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The following was transcribed from a conversation between the informant and interviewer. 

Informant: The story of the chupacabra originated in a pueblo, I think it was in Hidalgo. Supposedly the cattle and other farm animals were dying. The farmers didn’t know why they’d die because they were in good health the night before but would awaken the next day dead. So they started to get together and investigate because they were losing a lot of money and they found…ehh that the cows had little to no blood left.

Interviewer: Was this real? Or is it part of the story?

Informant: No the cattle dying was real. The news started reporting these deaths and images showed a vampire-like bite on the cows. But the size of the bite and symmetry of it… it was like no other animal and that generated a lot of speculation. The farmers began to guard their farms overnight and after many nights, one farmer claimed to have seen a creature. 

Interviewer: And how does this creature look according to the stories? 

Informant: From far away it looked human but from closer you can see his bottom half was that of a goat. Its legs were that of goat. From the top half, it was muscular y had like hair and scales. Is eyes were shiny and red but they weren’t circular like us. His mouth was like a wolf’s but not that long. But seeing such a beast made people paralyze in fear and the creature would escape in the blink of an eye so no one has actually seen it for more than 2 seconds. 

Background: My grandpa was my informant. He was born and raised in Guadalajara and did not travel to the U.S. until a couple years ago. He has lived in Mexico for about 70 years so he knows of a lot of Mexican traditions and legends. He says that this is one of his favorite legends and that he heard about it in the news when he was in his 40s. It doesn’t terrorize him but he thinks it’s real. 

Context: I was in my bedroom watching tv on the last day and I needed 3 more collections so I asked my grandpa if he knew of one myth or legend like La llorona and he said if the chupacabra counted and I said of course so he told me this legend o the spot. We were in my room and I was typing as he told it in spanish and later translated into english. 

Thoughts: I find myself believing in this one because it’s plausible. I guess that’s what makes it a legend. My grandpa claims to have seen the news about it so as far as the cattle killings, that’s true. The autopsies confirm a lack of blood and some witnesses claim to have seen the beast. So I find it very convincing but without hardcore evidence of the beast we won’t know for sure. Then again, if we were to have hardcore evidence and it was true, then the chupacabra would no longer be a legend.