One of the things that connect people among them and also, to the place they were born are in fact, urban legends. From Women crying in the middle of the darkest roads late at night to mythical creatures that kill animals on farms around the island, these legends in Puerto Rico are part of our history, as it happens with many others around the world.
To celebrate Halloween, at Local Guest we decided to compile some of the most popular legends that you might hear about in Puerto Rican streets. Some of them are creepy and, we do recommend to be alert –to not find any of these creatures- while visiting our lovely island.
La Llorona
La Llorona is a story that repeats itself almost everywhere in Latin America. La Llorona is supposed to be a mother that lost her children and that in the night time, she could be heard crying and begging for the children she lost.
In Puerto Rico, that legend is set in the town of Coamo. Many drivers say that they have seen a woman on the side of the road by the Las Calabazas Bridge. They mentioned that ignoring her wasn’t enough because she would appear inside the car. Many people think that this is the reason why there are so many accidents on that bridge.
El Vampiro de Moca
In 1975, a legend about a vampire haunting the town of Moca became famous in the whole country. Farm animals from all over the town were appearing dead with a round shaped bite from an unidentified creature and with no blood. The town started to believe that these attacks were done by a vampire. The description given by those who claim they saw the “vampire” is that this creature had wings and two sharp fangs to attack the victims. The newspapers during that year covered the news about the vampire daily.
El Chupacabras
During the 90’s a new urban legend appear: this one was known as the Chupacabras. El Chupacabras was a creature that even inspired the former Mayor of Canóvanas, José “Chemo” Soto, to go on an expedition to find it. It became popular because it was believed that it killed hundreds of animals in the town. According to the Mayor of Canóvanas, the Chupacabras was two legged, whose skin looked like fish scales, had a spiked crest on his head, and it also had a long tongue that allowed it to extract the blood from the other animals. This legend spread through other places in Latin America and the Chupacabras became famous in other countries as well.
Jacinto’s Well
There is a natural well in Playa Jobos, Isabela which is known as El Pozo de Jacinto or Jacinto’s Well. Legend says that there was a farmer named Jacinto who took out his cows to eat around that area. Jacinto held his cows with a rope that he secured around his waist. During a rainy day, one of the cows was scared of the thunder and ran until it fell inside the well taking Jacinto too.
Nowadays, if you step close to the well and shout “Jacinto dame la vaca” the waves hit harder the rocks around it. The legend also says that you need to shout in Spanish since, Jacinto never learned English while he was alive so he doesn’t understand any other language.
The Gargoyle
The most recent urban legend hitting the streets of Puerto Rico is a Gargoyle. In the town of Barceloneta during the month of August 2018, some animals were killed and many claimed that they had seen a two legged creature with a pair of wings, that smelled like sulfur and that looked like a gargoyle. Many brigades around Barceloneta went out to the forest trying to catch the gargoyle.
Do you know any urban legend of the towns of Puerto Rico? Let us know in the comments!
