Tag Archives: chupacabra

Legend of Chupacabra

Age: 20

Text: The Legend of Chupacabra

Context: “My parents told my sister and I about many different Spanish creatures and figures, one of them being the chupacabra. The chupacabra is a vampire-like animal that sucks on the blood of other animals. I grew up on a farm, so we had pigs and cows that we took care of. My sister and I grew up with the fear of the chupacabra attacking our animals, so we had to be extra cautious at the farm. My parents made us have a bucket of water beside the animals, because allegedly, chupacabras are scared of water, and pouring water on them would “drown” them. One time, one of our cows got mange, and my sister and I were so worried that a chupacabra attacked him. It took us a while to get over our fear because we genuinely believed that they were coming to suck the blood of our animals. We realized later on that our parents told us this story for two reasons. The first is, even though I’m Mexican, I did not grow up speaking Spanish well, and my parents were worried I would not have a strong connection to my ethnicity. They told my sister and I this story as a way to understand our culture more. The second was more for teaching purposes, as they wanted us to learn how to take care of our animals properly and be extra cautious in order to prevent them from getting diseases.”

Analysis: This story about the chupacabra is a classic legend. The chupacabra is a folkloric, legendary figure based on Spanish culture. This creature exists in the real world, but the truth value behind it is unknown.

The actions described in the story is an example of ostension, as the belief has led to real actions. The interviewee placed water buckets next to the animals because they believed it would protect them in case they had to come in contact with a chupacabra. Even though this protection mechanism has no scientific evidence or reasoning, it gives the family a sense of control. When one of the cows got mange, the chupacabra was blamed, which shows how folklore can become a cultural model that explains misfortune and negative consequences. Folklore can work as a way to try to explain the unexplainable. Although the legend may not seem believable, the belief is contextual. Since the interviewee grew up on a farm where hsi animals encountered unknown illnesses and death, the legend was a way to explain this. 

The story is also an example of polygenesis, as there are similar stories of blood-drinking animals in many different cultures. For example, the most notable one I could think of is vampires in European culture. It is also often compared to Sasquatches, which are another common predatory figure. These creatures are a reflection of shared fears among different cultures. For example, the sickness and death of animals and humans due to environmental experiences. Without scientific knowledge of why this happened, people turn to folklore to explain it. Many cultures experienced this fear, which is why they came up with legendary creatures, and as a result, the creation of allomotifs. These narrative figures fulfill the same role within their cultures, but are slightly different based on the region.

As the interviewee mentioned, the story also reflects the role of folklore in intergenerational education. By telling their children stories about chupacabras, the interviewee’s parents are not only passing down a story, but also teaching them how to care for their animals. The legend is able to shape the behavior, as a memorable narrative can be more effective than instruction.

Latin Legend

AGE: 20

Date of performance: 04/04/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title- the Chupacabra

Context- The Chupacabra is a legend prominent in countries such as Mexico and Latin America.  A shares that his mom, who is from Mexico City, initially told him that they weren’t real, but started to tell him that they were real as he grew older and got into trouble to scare him. 

Analysis- The chupacabra is an animal feared for its blood-sucking abilities—a legend popular in Latin America and Mexico. Legends are a subgroup of the narrative genre in the folk world—they are stories that may or may not be true located throughout various regions. A felt the uncertainty of the chupacabra’s existence since his mom first believed they weren’t real, then started to tell him they existed when she needed him to behave. 

Chupacabra

Text:

When asked about the legends that his abuelita would tell him during his family visits to Mexico, MS responded:

“She also told us about the chupacabra. It’s one I actually asked about because my brothers and I played this game called Poptropica when we were younger. It had all these islands you could visit and one of them was the ‘Cryptids Island’ where you had to track down these urban legend creatures, like Nessie and Bigfoot, and one of them was the chupacabra, so I wanted to ask her about it. She said that yeah, her parents had told her about it growing up. So, if people found their goats or livestock with these puncture holes in their necks, they blamed it on the chupacabra.”

When asked what he could recall about the chupacabra’s appearance, MS responded:

“So in the game, it looked like this f*cked up looking, blue dog thing with spikes and sh*t. But, I think abuelita said it was more reptile looking.”

Context:

MS is a sixteen year old who has grown up in Los Angeles, CA. His abuelita immigrated from Mexico to Sacramento, CA in 1961. She then returned to her hometown in Mexico in the ’90s. Here, MS is recalling legends he had heard from his abuelita when his family visited her in her hometown during vacations.

Analysis:

This entry from MS highlights the role of non-native media in shaping perceptions of folk legends. As MS mentions, his initial interest in the chupacabra stemmed from its portrayal in the popular online children’s game, Poptropica. This brings forth the question of what role non-native media plays in shedding light on this folklore and what responsibilities it has while doing so. In this case, exposure to the legend in the context of a video game spurred his curiosity to explore the origins of the chupacabra further. However, from his description, it is clear that Poptropica’s depiction of the chupacabra adheres more to the North American imagination of what kills livestock: wolves. This visual description is distinct from the versions of the legend that tend to be seen in Puerto Rico and Mexico, where the creature is described as more reptilian. The choice to portray the chupacabra as more dog/wolf-like brings up another question of responsibility: How should Poptropica, an online game that claims to be an educational resource for children, balance its commercial interests with its goal to educate?

Chupacabra

Original Text:

Chupacabra

Translation:

Goat-Sucker

Narrative:

It is one of the many legends that are in Mexican culture. The informant states that “many people think that it is a creature more than an animal, but they do not technically know what it is.” In her Mexican culture, it is described to “target more farmer-culture because the creature is said to come in the middle of the night and suck the blood from goats. When the farmers wake up the next day they are described to have seen “puncture wounds on the animals, which they thought was a coyote but the marks don’t match anything.” It has never been seen by the naked eye. They target goats because “they are out in the open, and it can catch them.” It only happens in the “rural areas of [her] family’s farmland” and it even comes from areas in El Salvador and has no evidence such as pictures taken. They have to “put their animals inside before the chupacabras come” because they do not want something to happen. She states that the saying is “take care of your cattle or else you will lose money”

Context:

This is “usually said by everyone, specifically farmers who have stories of their cattle and goat being killed and sucked of blood.” It is most relevant in Mexico and other countries in Latin America that have taken over the thoughts of farmers that constantly fear it. People who live in the more rural areas learn about it at younger ages, especially if their parents are farmers that have to be careful and genuinely fear the legend of the chupacabra. They are known to affect the lives of those that are not fortunate. It has become one of the most well-known myths of Latin America. It is said to be the “vampire of Latin America” and even threatens children saying that if they behave badly then they will turn into livestock and the chupacabra will come to get you”

Analysis:

The myth of the chupacabra has become one of the most well-known stories and may have been fabricated to give a reason as to why some disease or other animal may have attacked the livestock and are not able to find what exactly. Chupacabras are presented as horrific creatures that affect the less fortunate, emphasising the trials that they have to go through in order to continue to live as the livestock are seen as some of their main sources of stability. Without the livestock, they are not able to live in a stable environment and therefore use the chupacabra as reasoning as to why their livestock might be suffering. The children are told the story to also stay safe at night and listen to their parents saying this narrative so that they are not a threat to the chupacabra.

Legend of the Chupacabra

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 76
Occupation: none
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 26, 2020
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece: 

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.