Federico Stories

Many years ago, in Culuco, Nahualism was widespread. This was an ancient art that allowed people to shapeshift into animals. Its local sorcerers were experts on it. However, one day, they committed a serious offense against the Catholic Church. One that really enraged it. In those days, the inhabitants of Culuco were terrified by almost every animal. No one was sure if an animal was an animal, or it was one of the sorcerers! Some assured, they could transform into any animal you could imagine, dogs, cats, cows, etc. Their powers were unmeasurable. At any moment, any animal could revert back to its human form and frighten them to death. Many people often fainted and lost their belongings after these experiences. However, one Thursday during the winter solstice of 1855, an important priest decided to go there and organize a special mass. He organized it in a beautiful church inside the cave (figure 1). He started his mass, but strangely no parishioners arrived. He was shocked bec...

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...

Many people assure you that between the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, uncountable mysterious beings like the elves danced at night, and the evil spirits enveloped the rock. The rock is nestled on top of the Sorcerer’s Hill. Therefore, no one dares to visit the hill at night, unless you come to summon wicked spirits, demons, or perform witchcraft. The rock has witnessed many demonic covenants. In the past, uncountable Victoria City ’ s inhabitants visited the hill to request the devil, health, money, women, anything! In exchange for their souls. In this way, they sought a better life, which they would pay for all eternity. As you can see, the rock is the bridge to the underworld whose answers are the devil himself. The people who made a deal with the rock practically exchanged their souls for mortal whips. Therefore, the locals knew who had made deals with the bewitched rock. Some people unexpectedly found fortunes in their yards, others discovered jars full of go...

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...

In the 1600s, a poor old woman from the Santa Ana Volcano surroundings was expelled from her lands by the Conquistadors. They stole all that she had and laughed about how poor she was and how she looked like a bandari, they said: “You are just a bandari, get out of here and come back to the jungle with your relatives! You cannot even speak Spanish!” While she was walking around the place for days without food or water, she was starving near the lake when she met an elegant white man wearing a black coat, who asked her: “Dear, why are you so lonely? Did anything happen to you?” She was very surprised and thought she was suffering from some hallucinations because she had been in that place for days and never seen anyone and he spoke her language too. She felt some shivers from the presence of that man. However, she answered that she was expelled from her house and lost everything in the hands of some evil Spaniards. The man was thoughtful and for a while gave her a piece of bread fro...