El Chintete

SM was born in San Miguel Amatlan a pueblo in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was lived here for half his life time working as a cook at various restaurants throughout L.A. County. The following tale was told to him from several co-workers.

 

 

Transcribed from and Audio Recording:

 

 

Estábamos trabajando en la cocina y quien era…era un laba plato tambien um oh pues también ese señor era. Se me hace que ese mismo, el cuñado del A-. Tabamos tambien ahi y vino y le pidió una hamburguesa al M-…ese. Le pidió una hamburguesa y ese guey le empezó a hablar en dialecto, “hay que la chingada. Que esta chingando, que no se que.” Y él le dijo que queria el numero veinte. Veinte lleva espinaca y le dijo que queria el numero veinte. Y ese guey le dijo, “no. que no se que. que no se lo iba…lo quería hacer.” Pero ultimo si lo saco. Si ya hizo la hamburguesa y cuando abrio el cajon para sacar esta la espinaca como hay teníamos la espinaca…cuando lo saco, ahí donde metió su mano para agarrar un puno de espinaca, brinco un chintete y aquí se le pego en su mano. Ese guey que grita. Se asusto pues. “Ay! Guey un chintete!” Un chintete dijo el guey. Pinche chintete así como sonso asi corrio Y lo agarraron. Le dijeron al manager y lo agarraron…Esta grande asi un cafecito verde asi. Y ya llamaron al manager y vino y este y ya le dijeron que ahí estaba. Y dijo que donde estaba y le dijeron que salio en la espinaca. Ahí adentro de la espinaca estaba. Y ya el manager lo agarró un frasco. Un frasco agarro y lo echo ahi, hay lo hecho y hay lo estaban viendo. Hay se pego el guey  y dijo que registraran ahi para ver si no abia mas. Porque estaba ahí que sacaran esa espinaca. Ya no había nada y el manager ya se lo llevó para la oficina. Y ahí estaban ellos haciendo escándalo que no un chintete salió ahí que se asustó el M-. Y ellos empezaron a hablar puro dialecto no se que estaban hablando…Que se asustó ese guey y la chingada…Y ya se llevó el manager pa’ ya y dijo ese guey “ ‘Tamadre lo vamos a matar. A quemar.” dijo. Pero como el manager lo tenia en la oficina. Se lo llevó y ahí estaba mientras que el tiempo que estuvimos trabajando y limpiando haciendo todo. Ya cuando salimos hay estaba el manager en la oficina sentado. Ya cuando le fuimos hablar y le dijimos que donde estaba. Que iba hacer con el chintete ya no estaba. Ya cuando lo buscaron ahí, ya no estaba. Y el dijo, “Pues donde esta” Y lo estuvieron buscando ahi en la oficina y no lo encontraron.

 

 

We were working in the kitchen and who was it …it was a dishwasher oh well it was that man. I think it was that same one, the brother-in-law of A-. We were there also and he came and asked for a hamburger from M-. He asked him for a hamburger and that dude he started to speak to him in dialect, “That this shit. And that shit. And I don’t know what.” And he told him that he wanted the number twenty. The number twenty had spinach and he wanted the twenty. And that dude told him, “No. That I don’t know. That he wasn’t going to..that he didn’t want to do it.” But in the end he did it. He did it and when he went to open the drawer to get the spinach since that is where we had it…when he took it out, there where he put his hand to take out a fistfull of spinach, out jumped a lizard and stuck on his wrist. That dude scream. Well he got scared. “Ahh! A lizard!” The dude screamed that it was a lizard. This stupid lizard it ran around all stupid. An he grabbed it. They told the manager and they grabbed it. It was big, a brownish green. They called the manager and he came and they told him it was there. And he said where it was and they told him that it came out of the spinach. It was in the spinach. And the manager put it in a jar. He grabbed a jar and he put it in there and they were looking at it. The dude was stuck there and he said to check to see if there were anymore. Since that is where they took the spinach from. But there was nothing there and the manager took it to his office. And there they were making a scandal that no it came out there and that it scared M-. And they started to speak in dialect so I don’t know what they were saying…that the guy got scared and shit. And the manager took it and he was saying that, “Shit. We should kill it. and burn it.” But since the manager had it in his office. He took it and it was there in the time that we working, cleaning and doing everything. When we were done there was the manager sitting in his office. And we went to talk to him and asked him where it was.  What he was going to do with it but it was gone. They looked for it but it was not there. He said, “Well, where is it.” They looked for it in the office but it was gone.

 

 

This is an interesting tale. While it may not have anything to do with eh supernatural there are still enough traces of it, to cause some paranoia and fear of the unknown.