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

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...

Emeterio Ruano was a very ambitious man (figure 1) who owned the Zapotitan Estate in the 1860s. His businesses were going all right, but he wanted more, and one day, he called the devil to make a deal. Figure 1.  Emeterio Ruano. Emeterio approached a mysterious rock inside a tiny lagoon and invoked the devil. The devil came around midnight and granted his wish, that Emeterio would become extremely wealthy. The rock would be the place where every couple of weeks, Emeterio would receive a new gift until the day the deal had to be paid. The rock was extremely unique and frightened anyone who came closer. It was extremely massive,  10 meters wide by 13 long. Also,  the figure of a snake and a shoe that belonged to  Emeterio  was engraved on the rock.  However, the most curious part was its top. It had several holes, two of them with a perfect circumference, where the gold and silver came out from hell. Over the years, the locals renamed the canton Silver Hil...

A long time ago, a mystical cave connected Cuscatlán and Chalatenango (figure 1). People for generations used it to make all kinds of businesses. Some of them were good, and some of them were evil. Figure 1. The Stinky Cave.  ¹ However, one day, one of the bad deals went completely wrong and a powerful stinky smell started to come from its mouth. It was so powerful that people tend to believe it was sulfur, but no one dares to investigate to know what it is. What’s more, the cave became darker and darker than its extreme darkness scares the bravest of the men. Also, some people believe the exit vanished after the wrong deal, but who knows what really happened. Will you be brave enough to enter? Inspired by  Leyendas de El Salvador ’s version. Credits: ¹  Gaceta Suchitoto

When Pedro de Alvarado arrived at Atehuan (Ateos) he received a message from Atlacatl (figure 1) in which he accepted his surrender since they had taken control of a large part of the territory. Figure 1. Atlacatl. ¹ Pedro de Alvarado was extremely surprised by such a fast surrender since Atlacatl was one of the mightiest chiefs. However, he still agreed to visit Atehuan and take control of it. However, when he arrived, he found the entire town in revolt since all the Pipil people had fled to the mountains. Pedro de Alvarado was angry and sent a letter to Atlacatl asking him to surrender for good. However, Atlacatl replied: "If you want our weapons, come and bring them to the mountains." The conquistador was furious and on July 4, 1524, attacked all surrounding mountains. Many horses, Spaniards, and indigenous people died. However, Atlacatl survived and never bowed to any foreign authority, and from the mountains, he kept attacking the invaders. Pedro de Alvarado tried to cap...

In Chalchuapa, on some special nights, many mysterious people walk along the main street of the town. They walk while carrying candles, and flowers and some of them carry a curious black coffin (figure 1). Figure 1. The Funeral Cortege. ¹ The crew stops for a brief moment at the entrance of the town and if any curious person was looking at them, one of the people leaves the event briefly. The person offers them a lighted candle as a souvenir. However, the next morning, the candle had transformed into a human bone! The curious person who received it begins to go silent and gets feverish and dreams about what they had seen until they go crazy and in a couple of days he dies of fright. Be careful if you ever walk in Chalchuapa alone! Inspired by  Hilos Narrativos ’ version. Credits: ¹  Hilos Narrativos

In 1655, some mighty pirates living on Meanguera Island attacked a ship and stole a sealed wooden box whose contents. The pirates didn’t care about its destination since they were only looking for gold and silver. They forced the sailors to walk the plank and let them die around 50 miles from the shores of La Paz in El Salvador. However, God didn’t forget what had happened and sent a powerful wind that almost destroy the pirate ship. From one moment to another, the mysterious box fell into the sea and the pirates couldn’t recover it. In 1682, some merchants around the shores of La Paz discovered the mysterious box. They couldn’t open it and asked a man on the shores to lend them one of his donkeys. They walked next to the donkey for several days until they reached San Miguel on November 21 st . As soon as they had arrived in San Miguel, the donkey felt exhausted in the main square in front of the old parish church. Immediately, the box opened and after removing several wraps, they foun...

In 1995 on October 31 st , I was coming back from a long trip to Panama. My company had sent me to deliver several tons of coal and wood to the canal. It had been one of the most tiring trips in my life. I just wanted to reach my house and sleep in my bed. Around 1am, I reached Izalco and tried to go directly to my home, but suddenly, I saw some curious lights moving in the cemetery. I had never seen any lights in the cemetery at night. I decided to park next to the Ash River (Río Ceniza in Spanish) and entered the cemetery to check what was happening. I started to walk carelessly inside the cemetery when suddenly, a white dog approached me with a kind of stick, but as soon as he left it next to me. I noticed it was not a stick, but a massive bone. The dog fled as soon as it had released the bone next to me. I only crossed myself and kept walking inside the cemetery. I thought nothing important had happened. After a while, I started to hear some strange words from behind, "Kakasb...

On November 3 rd , 1658, there was a massive eruption in the San Salvador Volcano. The residents of the surroundings didn't expect it. The volcano had been inactive for centuries. Even the local Amerindians were shocked by such a catastrophic event. They thought this would be the end of their lives. What nobody knew is that at the top of the volcano, a battle was happening. Saint Jerome and the devil were fighting. The devil wanted to erase every Christian, living in the surroundings and Saint Jerome wanted to protect them. Saint Jerome had been chosen as their protector. After several hours, Saint Jerome stopped the devil, but at a great cost. The large majority of the most Christian town was gone for good. The lava covered the entire town. Saint Jerome from heaven guided the residents of the destroyed town to a new location. They called it, Nejapa which in Nawatl means, "River of Ashes." In this place, they started a new life, and they called this eruption, 'El Play...

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 ...

Hundreds of years ago, a colossal giant called Sisimico (figure 1) lived in a canyon in San Vicente. The giant scared everyone for generations, but one day, it vanished and left his bones only. His bones rested at the bottom, resting his arms on the edges of the sidewalls, contemplating from there with his cyclopean eye watching the beauties of the surroundings, especially, its amazing, beautiful pool of crystalline blue waters. Figure 1. Sisimiaco. ¹ In recent times, an archeologist discovered that the bones came from a mastodon and presented them to the Pope in the Vatican City. They decided that it was an excellent piece to exhibit in one of the Vatican Museums, where it lays until today. Also, the word Sisimiaco comes from the Nahuatl Sisimitil , which means goblin or witch. A word that was associated with this unique place that sadly vanished from our lands in 2009 after a landslide. Inspired by Rafael González Sol’s version. Credits: ¹  A Total War Saga: Troy Leyen...

Long ago, three fishermen woke up and decided to hunt some fish on the shores of El Espino Beach. Everyone was happy and seemed like it would be a good day. After a while, one of them started to yell, “Come here! I found a portrait.” The other two men came to see it and were shocked by the portrait. They were sure it was the Virgin Mary. All of them kneeled on the sand and thanked her for her visit. Especially because they were humble men. The men picked up the portrait carefully and brought it to the closes Catholic Church where the local priest deduced that it was the Virgin of Candelaria. The priest spoke with some local people, and everyone agreed to bring the portrait to a tiny old hermitage in the Old Town. Also, they agreed to create a statue that resembled her to her perfection (figure 1). From that day, the Virgin of Candelaria became their Patron and yearly Pilgrimage Festivities are organized on February 1 st and 2 nd as a memory of her visit. Figure 1. The Virgin of C...

Hundreds of years ago, in the Canyon of the Olotes (Barranca de Los Olotes in Spanish)  near Izalco, cruel combat happened between the Spaniards and the Indians. On a terrible afternoon, thousands of arrows darkened the sun, trying to stop the Spanish invaders who had come with Pedro de Alvarado, one of their best captains. However, the Spaniards were able to protect themselves with their shields and laugh about their useless weapons. After a while, the Spaniards started to move their forces, and little by little, using their sophisticated  weaponry , they defeated the Indians. After the fight was over, Pedro de Alvarado decided to take a rest because it was insanely hot. However, the heat was so extreme that the rock softened and imprinted his right foot as a sign of their evil precise. Nowadays, everyone living in the Canyon  of the Olotes can appreciate the engraved foot (figure 1) as a memory of the old times and the Spanish Conquest. Figure 1. The Rock of The Conques...

In Guaymango, there is a mysterious cave (figure 1), which the locals believe is the Devil’s House, an entry to hell. Figure 1. Devil’s Cave. ¹ Many people assure you that if you walk around the San Martín Canton, you will find a narrow path that is surrounded by deep vegetation and cornfields. After a while, you will find two huge stones that guard the entrance to the cave. If you reach this place on the wrong day, a massive golden snake is going to devour you. Only a few had escaped and said it came from the deepest part of the cave. Some drunk people walked around the cave at midnight, and they walked in circles for hours because they lost their way. This is dangerous and they assure that even during their hangover, they still couldn’t know their path for hours. They are sure anyone, even sober people, can lose their path. People who regularly walk around the cave start listening to some creepy laughs like coming from hell. On one occasion a man tried to see what was happening and t...

The house is located on the 2 nd South Avenue and 13 th West Street next to Narcisa Castillo’s nursing home and is full of mysterious stories (figure 1). Many people believe it was once a school and a bank, but no one is sure about its past since it’s extremely old. Figure 1. The haunted house.   ¹ Recently, several people assured you that the city hall recently closed all its doors with bricks because some uncommon visitors were performing satanic rituals inside bringing evils from hell. Before the satanic arrived, several people had seen uncountable abnormal shadows rooming around the windows on some specific nights. Some crazy people even tried to spend a night inside until they started to hear crazy frightening screaming coming from nowhere! Everyone ran away for their lives. Everyone who has seen or heard strange things in this house does not recommend anyone to pass after 12 o ’ clock at night since it could be terrifying, and you don’t know who you will meet. Avoid it at...

Once upon a time, there was a woman who wanted to have a godmother. However, she did not want every godmother, she wanted Mrs. Death (figure 1). This woman wanted to know her destiny and was sure Mrs. Death could help her. Figure 1. Mrs. Death. One day the woman went to visit Mrs. Death’s cabin. She was not there that day, but the woman still entered her cabin. She would wait inside. Several minutes later, she started roaming around and noticed thousands of black candles. Each of them had an imprinted theme. A tiny one had her name imprinted, María Flores. After she read her name, she had a premonition: "She would die of a rare disease soon." She was shocked because she did not have any notable disease. She was a healthy woman! Suddenly, Mrs. Death appeared silently from behind and gave her an ointment. She also gave her precise orders on how to use it, "Use this ointment on your feet but be careful you should not smear on it your head. This can cure you of that rare di...

On January 13, 2001, an earthquake hit Santa Tecla badly. The following days were full of terror. The strong aftershocks that followed the first earthquake led thousands of families to sleep with clothes, and shoes very close to the exit of their homes. No one knew what could happen next. The fear was so massive since hundreds of people had died because of a landslide in the Las Colinas neighborhood. This situation brought new rumors to the Salvadoran minds. They discovered that just hours after the first earthquake, a horrendous boy was born in Zacatecoluca. Plus, he had predicted a new tragedy was coming on February 13. The newborn had scared the entire medical staff because of his ugliness. Some believed it was the same Antichrist because he had horns and a tail. One of the nurses was so shocked that she exclaimed, "What an ugly child!" Figure 1. The ugly baby. Immediately after the nurse’s words, a frightening voice coming from the newborn answered: "The ugliest even...

Everything started in 1995 in Puerto Rico. A new beast arrived from nowhere on that island and started to suck the blood of all farm animals leaving their bloodless corpses only. The beast looked like a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines running from the neck to the base of the tail (figure 1). It was a scary beast that the locals called the Chupacabra. Figure 1. The Chupacabra.   ¹ The beast or beasts (because it seemed it had siblings) started to teleport and move across Latin America and the US, reaching one terrible night in 1996, the Elias Village in San Vicente, El Salvador. On that night, a goat around 6 months old appeared dead with serious wounds caused by unknown fangs around its neck and forelimbs. What’s more, its third leg was broken savagely leaving it without bloodlessness. The goat was discovered by its owner (the Granados Family) after he heard uncommon noises that sound from a faraway land. Also, he noticed that the rest of his goa...

Around 20 years ago at the beginning of the 2000s, some fishermen started to hear some uncommon voices from the sea, to be precise Los Cóbanos Beach. The fishermen were frightened by its voices. One of them recalled that his grandfather had told him that a ship had sunk on their coasts in 1890. The ship was called S.S. Douglas. This was a beautiful and imponent English ship. His grandfather had also told him that the S.S. Douglas had sunk while carrying a shipment of 10,000 bags of golden coffee to Hamburg, Germany. That day was quite windy, and the storms were stronger than forcing the S.S. Douglas to collide off with Punta Remedios twelve miles from the Port of Acajutla. A place that since pre-Hispanic times has been important for trade and fishing. After the tragedy, the crew members were directly taken to a Los Cóbanos clinic in an emergency, and due to the collision with the stones located on the beach, the ship stayed at that point and dived 24 feet deep. The people around the to...

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.