Federico Stories

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...

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.

In Central America, there are some incredible trees called,  Amates . They tend to be associated with demons and creatures from beyond like the Siguanaba . Central Americans advise not to approach these beautiful and mysterious trees. Everyone says that through them, the demons and many mysterious beings from the underworld wish to contact you and take control of your soul. Over the years, some men, who were captured by the Siguanaba more than once, observed a peculiar pattern in her actions. They noticed that the large and leafy branches of some Amate trees in the Lempa River moved from side to side without any breeze or wind. In these specific trees, she rests in her hammock (figure 1), waiting for any courageous man who tries to flirt with her. Figure 1. The Siguanaba is waiting in her hammock. Pay attention to these trees! Say all the survivors! Get out of that place! The Siguanaba is even more powerful there than anywhere else! Her tits can hypnotize you and make yo...

Her legend started during the time of the civil war of El Salvador in the 1980s. Many guerrilla fighters passed through the banks of the Toad River at night, specifically, in the area where the passage of the river splits La Guacamaya and El Zapotal in Morazán. In this area, they inevitably encountered a mysterious woman (figure 1). Figure 1. The mysterious woman of the Toad River.  ¹ Many people claimed to have perceived this woman. They described her as medium height with enormous breasts, broad hips, long hair, an odd look whose laughs turned out to be deafeningly loud; therefore, they heard her from afar. However, everyone agreed her appearances were quick, lasting only a few minutes or seconds, they could barely perceive her. Those who saw her also said she dressed only in underwear and bathed in the pools of the river at night. Plus, she had the habit of running to hide in the undergrowth. As the days passed, the few fighters who ventured to spend the nigh...

Long ago, before the creation of the indigenous man on the American territory. In those days, a family with supernatural powers used to live in El Salvador. They were demigods of the mythology of  Cuzcatlan ! They lived in the Salvadorian rainforest. However, despite being a dense and deep jungle, the water was very scarce, and to collect some was needed to walk by long stretches of hostile territory. The worst part was they needed to carry it in clay pots. It was very heavy work that they had to do daily. In those days, there was a family of demigods. It consisted of two elders and two young boys. These were grandchildren of the elder couple who were descendants of Tlaloc. Daily, the grandfather was going to collect water for their chores. He knew where to discover it. However, he never revealed the secret of where he got it. Most of the time, his grandchildren accompanied him and sent them back with water without ever revealing, where, or what part of the jungle he got it. Ne...

Long ago, in Jayaque, its citizens were very humble, and their lives were around working and meditating without any worry. They mostly understood some basic things like the sun hides behind the clouds and always returns every morning, and its light gives them life allowing them to farm. Furthermore, the people gathered around a cave in a half-moon shape and wondered about everything related to nature like the rain, the wind, the volcanoes, mountains, everything around it. However, for them, nothing was more magnificent than the moon. It always changed its shape, and during the new moon, the cave majestically illuminated. They always wondered, how was it possible it illuminated when the beautiful moon vanished from the sky? Where was it going? This cave certainly raised more questions than answers, and its mystery remained unanswered for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, one night, a curious man undertook the quest to chase the beautiful moon, and with a herculean effort, he hoped he...

He was there. Black under the branches, the sinister face dotted with moonlight. He was clearly distinguished by the three guara feathers that he wore on his forehead; he was the Tiger del Sumpul (figure 1), that lonely and lost river that creeps under rocks and among roots, the river of crimes that have been stained so many times in blood and has heard so many cries of anguish and pain. A river of corpses and bones! Figure 1. The Tiger of Sumpul.  ¹ Right there, that man who hid behind the trunk of that gnarled tigüilote had robbed the travelers and had paid their margins with blood. He was of Mayan origin. He had been raised in the mountains, in the high mountains of Chalatenango, where the Pipil Confederation had stopped the advance of Ulmec imperialism. From the upper Cayaguanca to the gloomy Sumpul, he had traveled committing crimes. On the roadside he burned a mixture of "tapa" (datura) and tobacco leaves, the smoke of which produces sleep, delirium, and inst...

Many moons ago, in an ancient Maya city called Cihuatán (in Nawat), there was an attractive woman called Cozumel. Everyone knew her in all cities and towns around Cihuatán. All men were attracted to her because of her incredible smile, and black eyes that felt like you were diving into the deepest part of the ocean. Her hair was long and black, and when any man spoke to her, he melted because her voice was so sweet and soft no one could resist. Plus, she had a fantastic body that seemed surreal everyone loved her (figure 1). Some people add that she was a woman of very humble origins. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a midwife. They didn’t possess anything that anyone could envy. Figure 1. Cozumel. ¹ One day, she traveled to one of the most prominent temples: Tazumal. At that place, she was received as always with absolute pleasure and enjoyment by the inhabitants. During an important ritual, she met a warrior from that sector. They started to talk and later to dat...

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...

According to an ancient legend in the Sensunapán River, there is a well-known pond called Bululú (figure 1). This pool is enchanted because a golden crate contains a paste filled with diamonds and silver soap. Figure 1. The pond of Bululú. ¹ These objects belonged to an Indian princess, who one day went for a walk around the place. She had an unmeasurable loved for this river.  One day, she took a bath in the lowest part, when suddenly, she carelessly slid on a rock and could not swim back. Unfortunately, she drowned in that place, and no one knew about it. Days later, some curious Indians came to the pool and wanted to seize the Princess’s belongings. However, mysteriously when they tried to touch them, they disappeared and appeared on the other side of the pond while they heard some giggling laughter from somewhere, but they couldn’t see anyone. They fled as fast as possible from there! The elders say, the one who can touch them submerges in the pond and cannot l...

Juana was a proud mother of five children in La Palma , a well-known city in the northern part of El Salvador nearby Honduras, and she had a perfect life. She had a beautiful house near the Chiquito River and a good job. Furthermore, she was a practicing Catholic like most of her family and neighbors in those days. Plus, her husband was handsome and intelligent. She had everything that she wanted. However, one night when she was returning from the church, and was frightened because her house was on fire, their neighbors were trying to put out the fire, but everything was in vain, and she lost all that she had. For many months, she tried to overcome her misfortune, but nothing helped her. She became mad and obsessed with her lost kids. Some of her friends interned her in a psychiatric hospital, but one night she escaped and committed suicide in a ravine not so far from her old house. The city was in complete sadness when they discovered it. They lost the most smiling and humble...

Many moons ago, the Siguanaba ’s son was taken to the hereafter because his mother was cursed and forced to live in the Salvadoran rivers until the end of time. After the Siguanaba was cursed and vanished, Tlaloc called his son and told him: “Son. I have cursed your wife forever. She is going to live in the rivers washing her clothes and scaring bad men because of her greed and irresponsibility.” Tlaloc’s son couldn’t believe what he was listening to and replied: “Father, why are you taking all that I have? Haven’t I had work enough to have at least my child?” Tlaloc answered: “Son, I understand, but you have more responsibilities in this town. You will see your son again one day.” The man was furious and disappointed because his father took everything he had: his wife, his child, his dignity, all. They discussed for hours until he accepted his destiny and left his child with him. Meanwhile, he would try to recover the love of his life. He started a quest in every Salvadoran river,...

Once upon a time in a place known as El Salvador , there was a town inhabited by a working and respectful tribe who was very kind to all their neighbors. In this town, it lived a breathtaking girl who was admired by all the young men of this place. This girl was named Cihuehuet (figure 1). Her beauty was immeasurable, and all nearby hamlets knew her. Many young warriors and hunters propose to her all the time. Figure 1. Cihuehuet dancing on the rivers. ¹ However, the girl knew herself very well, and she had become very conceited and vain. Every time she went to wash her clothes in the river, instead of hurrying and doing her work, she stayed for a very long time watching her face reflected in the clean and shiny waters from Lempa. When the wedding time came, she married the bravest and strongest warrior of the region, who was Tlaloc’s son. Some months later, the Shaman told her: “You are going to have a boy.” She realized, when her son was born, she would not be able to d...