Feb
08
2008
“Probably the scariest character from Nicaraguan folklore is called La Cegua. La Cegua is a witch who lives in the woods, but who is said to have many different appearances. All of her depictions, however, portray her as a ghastly and corpse-like figure. It is believed that she walks through the woods naked awaiting her victims and it is believed that men are attracted to her ghost-like silhouette. La Cegua speaks to men in words that are so terrible that the victim goes insane and never are able to recover.” (Continue – OAS Organization)
Oct
15
2007
El Viejo del Monte de Solentiname
The legend of El Viejo del Monte (the old man of the forest) is one of the archipelago’s most enduring folktales. No one is exactly sure around what time the story originated, but it has been told and retold for at least the past seven generations.
The moral of the legend is a simple one—Don’t mess with nature.
It is said that the character now known throughout the numerous islands of the Solentiname Archipelago as El Viejo del Monte, used to be a merciless hunter who practiced his aim by randomly killing all species of animals who stepped in his path. Without any respect for the life of the animal, El Viejo del Monte wouldn’t even honor his prey by eating it; he just slew it and left it to rot.
Partly to punish him and partly to teach him a lesson, the gods turned the man into a part man/part simian creature (sisimico) and made him keeper of Solentiname’s abundant wildlife. Now El Viejo del Monte protects the numerous species of birds, reptiles and mammals that live in Solentiname from poachers and irresponsible hunters. What he once disrespected and destroyed, he now protects just as viciously.
(Continue … Solentiname – El Viejo del Monte)
Legend written by Maria Alejandra Mendieta/Solentiname.com
Sep
03
2007
A beautiful version of La Mocuana can be read at Nicaraguaphoto.com, written by Richard Leonardi.
“I was just a girl, in the year 1530 of the invader’s calendar, when the Spaniards…” (continue)
Mr. Leonardi is a U.S born photographer based in Managua, Nicaragua.
