ones in centuries. The town rejoiced because a new pair of twins had come, and there were massive celebrations, even the Shaman and their King came and blessed them. Some years passed, and these twins grew up. One had beautiful red hair, and yellow eyes,...