10 great short Mexican Legends (that you should know)

Mexico is a country with a huge cultural heritage, and it is a land of clash of great civilizations. Much of the legends that are part of this cultural heritage have their origins in pre-Columbian America, which has left a great legacy thanks to oral tradition.

The mysticity that envelops most of the traditional Mexican legends in undeniableIt is not easy to believe in their total veracity, but they do have elements that could be. In this article we are going to know 10 great short Mexican legends of a folkloric nature that you should know.

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The 10 best short legends of Mexico

The amount of legends that exist in Mexico is very high and rich given the antiquity and fusion of cultures typical of the country. As we will see, many ghosts and apparitions appear in them. The specters in general abound in the stories, but there are also other protagonists such as mythological characters or haunted sites.

We will also verify that the pre-Hispanic past always ends up bathing these legends with mysticism. We then see these stories that are undoubtedly great short and folkloric Mexican legends.

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1. The clergyman's bridge

In the 19th century, a Portuguese gentleman, Duarte de Zarraza, wooed Margarita Jáuregui. Her uncle was a very protective priest of her, especially when he learned that Duarte had been married twice and had debts.

Duarte, in an angry encounter with the priest, ended up stabbing him in the forehead and throwing him into the river. After hiding for months, one day when he was going to see his loved one, he had to go over the bridge. The next morning he found his corpse looking terrified next to a skeleton that was strangling him. He had a dagger stuck in his skull.

2. Devil's alley

In Mexico City there is an alley in which different people have seen the devil in the form of a person. One of the stories is carried out by a man who ignored that legend, but who when passing by had the same Satan in front of him. Lucifer opened the earth for him to swallow it, but miraculously the man escaped and he was able to tell it.

Another story is known as that of "El Julio", a character who was a real criminal and swindler. It is said that the devil himself took offense at his conduct and dismembered him in that alley. And now it is "El Julio" who appears there.

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3. La Llorona

The legend of La Llorona is well known in Mexico, and its protagonist is a ghost of a woman and her deep regret. This spectrum appears at dawn and emits cries that convey great despair over the tragic end that their children experienced.

This woman does not rest in the world of the dead because of the regret she feels for her having herself murdered her children. She was an act of spite at being rejected by her husband. Since then she can be heard wandering and wailing near some Mexican lakes.

Another version of La Llorona says that in reality that woman is Malinche, the woman who served as interpreter for Hernán Cortés. Her cries would correspond to the pain she feels knowing that many blame her for the terrible fate of pre-Columbian civilizations.

4. The enchanted stone

In the town of Fuentes Brotantes (Tlalpan, Mexico City), there is a stream with a large rock. It is said that "the stone", as it is known, is capable of disappearing on December 24 and 31. In its place appears a mysterious shop.

It is said that if someone enters that store to buy the person enters a world of hidden caves, and that it is possible that he will never leave there again. Each time this happens the stone reappears in its place.

Another singularity of the story is that it is said that La Llorona is inside the stone, and that at night she leaves the stream to reach a nearby lake to await the return of her lover.

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5. Princess Donají

Donají was the daughter of Cosijopi, the last governor of Tehuantepec. At a time when Mixtecs and Zapotecs were at war, Donají was captured and finally murdered by beheading, unaccounted for.

After a few years, in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, a shepherd one day plucked a lily, a flower from a very lively plant of the lily family. The shepherd then saw that underneath was a human head. Legend has it that when he found Donají's head, the shepherd took her to the temple of Cuilapam where the soul of Princess Donají could find peace.

6. Island of dolls

The island of the dolls was a chinampa, a kind of floating island with which pre-Columbian civilizations managed to expand their crops in the lakes. Specifically, this chinampa was located in Lake Xochimilco. To this day, there are lots of broken dolls on this island.

The origin of such a curious concentration of dolls was due to the fact that in 1950 a man named Julián Santa Ana began to place them there. A nephew of his said that a young woman drowned there, and that since then on the island many laments and women's voices have been heard. The wrists apparently served as a method of protection.

One day his uncle went fishing and a mermaid drowned Santa Ana in the same place where the young woman drowned. Since then the nephew continues to accumulate dolls, which are said to work miracles. Numerous reports and documentaries have been made and thousands of tourists a month visit the area.

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7. Buzzards and their appearance and color black

According to Mayan legend, the buzzards, those strange-looking black birds, were the victims of punishment. They once had a colorful and showy plumage, but suffered the wrath of King Uxmal.

That important king once organized a great feast, but when he entered the palace to summon the guests, all the food was left alone on the terrace. These birds, formerly known as "chom", took advantage of the carelessness to finish off the food.

Then the priests seized the buzzards and burned their feathers until they were black as coal. They were then cut and ground into a thick black broth. That broth was poured over other buzzards and the priests cast an incantation. Since then these birds have to be ashamed of their appearance.

8. Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl are the name of two Mexican volcanoes that are together in central Mexico. The names belong to an Aztec warrior and the daughter of an Aztec city chief. The two were in love and Popocatepetl promised Iztaccíhuatl that he would return from a war to meet her.

There was, however, another warrior who was in love with Iztaccihuatl. He told the girl that Popocatepetl had died in the war. Such was Iztaccíhuatl's sadness that he committed suicide, and when Popocatepetl arrived he collapsed and did the same. The gods were so horrified that they were reincarnated in these two volcanoes.

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9. The naguals

The naguals are characters that have their origins in pre-Columbian America. Many of the gods of native cultures had the ability to shape-shift and adopt that of an animal. It is said that this ability was acquired by shamans and sorcerers, using this resource for the benefit of society.

It is in this way that the apparitions of the naguals are conceived as highly desirable. These appear in situations where someone may have some need in animal bodies, and they usually do so at night.

10. Pantheon Gardens of Remembrance

This legend is located in Tlalnepantla (Mexico City), and the protagonist of it is Father Anselmo and the importance of his figure once he died. This priest was not Mexican, but in the last 10 years he had dedicated himself enormously to the community and was deeply loved.

At 84 years of age he died and at his funeral people came from all over. The cemetery workers did not give credit, and the sadness of the crowd was very deep. Days passed after the ceremony, and the gravediggers observed evidence of strange activity at Father Anselmo's grave. The grass of the grave was always very battered.

One day Vicente, one of the workers, decided to spend the night watching. To his surprise he saw shadows standing on the grave. Father Anselmo's kindness was such that he was still of service to the neighboring souls with whom he shared rest, who sought to confess with him.

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