Author Archives: Noah Bernardo

“El Cadejo”

Nationality: Nicaraguan
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is an interview between me and my friend, Edgar, while he was practicing piano over at the Caruso Catholic Center. He told me about a legend he knew from Nicaragua.

Edgar: “So it’s called ‘El Cadejo’, and it’s actually two dogs: a white one and a black one. So the white one represents the person’s companion, and the black one represents death. So if you– if a white dog comes to you, then you’re, like, kind of having good luck, you know, and the cadejo walks with you, like, that’s the legend, like the white cadejo walks with you and stays close to you. But if you see a black one you die (laughs).”

Me: “Oh that’s cool, it’s kinda like the– like seeing a black cat cross your path.”

Edgar: “Kinda, yeah. The black cat is like bad luck right?”

Me: “Mhm.”

Edgar: “Exactly. But, the black cadejo you literally die. Like, you die right there. Yeah, so it’s– it’s just scary, you know, ‘cuz in Nicaragua, it’s very common– we have a lot of stray dogs– street dogs, it’s just like… a lot. Like, we have a lot. So, it’s just– I don’t know, walking in the dark, on a road, ‘cuz you know some of our streets are not like– they’re not–with lights. So it’s just like really scary to see… a dog, and people say a joke, like, ‘Oh! There’s a cadejo,’ especially if it’s black, you know, but… that’s one of the biggest legends and stuff.”

Me: “Did you ever see one cross your path?”

Edgar: “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the one ‘cuz I’m still here (laughs). But yeah, that’d be it.”

It was cool to see another example of the good and evil dichotomy in black and white in this legend. Especially being able to see the relation to the idea of a black cat crossing your path, though the consequences of this legend are far more severe than bad luck. It was also cool how the legend fit the local area where it was being told, in that there were plenty of stray dogs to present the possibility of a black one crossing your path.

“En guerra avisada no muere soldado”

Nationality: Nicaraguan
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is an interview between me and my friend, Edgar, while he was practicing piano over at the Caruso Catholic Center. He told me about a proverb he knew from Nicaragua.

Edgar: “En guerra avisada no muere soldado,” and this literally means… it literally means ‘If you know about the war, soldiers are not gonna die,’ If you know war is coming, right? If you know someone’s about to attack you, soldiers are not gonna die. that’s pretty much it. And, that’s just from many things, but the one that I heard it the most is from my professor, you know. He would– my professor would go, ‘Okay, so you guys have a quiz on so-and-so day, you have to study this and this and that… ‘En guerra avisada no muere soldado.” which pretty much means… I told you when it’s coming! Be prepared for it. So that would be… that’s probably the most common, like, way to hear about it, I guess.”

Me: “A professor in Nicaragua?”

Edgar: “Yeah. Just saying, like, be ready for the test.”

Edgar’s explanation of how his teacher utilized this proverb came as a surprise to me, as upon first hearing it, I just thought of it as pertaining to actual war. But I guess that’s why it became so widely circulated is due to its capability to relate to multiple situations.

Anti-Joke

Nationality: USA
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English

The following is from an interview between me and my friend, Grant, after mass at the Caruso Catholic Center. He said he had a joke he could tell me.

Grant: “Why was the plumber crying?”

Me: “Why?”

Grant: “‘Cuz his… his brother got hit by a bus and died.”

(We laughed)

Me: “Is that– is that kind of like an anti-joke?”

Grant: “Yeah… I remember those were all the rage in, like, freshman year.”

Me: “Oh yeah, definitely, me too. What makes an anti-joke so funny to you do you think?”

Grant: “Um, they’re, like, ironic in the sense that the punchline has nothing to do with the set-up, and they’re just dark, and a little dreary… and for some reason that’s funny.”

I remember having anti-joke competitions with friends in high school. You would get more laughs the more intensely dark, messed up, or just plain nonsensical your joke became, so it almost became like an addiction with diminishing returns.

The Screaming Bridge (In Texas)

Nationality: USA
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English

The following is from an interview between me and my friend, Nina, during her lunch break in the upstairs office of the Caruso Catholic Center. She shared with me a legend that she knew from Texas.

Nina: “Okay, so, when I was younger, everyone always told me about the screaming bridge, in Texas. Um, it’s in Decatur, I think, and basically… there was a group of high school students who were traveling for a sporting event– I think it was cheerleaders– um, and they were… I don’t know if they were going to or from the city, but basically they were on this bridge, it was stormy, and I guess they, like, saw something– the bus driver saw something in the middle of the road, and so it swerved off, and they fell off the bridge… and, like, everyone died. And now, if you go back there, some people say that they can, like, hear the cheerleaders, like, on the bridge, like, screaming as they were falling to their death.”

Me: “Oh geez. Have you ever been there?”

Nina: “Um, no I haven’t. But, I’ve heard about it. But, like, I probably wouldn’t go, just ‘cuz I get freaked out by that kind of stuff– but… yeah, it’s a true story.”

Me: “Are you from Texas, or…?”

Nina: “Yes. I’m from Texas. So it’s probably… like, that bridge is probably like an hour and a half from my house. But, like, I never ventured over there. But, see, I don’t think… because that kind of goes into– it’s like a very rural area, so it’s, like, not necessarily like a well-traveled… um… spot.”

Me: “And who did you, like, first hear that from?”

Nina: “I had heard it from my friends in high school. (laughs) Yeah, those were the stories we would tell when we were, like– when we were also in high school and, like, traveling to different things: the story of the screaming girl on the bridge.”

It must’ve felt very odd to consider yourself living in such close proximity to a haunted location growing up. This story reminded me of something my mom told me about a small bridge on which you could supposedly hear singing as you passed over it. Not quite as grim as the screaming bridge but definitely in the same vein.

“The Carreterro”

Nationality: Hispanic
Occupation: Deacon at Our Savior Catholic Parish
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is from an interview between me and the Deacon, Paul Pesqueira, over at the Caruso Catholic Center. He was on his lunch break along with a few others. He told me about a legend which his dad used to tell him during his scandalous days.

Paul: “My dad used to tell us, when we started drinking at 17, 18, 19 years old– I know you’re not supposed to drink ’til you’re 21, but, you know, we’d drink earlier– that you had to be careful… because if you got drunk, that– and you passed out, that “The Careterro” would come and get you. And he would put you in the wheelbarrow and he’d take you away. So, you better be able to hold your liquor and not get drunk and pass out, because if you did, The Carreterro would come and put you in his wheelbarrow, and you didn’t know what would happen to you.”

Me: “Did you ever get– get caught?… By The– by The Carreterro?”

Paul: “I got drunk and I passed out but The Carreterro never got me.”

Me: “Oh, you got lucky!”

(We laughed)

Paul: “So that’s my story.”

It was interesting to think about whether such a tale actually had any impact on the kids whom it was told to, seeing as they were already in doubtful years at that point. Also, as a little bonus piece of folklore, Deacon Paul was pronouncing “wheelbarrow” like “wheelbarrel”. I know I used to do that all the time.