Federico Stories

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...

There is not a more mysterious bird than the owl. They are unique birds that you can only see at night, especially during the phenomenon of the blue moon (figure 1). Figure 1. An owl during the blue moon.   ¹ Many people in El Salvador believe, the owls are the witches’ spirits who roam the Central American skies every night. They say the owls try scaring their victims in dark places before they transform them into mice that can later hunt and eat! Plus, some of them say when you can hear a low whistle from the skies, it is an owl that is flying over you! If anyone tries responding with the same whistle, it will fly to you and scratch your eyes! There are different types of owls in those lands, but the unique ones are the bearded owls . They are a rare species that possess two large and elongated feathers that grow next to its beak. The elders say these bearded owls are sorcerers, who were cursed by an old shaman who converted into owls forever! He did it because they we...

Long ago, an evil and greedy sorcerer lived in Izalco. He used to be a common Indian man who got tired of the extreme poverty he was born with and decided to reach a unique deal with the Black Knight. After their deal, he was renamed Evil Pedro and pretended to be a farmer daily, while scaring people at night. On one 15 th of May, after Saint Isidore the Laborer’s mass, the local priest organized the wagons’ annual blessing. The priest blessed every farmer in town, so, they could have an abundant year. When Pedro’s time came to get his blessing, the priest almost blessed his wagon, when suddenly, he stopped and said aloud: “This wagon was already blessed by the devil himself! What are you doing here?” Pedro pretended he did not know what he was talking about. After a while, the priest started to spray his holy water over Pedro. For him, this was like acid. The holy water started to destroy his skin, causing several wounds. The priest also sprayed his oxen. They just knelled ...