Joined: May 2003 Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | That's a nice tab and I love Serge's album. In Costa Rica they tell the story a little differently, which my costarican-ex told me. La Llorona in costa rica is looking for kids to take as her own along the riverbank, and she's looking to snatch kids to make up for the ones that were drowned. I guess it mutated into a kind of beware of strangers story, like Hansel and Gretal. The people down there really believe in these legends with all sincerity.
One of my favorite legends comes from the Hudson River Valley, where I grew up. And it involves, little guys who live in the woods, drinking beer all of the time. My memory is hazy, but they are somehow related to Henrick Hudson and the original Dutch settlers. For the little kids you have to be careful, because if you wind up with these guys you'll waste you life drinking beer and never see your mom and dad again. Incidently, when they drink beer they spend their time bowling, so when you hear thunder, you're actually hearing the sound of them playing because you can only see them in the rain. In hindsight, not exactly a terrifying story ... drinking beer and bowling for eternity. I think Rip Van Winkle met them. |