Stories From a Boy From Usulutan
Irene Iraheta ‘28
Latin America is a large place. There are more than 20 countries in the span of land that constitutes Latin America, and all of them have a rich and beautiful cultural history. The lands are full of stories. Scary ones, sweet ones, moral ones. Everyone knows “La Llorona” but there are so many more out there.
When my father was growing up in El Salvador, in the city of Usulután, he heard these stories. There would be times he’d mention a figure from these stories in passing and I would sit there, mostly confused, but excited to hear more about the tales he knew from childhood. Every once in a while I like to ask him about these figures, and do my own research into this aspect of the country. Here I’ve written down three of the stories he remembered best (slightly corroborated with a few internet sources):
La Sigunaba
She was a young beautiful woman named Sihuehuet (which literally means beautiful woman) who caught the eye of the son of a water God, Tlaloc. They had a child together who would later be known as El Cipitio. It is said that she would cheat on her husband and neglect her child. This caused Tlaloc to curse her. After being cursed, she was named “La Sigunaba” (which translated to hideous woman). From that day she haunted the countryside, often appearing as a woman bathing in the river. She attracts men who are walking alone, and when they are near, she transforms into a hideous creature and they are never seen from again. Some say she kills them by scaring them to death with her true appearance, some say they simply disappear.
My father said if people heard men screaming by the river, it meant that La Singuanaba had taken someone, and they would never be seen from again.
El Cipitio - Hijo de La Siguanaba
El Cipitio was cursed at the same time his mother was. As a result of this he eternally looks like a child. He has a big straw hat and backwards feet. He likes to pull tricks on people, and because his feet are backwards, people get lost when they try to chase him. He, like his mother, stays by the river, often throwing pebbles and flowers at pretty women to get their attention. Only children can see him.
(As an aside, my father heard that El Cipitio might follow a girl he likes home, and in the case he does, the girl has to have bad manners so he would go away. The example he heard was eating while on the toilet. I couldn’t find a source to corroborate that. That could be Salvadoran history or Facebook. Who really knows.)
El Cadejo Blanco y El Cadejo Negro
If you’re walking alone at night in El Salvador, something might follow you. It could be El Cadejo Blanco, which appears as a white dog and is there to protect you on your walk home. It could also be El Cadejo Negro, a black dog who is there to kill you. Either way, the advice you will hear is don’t turn around. Neither dog will bark, or make any noise, but they will be following you. There is also the possibility that both dogs are following you, in which case they will fight to see which one gets to accompany you home. El Cadejo Blanco usually wins, and protects the rest of your walk.
Moral of the story, don’t be outside at night if you’re in El Salvador. Especially if you’re by a river. It’s not a good place to be, spiritually speaking.
El Salvador is one of the smallest countries in Latin America, but its cultural history is vast. These are just the Salvadoran versions of these folktales, almost every country has a different way to tell it. Look for the stories whose roots go back generations, it's a glimpse of a history that we don’t see.
“The Legend of El Cipitio.” Espooky Tales, 2020, www.espookytales.com/blog/The-Legend-of-El-Cipitio/.
“The Legend of La Siguanaba.” Espooky Tales, 2 Dec. 2020, www.espookytales.com/blog/the-legend-of-la-Siguanaba/.
Maria. “El Salvador: Into a World of Myths and Legends.” Babel Tower, 21 Apr. 2018, babeltowerfr.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/el-salvador-into-a-world-of-myths-and-legends/.
My parents and my uncle.