Myths & Legends

[hypnocrown]

Well, since nothing bad happened during my weekend, I'm here to post the myth/legend of "El Sombrerón".

“El Sombrerón’s tears”

Celina was a very pretty girl. The people of the Carrocero alley, on Bethlehem’s neighborhood, got to see her every day and could never have enough of her beauty. The more she grew, the more beautiful she got.

- What beautiful eyes!
- Yes, and so big as well!
- And look at her nice hair!
- So long and curly!
- She looks like the Virgin of the Socorro from the cathedral.

Aside from being beautiful, Celina was a simple, hard working girl. Her mom made tortillas made from corn to sell and Celina got out every day, at high noon, to deliver them.

One afternoon, at about six o’clock, at the corner of Bethlehem Street and the Carrocero alley, all of the sudden, four mules appeared tied up to the light post. The mules carried nothing but big sacks of coal but, other than the fact that they were out late, the people didn’t know what to make of them.

- That’s strange; could those be the Sombrerón’s mules by any chance? “A lady said half serious, half kidding.”
- Sweet God in heaven! Don’t even think about it dear! “Replied another woman as she passed by.”

Celina was very tired after having worked all day; she was being overwhelmed by sleepiness when she heard some music. Someone’s voice could also be heard alongside it. It was someone who sang with a guitar…

- Mother! Can you hear the music?
- What music? What are you talking about my child? I don’t hear no music, you must be imagining things.
- No Mama! Just listen carefully to those beautiful notes.

But alas, the mother couldn’t hear the music no matter how hard she tried so, she advised her daughter to go to bed. She did but, she couldn’t sleep; she kept on hearing that delightful music. Even though it sounded like it came from far away, she could clearly listen to the lyrics:

Eres palomita blanca,
Como la flor de limón,
Sino me das tu palabra
Me moriré de pasión…

At about eleven o’clock that night, the carbon mules were no longer tied up to the light post.
Each night, that same scene could be seen over and over. However, the only thing ordinary folks could see were the mules tied up to the light post. Celina could not only notice the mules, she was also able to listen to the romantic songs the little man had written for her; the delightful voice had her in a trance. Moved by her curiosity and without being noticed by her mother, she sneaked out one time to try and take a good look at her singer; as she did, she was very surprised! Her admirer was nothing more than an extremely short man who could have fit in the palm of her hand. He had a huge sombrero that covered almost all of him; you could barely notice his pretty black shoes and his silver talons. As he danced and sang, he kept on playing his nacre made guitar and kept on making the girl fall in love with him.

Los luceros en el cielo
Caminan de dos en dos
Así caminan mis ojos
Cuando voy detrás de vos…

Celina could no longer stop thinking about the little man. She spent each day waiting for nightfall to come, just to see and hear him sing those beautiful songs.
Her mother realized something was wrong when she no longer continued to work as much as she did.

- What’s wrong my dear? You have been so out of it lately, please; let me know if something is bothering you.

But Celina couldn’t explain her feelings. She simply wished to listen to that music once more; she wanted to see the little man who delighted her so once more. Whenever he visited her, everything felt like a wonderful dream.

Mothers have a special intuition and wisdom that allows them to understand the feelings of their children. The tortilla maker understood what was going on and decided to lay the problem on two or three of her most trusted neighbors. After hearing her out, they all reached the same conclusion; Celina was in love with El Sombrerón! The neighbors gave the tortilla maker some advice as well.
Following their advice, she decided to take Celina away from her home and lock her up in a church so she could no longer see the little man. Usually, people think that ghosts are powerless against God.

The next day, the tiny man arrived at the alley but, couldn’t find the girl. He then went mad-like and began to search for her all around town; his mules no longer showed up at the usual corner either. The tortilla maker and her neighbors thought that they had resolved the issue but, Celina wasn’t as happy as they were; in the silence of her confinement, instead of forgetting about her little friend, she remembered him even more. She missed his songs and his beautiful words of love. The girl got sick out of sheer sadness. Each day she got worse, she wouldn’t eat or sleep until she died. In the middle of her grief, the tortilla maker decided to take the body of her daughter to the Carrocero alley to mourn for her there. As they were, reunited at her house, they heard a dreadful lament coming from the street. It was El Sombrerón! He had come along with his mules; he stopped by the corner of the alley and began to sing a gloomy song:

Corazón de palo santo
Ramo de limón florido
¿Por qué dejas en el olvido
A quien te ha querido tanto?

The neighbors were completely freaked out; nobody dared move from their chairs as El Sombrerón sang yet again:

¡Ay ay aay…!
Mañana cuando te vayas
Voy a salir al camino
Para llenar tu pañuelo
De lagrimas y suspiros…

Nobody knew what happened to the tiny man after that. His voice seemed to slowly die out until it disappeared deep in the darkness. The next morning, when the grieving folks gathered enough courage to step outside, they became astonished; there was a trail of crystallized tears, which seemed to be as shiny as diamonds, lying on the stones of the streets.

"The End."