A legend from the Venezuelan plains dating back to the 19th century, meant to punish unfaithful men. It tells of a son who murdered his father and was cursed by his grandfather to a gruesome death. He wanders the region whistling a musical scale: if the sound seems close, he is actually far away, but if it sounds distant, he is right next to you. (Los Llanos refers to the vast tropical grasslands of the region).
Dude, I heard El silbón last night and I shit my pants. / I am scared to go to the plains because I do not want to hear El silbón.
A legendary spirit from the Venezuelan plains, specifically the Apure region, who haunts unfaithful men. Cursed for murdering her mother over a false suspicion of an affair with her husband, she appears as a beautiful woman to lure men into isolated areas before revealing her true, deadly form (the name comes from the sayon, a traditional smock she is said to wear).
You better treat your wife right, son, unless you want La Sayona to come for you. / I am not going out to the plains at night, I do not want to run into La Sayona today.
A legend from the Venezuelan plains (los llanos) about a ghost woman wandering in grief. In the most common version, she killed her newborn daughter after being abandoned by her husband and not knowing how to raise the child alone. Her wailing haunts those who hear it, and parents often tell children that La Llorona will take them away if they do not behave.
There is no way I am going to grandma's house at this hour, it is so dark and La Llorona might jump out at me. / Did you hear La Llorona wandering all over the neighborhood last night?
A legendary figure who roams the roads of the Andes to kill victims and extract their body fat (in Andean folklore, this boogeyman is often depicted as a foreigner who uses the fat for industrial or medicinal purposes).
There is a certain stretch of the road where the drivers tell you to cover the windows so you do not see the pishtaco.
A figure from Panamanian folklore, a female spirit who wanders through forests and mountains seducing men to drain their life. Legend says she emits a high-pitched sound that is misleading: if it sounds distant, she is actually close by, and if it sounds close, she is far away. (She is typically described as a ghostly, white, sheet-like figure).
"Don't talk to the little girl about the Silampa, or she won't be able to sleep" : "I was going to tell him the story of the Silampa, but he didn't know it"
A homemade noisemaker or toy popper. One version uses a hollow faucet piece filled with match head powder and a nail that strikes it to cause a small explosion when hit against the ground. Another version is a paper popper made from notebook paper that makes a loud snap when shaken or flicked. (Commonly crafted by children in Dominican neighborhoods using recycled materials).
The dog got scared when they set off the tirapó and it bolted.
A fictional, mythical, or legendary figure, typically found in Indo-European and Mediterranean cultures, supposedly born to a god and a mortal, whether human or animal.
Hercules is the semi dios born to the god Zeus and the mortal Alcmene.
Venezuela
Perú
Panamá
República Dominicana
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