A terrorific event

I hope you won´t have nightmares because of today´s mail… it´s not my intention :)

I was born and raised in Perú.

Peruvians love hearing and sharing ancestral tales and legends from the vast and mysterious folklore of our ancestors who came from the Andes mountains or the Amazon jungle.

One of the many legends I remember being told as a child was the legend of the muleteer and the condemned caretaker.

(A muleteer, in case you don´t know it, is a person who is in charge of mules.)

Here is the legend as I remember it:

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A muleteer was transporting four loads of silver upon the backs of four mules.

His patron had told him to spend the night at a place known simply as “The Mill”.

But the caretaker of the mill was instructed by David, the owner of the mill, to spy on the loads from the mules. The caretaker figured out that they contained pure silver.

So at midnight, he grabbed one of the mules and took the silver, throwing the mule into an abyss from a nearby hillside.

He shared the silver with David, the proprietor of the Mill.

The next morning, when the muleteer figured out what had happened, he went and implored David and his caretaker to hand back the load of silver or else he would be forced to work for the rest of his and his children´s life to pay back what he had lost.

But, being of an inferior social class in the Andean hierarchy and overpowered by them, they ignored his plea.

His pain was so deep and his tears were so many that upon touching the ground, they immediately caught the attention of the goddess Pachamama (goddess of the earth or mother earth) who swiftly took action.

Soon thereafter, the caretaker, his wife, and his child were found dead.

But the caretaker was not only punished with death, but also he was accepted neither in heaven nor in hell so he was condemned to eternal life in limbo, neither as a human nor a soul but something in between. He has been known to roam the hills in the form of an animal-like creature with a human head, terrorizing the owner of the mill from afar by calling his name: “David, give the silver back…”

David was also not spared. He didn’t die but was paralyzed, incapable of moving, and tormented by that voice for the rest of his miserable life. After his death, he was also condemned to habit in limbo forever.

It is said that even nowadays their voices can be heard, and some local peasants take advantage of this superstition to steal a bit of cereal from “The Mill” without feeling guilty for it…

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This legend inspired the second piece (out of 5) from my work called Suite Latinoamericana. It is subtitled “Condena en el Altiplano” (“Curse in the Plateau”, in English).

As you probably know by now if you’ve read these days´ emails, this work is the one that gave the title to my first studio album: Suite Latinoamericana.

This album is recently available again in very limited quantities. You can see the details and purchase it at this link (yes, by clicking on it).

I´m only going to be offering this album for a couple more days unless they´re completely sold out by tomorrow. So if you intended to buy, you probably should hurry. They probably won´t be available ever again.

Here´s the link to see what you get and to purchase this unique album.

So, have a great day, and hopefully no nightmares tonight :)

Claudio.

P.D. I looooved being told these legends…