Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Leyendas de Guatemala (Guatemalan Myths)

Recently, I have been inspired by my home country to create a series of pieces incorporating different cultural celebrations, traditions, textiles, ornaments, etc. For example, I created a series of kites from Guatemala’s unique celebration of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos or Día de los Santos). I’m also creating a series inspired by the wooden Guatemalan masks, which I have been enjoying quite a lot - but now, I have this itch to create a series based on the myths or stories (leyendas) I grew up listening to as a kid. These leyendas have been passed down  from generation to generation. Many countries in Latin America have their own variations of the leyendas, which are part of the culture. The particular leyendas I’d like to incorporate in my new series are El Sombrerón, La Siguanaba, El Cadejo and La Llorona.  
I will get started with the leyenda of La Siguanaba. La Siguanaba is a beautiful seductive woman with very long hair who is either naked or dressed in flowing white clothing; she usually appears bathing in a public water tank, river, or other water source. She likes to lure lone men (mostly unfaithful men),  out late on dark moonless nights, without letting them see her face at first. She tempts such men away from their planned routes to get them alone with her. She will not reveal her face until the last moment; when it is revealed, she has the face of a horse. From afar the Siguanaba can also imitate the appearance of a man's girlfriend in order to lead him astray.  
The next leyenda I’d like to explore is El Sombrerón. El Sombrerón is a very tiny man, with a huge hat. He likes to mount horses and braid their tails and manes. He also likes to court young ladies who have long hair and big beautiful eyes. When he likes one in particular, he follows her, braids her hair, serenades her with his guitar and beautiful songs; but he also puts soil in her food so that she is not able to eat or sleep and only think of him. El Sombrerón appears at dusk, dragging along a group of mules, with whom he travels around the city and its neighborhoods. When a woman corresponds to his love, he ties the mules to the house where she lives, unhooks his guitar and starts singing and dancing.

Following El Sombrerón, I’ll venture in with El Cadejo. There is a good Cadejo, which is white, and an evil, black Cadejo. Both are spirits that appear at night to travelers. The white Cadejo to protect them from harm during their journey, the black Cadejo, to harm them. The colors of the Cadejo are sometimes exchanged according to local tradition. In some places the black Cadejo is seen as the good one and the white cadejo the evil one. In Guatemala, I grew up hearing only about the black Cadejo, which is good and simply protects drunks on their journey from people trying to harm them. It usually appears in the form of a large, shaggy dog with burning red eyes and goat hooves.

Lastly, I will explore one of the most popular leyendas throughout Latin America – La Llorona. Although several variations exist, the basic story tells of a beautiful woman killing her children by drowning them, in order to be with the man she loved. When the man rejects her, she kills herself. Challenged at the gates of heaven as to the whereabouts of her children, she is not permitted to enter the afterlife until she has found them. She is forced to wander the Earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring, with her constant weeping giving her the name "La Llorona". In some versions of the tale, La Llorona kidnaps wandering children, or children who disobey their parents. People who claim to see her, say she comes out at night or in the late evenings from rivers or oceans. Some believe that those who hear the wails of La Llorona are marked for death. She is said to cry "¡Ay, mis hijos - Ay, mis hijos!" which translates to "Oh, my children!"


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