Pombinha Branca

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 55
Occupation: Stay at Home
Residence: Brazil
Performance Date: 2022
Primary Language: Portuguese
Language: Spanish

S. is a 55-year-old female Brazilian immigrant from Sao Paolo and the rural vineyard areas of Brazil. She has lived in the U.S. for about seven years. She says this song was popular around the rural areas and her mother sang it around the house as she cleaned.

This was near an area in San Antonio with a large Brazilian population around all the Brazilian steakhouses. We were picking her and her family up from their work.

Pombinha branca, que está fazendo?
Lavando roupa pro casamento
Vou me lavar, vou me trocar
Vou na janela pra namorar
Passou um moço, de terno branco
Chapéu de lado, meu namorado
Mandei entrar
Mandei sentar
Cuspiu no chão
Limpa aí seu porcalhão!

/

Little White dove, what are you doing?

Washing laundry for the wedding.

I’m going to wash up, I’m going to get changed,

I’m going to the window to flirt.

 A young man in a white suit,

 Hat tilted to the side, my sweetheart,

 I had him come in,

 I had him sit down He spat on the floor.

 Clean up your filth there,

Have better manners.

Pombinha Blanca is a folk song or traditional lullaby sung in a playful key that quickly turns furious both in tempo and key after the “spitting on the floor.” S. mentioned the lullaby reinforced some funny gender norms, encouraging harmony, but presenting the consequences of masculinity spilling over into sloppiness. In this entry, the folk song intended for children indirectly teaches gender norms just as Oring cites in his chapter, Children’s folklore in Folk Groups and Folk Genres. After establishing the social norms of feminine presentations and its rituals.

La isla de las munecas

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 59
Occupation: Printmaker
Residence: California
Performance Date: Jun 2021
Primary Language: English

X is a 59 year old Mexican immigrant from Tabasco, Mexico. He is a university professor, specializing in printmaking. X is reserved and does not talk to many students about his homelend.

The context of this piece was in a printmaking shop after hours, around 8pm. X admitted his skepticism of the story and seemed to disagree with the local value of the piece.

X: “So, the the island of dolls is right off of that famous river, where are the floating islands used to live in Xochimilco. The story or folklore of that started actually somewhat recently within the last 50 years. People decorate all sorts of tourist sites with the dolls now. They’re hung with wires, and they looked down at people, they were often dismembered, it’s a little bit disturbing to newcomers. The story goes that a man, Santana, abandoned his family, a wife and a child and move to an island where the is OG musical canals. A lot of relatives discounted his deciding, but according to him he watched a little girl drown. After that people say he went crazy, others say he just devoted a life to honoring her by collecting the dolls and hanging them up. I personally say the first because he filled up that whole island with them. Usually shrines in the day of the dead are limited to just a few objects all on an altar in one space not a whole island. He said they protected the island and he used it as a torch attraction which I thought was weird also, but the story gets even more ominous when, what in 2001? how old were you then? Well anyways he drowned in the same spot.”

Contextually, the isla de las munecas sits in one of Mexico City’s most toured areas and rumored to be the most spiritually active as well and acts as a legend. This region was where the indigenous Mexica’s technologically advanced floating islands, the Chinampas, existed. For that reason, many tourists find it historically significant, but similarly because of the sheer amount of local culture and tradition that plays out in these areas. As for the Xochimilcan canals, the dynamics foster a hub for folklore, with local festivals showcasing a great amount of visual tradition such as the decorated “canoas” that often sport common Mexican women’s names such as “Ximena” or “Maria.” As a result, the historical and present culture give all visitors a sense of preservation. Don Julian Santana is the documented hermit that doubles as the caretaker of the island. The interesting aspect of Mexico’s folklore is the cultural syncretism. As mentioned in lecture, ghosts and many modern Mexican folklore would have clashed with the Roman Catholicism introduced to them in the colonial periods. For example, the Chinampas, an agricultural wonder would have likely been destroyed if not readapted to colonial taste. The Templo Mayor is one of the larger ruins buried by the cathedrals built in the plaza of Mexico city and is currently causing the cathedrals to sink as the ground and stone deteriorates beneath. Santana’s preservation of this girl’s haunting soul likely followed the Roman Catholic custom of sanctification. In the culturally syncretized Mexico, many of these sanctifications occur during the Day of the Dead ceremonies during early November but can transcend the annual ceremony through a pagan ritual of shrine building. This ritual memorializes mementos of the dead, in this case, Santana attached the feminine baby doll to the little girl’s death. A fair amount of misinformation surrounds Santana’s practice as much of American folklore is bound to the practice by the tourists, despite its contextual inaccuracy. Many compare them to the Chucky’s and Annabelle’s of Mexico and only a select few sources cite Santana’s practice in any closeness to honor rituals of the forgotten dead.

Great Grandma the Gracious Ghost

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Irvine, California
Performance Date: November 2, 2021
Primary Language: English

Background: The informant experienced this occurrence in his junior year of high school around November near Thanksgiving. The informant only experienced ghostly occurrences in his bedroom which was on the second floor. His room is overall an interesting shape and he has two steps that lead to a somewhat elevated area. Before this story they had remodeled the house and his room had been redone during this time. 

AP: To start off, my lights would flicker in my room whenever they were on. And we got it checked out, but the electrician said that there wasn’t and shouldn’t be any issue because everything was new and remodeled. 

Me: Had they ever flickered before then? Or was this the first time? 

AP: No they hadn’t flickered before. But in addition to the flickering lights, there were parts in my room that had colder parts. But it was only the upper parts of the room. 

Me: Mmm I see. Had you believed in ghosts before this experience? 

AP: Yes I did. I had heard other friends’ stories that I believed. 

Me: Did any other rooms in the house experience ghosts?

AP: No, it was only in my bedroom. So now I’ll go into a new part of the story. This was at night time. For a few nights in the span of the month while doing homework in my room, I sometimes get a feeling that something is there. And like okay, something is there, sometimes the lights flicker, sometimes its cold, just somethings up. I just have a really good sense that something is there. So one night, I go to bed and then wake up in the middle of the night and in the archway of the door there is this young woman wearing this old vintage dress carrying a woven basket. It was very faint, but it was there. 

Me: Were you frightened? Did you scream?

AP: Oddly, I didn’t freak out which was weird and I just stared at the doorway. Then I grabbed my phone and turned on the lights and it was gone. It happened once, but I still have the sense that that woman is in my room. 

Me: That’s so scary. Did you encounter her again?

AP: Actually yes. On Christmas night of that year, I was asleep and I felt a hand caressing my back and then an old woman whispered Merry Christmas. But I checked and my mom was asleep.

Me: Woahh

AP: I have one more part to share about the story. The next spring I visited family in New York for my break. We were all looking at photo albums and in one of the photo albums I recognized a lady that I had never met. She looked exactly the same as the one in my doorway. I asked my mom who that was and she said that it was my great grandmother, who I had never met. 

Me: Was your mom really close to her?

AP: Actually yeah. They were really close. And apparently she would visit a lot during the seasons, which was interesting since she only came out during the holidays. 

Me: Why did this story have an impact on you or why do you think it holds such importance to you? 

AP: It was my first personal interaction with a ghost. Like before it was all stories and folklore but now it was real. Also the fact that it was my great grandmother that visited me and I don’t even really know her. It was oddly comforting. 

Me: Are you more aware of paranormal-like experiences after this occurred? Or how did this play a role in your life?

AP: I’m definitely more observant and believe more stories I hear now. 

Reflection: I really enjoyed interviewing AP. He’s one of my newer friends I’ve made at USC so it was interesting to see this side of him. I liked this story in particular since it regarded a family member. I feel as though it’s very common to have paranormal experiences with deceased ancestors or family members. It reminded me of my own experience with my grandparents, which was comforting, as well. 

The Amherst Ghost

Age: 28
Occupation: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
Performance Date: October 31st, 2021
Primary Language: English

Background: This story is the one and only encounter that the informant has had with a ghost. The informant just graduated from Amherst College in 2015, and she moved back home to Arizona. The informant was frantically looking for jobs, and her college reached out to offer a job in admissions for the following week. The informant accepts, and is looking for places to live and comes upon the Amherst Women’s Center as her new home. 

RM: … I was looking for new places to live and I found a house on a hill. It was the perfect location near the school. It was a historical home, built in the 1800s and the first floor was used for events and the second had 3 very large apartments. Also, keep in mind that Emily Dickinson’s old house was across the street from this house. I think the people who originally owned the home I moved to knew Emily Dickinson. Anyways…when I got to the house the lady giving me a tour told me that slaves used to live here and that was why there were mini entrances and exits throughout the house — so they could leave from anywhere in the apartment and get to where they were going quickly.

Me: Oh, wow. And what was the vibe overall in the house? I imagine it was older, but did you feel a presence among you? 

RM: No, I didn’t feel a presence among me when I first entered. Insulation wasn’t great throughout the house because it was old, so only the bedroom was comfortable to be in, especially since there were windows all around the apartment. I spent most of the time in the bedroom. 

Me: So when did the first ghostly encounter occur?

RM: The first instance was within a few weeks of moving in. I had just gotten a headboard for my bed and I installed it myself and made sure the headboard was directly touching the wall. So I go to sleep and then I abruptly wake up at 3 AM because the bed is violently shaking. Whenever I opened my eyes or would turn around in bed the shaking would stop. At first, I thought it was an earthquake, but when I looked around nothing else was moving. Then after a while I hollered “stop” with annoyance and then it didn’t happen again. 

Me: Wow, so had you ever believed in ghosts before this experience?

RM: No. I never believed in paranormal experiences until that moment.

Me: Okay. Did the ghost leave for good after that interaction?

RM: No, there were a few more instances where it appeared. The second instance, I was laying in my bed doing work online at night and then I felt a punch next to me on the bed. Like you know when you punch a bed and it leaves an indent for a second.

Me: Yeah 

RM: That happened right next to my foot. And then the third instance involves a cup of water. For a little bit of context, my mom didn’t like the water there when she visited me so she would send me huge packs of water every month or so. The ghost liked to tap on the top of the water bottles. I could see the ripples in the water bottle. So, one day I had a cup full of water and I was on Facetime with my boyfriend, when this happened. And so I drink the entire cup and go to the bathroom, but when I come back the cup was full of water. It was so weird. 

Me: Omg! Did you drink it after that?

RM: No, I poured it out hahaha. The fourth instance with the ghost happened while I was in the shower. I was listening to music and I heard my phone begin to type. I thought nothing of it until later that day my boyfriend texts me saying “What??” The ghost had texted him saying, “It’s possible.” That was extremely freaky. 

Me: That’s very scary omg. 

RM: Yeah, and then the last experience with the ghost was when my Mom was visiting me. She was upset with me and left to go to Home Depot so it was just me in the house. 

Me: Did your mom experience encounters with the ghost?

RM: No. It weirdly never did anything when she was there. But anyways, she had this brown bag with a charm tied super tight onto it– so tight to the point where you couldn’t move it back and forth. All of a sudden the charm lifts up, turns left then right as if someone is examining the charm. 

Me: Wow. So why did this story hold so much importance to you?

RM: Because you would never expect it to happen to you and its a very unique experience. 30% of people believe you when you tell ghost stories. It’s almost like I have to hold a secret that no one else knows about the world. 

Me: And how did this play a role in your life after experiencing this?

RM: My perspective of ghosts and death have completely changed. Before I used to think you die and go into the ground and that’s it. Now, I believe you go into this other unseen spectrum. You’re always there and roaming, you’re just energy

Reflection: I thought this interview was extremely interesting. I have known RM since I was in middle school, and I had never known that she experienced such a thing like this. I also haven’t heard any ghost stories from people I know personally, so it was fun to hear what she had gone through.

Haunted by a Shadow man

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco, California
Performance Date: November 4, 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Background: the informant was my roommate and we had already been discussing supernatural occurrence during the Halloween season, just before this interview was conducted. They agreed to share a few for submission into the archives as we bonded over our similar experiences with superstitions in hispanic culture.

Me: Have you had any supernatural experiences, or general freaky things happened to you? 

Informant: I have 2 stories, one time was at my cousin’s house in Mexico, and recently their grandfather passed. She’s pouring out the soda and the cup just moved. (moves water bottle as an example) We all just froze. She then stood up and pointed behind us saying “guys there’s a shadow behind you!” We tried to calm down and I left soon. Later my cousin called and she said that one of the dishes fell off her drying rack, like randomly. And that’s something that doesn’t happen naturally, especially since the timing was close to her Grandfather passing. 

This next one is me telling what my Mom told me. I was around 5 or 6 and I would fall over, and she described it as a shadow always behind me when that happened. Then when I was about 10, I would wake up every morning and in the mirror, I would always see a tall man looking straight at me in the mirror, dressed in a long coat. Like something out of a detective movie. I would also wake up in the middle of the night and see this shadow right next to me. Almost as if the shadow was waiting for me to wake up in the morning. 

But the reason why we think this happened is that apparently someone committed suicide in that apartment before we moved in. And my mom fully believes that it was that man who for whatever reason was watching over me. I don’t know for certain if someone actually did die in that apartment, or if it was just a rumor, but for me it’s just too much of a coincidence. Like, my mom tells me that a shadow always followed me when I was younger and then when I was 10 I also saw that shadow of a man. 

In Hispanic culture too, you ask like any grandparent and they will tell you thousands of stories about witches and curses and things like money being buried in the grounds. They go on and on, haha.