In part in hopes that she’d be joining him shortly, so he could put his plan into action, but also for the more pragmatic reason that class was due to start in five minutes. He slid into his seat in the recital hall of the University of Texas-Pan American’s music department. After weeks eyeing Yesenia Morales, that little clue was all he needed. That was all the invitation Ethan Miller required. In class yesterday, she drew my name on her notebook and put a little heart around it. Thank you for your time, and good reading. I hope you enjoy this little visit to the Rio Grande Valley. In Fly by Night, a couple on a camping trip are terrorized by a Lechuza, a witch disguised as an owl, who is seeking revenge against the man who slighted her. In Don’t Cry, La Llorona, The Wailing Woman, seeks a boy and girl to replace the ones she murdered. In The Calavera a young couple celebrates Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. They are recorded as they were presented to me, so any differences you might see from a story you have heard are due to the living nature of spoken legends.įor this collection, I have used three traditional beliefs from Valley culture (among others). While I added a romantic plotline to each story, I took no liberties with the legends themselves. They are largely oral traditions, which means they are subject to change.
On the bus, on the way to choir tours and field trips, and sitting in backyards on a hot summer evening, my friends told me these stories. I grew up with stories about The Phantom Hitchhiker and so on, but Valley ghost stories were like nothing I had heard before. One of the most interesting things about the Valley is its legends. Even with all the years I lived there, I still have a lot to learn.
It seems unlikely that someone who has never been there could understand the colorful lifestyle of that region. In this case, it is part Mexican, part American, part something all its own. Like all border regions, the Valley has a unique culture. It extends from Rio Grande City in the west to South Padre Island in the east. It was quite a culture shock, but I adjusted in the end, developing an affection for the culture and traditions of the area.įor those who are not familiar with it, the Rio Grande Valley is the region that stretches along the Mexican border in the southernmost part of Texas. When I was 14 years old, my family moved to Edinburg, Texas, and I’ve lived there off and on ever since. I’m an American of Irish/Finnish/Heinz 57 Variety origin. Let me start off by telling you I’m not Mexican, or Mexican-American.
Introduction The Calavera Don’t Cry Fly by Night Introduction This book is dedicated to my friends in the Rio Grande Valley. Amor Maldito Romantic Tragedies from Tejano Folklore Copyright 2013 Simone Beaudelaire
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