Myths,Legends and Folklore from Spain #MythicalMondays (2024)

Myths,Legends and Folklore from Spain #MythicalMondays

Owing to my recent trip to Spain, I have been posting articles about Barcelona lately and still have some more stories for you, coming up shortly.As it is time for a #MythicalMondays post, it comes as no surprise that I chose to go with Spain itself! This time, I was joined by Henar of Wanderwings ,who told me a lot about mythical creatures and legends from Spain.I am really thankful for her time and gesture.You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter. So, before we begin exploring some of the interesting stories I came across, I wanted to debunk two myths that people might commonly have about Spain, especially the Catalonia region (encompassing Barcelona,Costa Brava).

Myths Debunked

1.Firstly, not everyone in Spain loves Flamenco dancing. Yes, it is a traditional dance form from South of Spain, but it might not be of interest to everyone. Many people like visiting the Opera, for instance, or other musical shows.

2.Secondly, bull fighting is not common in Spain. Infact, it is banned in Catalonia as well as Canary Islands, and people do not appreciate it. The sport is prevalent in the Southern part of the country, but it doesn’t necessarily imply that everyone likes it.

Since I was told about these things by the locals, I kept them in mind even while looking at souvenirs, and chose not to buy any of the numerous bull fighting figurines available at the airport. I knew that it did not reflect the sentiments of the people, and didn’t want to buy anything that I could not really associate with the place.

So, now that we have that out of the way, let’s start with myths,legends and folklore from Spain!

1. El Coco –

Engaging kids with stories or narrating tales to get them to do something may be a common scenario throughout the world. Infact, perhaps, many of us might have heard stories of the Boogieman or a creature that could take the kid away if he disobeyed. In Spain, this is synonymous with ‘El Coco’, a monstrous creature that could eat or kidnap the child if he disobeyed or caused trouble. Incorporating this story in rhymes or lullabies is popular, and many parents use it to encourage the child to go to bed, saying:

“Duermete niño, duermete ya, que viene el coco y te comerá” (Sleep child, sleep now…or else the Coco will come and eat you)

(I would be lying if I said that the English translation did NOT remind me of Gabbar in Sholay..[err, Bollywood reference]). Anyway, I was surprised to read the backstory of El Coco on a website called Ramezcla :

“According to a Spanish legend, Francisco Ortega, aka el Moruno, was a man sick with tuberculosis at the beginning of the XXth century. He was desperately looking for a cure for the disease, so he sought help from a Curandera. She told him he would be cured by drinking the blood of children and rubbing his fat on his chest. And so, el Moruno kidnapped a 7-year old boy,Bernardo, in a cloth bag, to slit his underarm and drink his blood. El Cuco is known for walking up and down the streets at night with a black bag, scouting for those children who roam the streets or misbehave. ”

Spooky!

2. Ratoncito Pérez (Perez Mouse):

In 1894, Luis Colomo was asked to write a story for the young King Alphonso XIII, who had just lost a tooth. Colomo, inspired by the character of a mouse called Raton Perez, which had originally appeared in a story a few years ago, created Ratoncito Perez, a mouse who lived in a box of cookies with his family in Madrid, and ran through pipes to reach the bedrooms of the kids who had lost their teeth.Perez is the Spanish version of the tooth fairy and has been quite popular with the people. The story was later adapted into a movie and other books.The city council of Madrid paid tribute to Ratoncito Pérez with a commemorative plaque which reads: “Here lived, in a box of cookies, Ratoncito Pérez, according to the story that the father Coloma wrote for the young King Alfonso XIII.” This was the first time that a fictional character was paid tribute by the city council!

3.The origin of Barcelona-

One interesting post I came across on anotherbcn spoke about the different legends that exist about the foundation and name of the city. One legend says that Hercules once set off on a journey with nine ships, which got separated and eventually, only eight of them were tracked. Collectively, they began searching for the ninth one and found it at the bottom of the hill of Montjuïc.The crew fell in love with the area and decided to name the city after Barca(boat) and Nona(ninth). Hercules is also said to have fallen in love with a beautiful girl called Pyrene. However, they could not stay together for more than months, as they supposedly had to continue on their respective journeys. That is where the name ‘Pyrenees’ comes from.

The other legend says that the city’s origin was attributed to the Carthaginians, to Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father. He arrived in this area and founded the city, then gave it his surname, Barca.

However, there is no evidence to prove either of the stories.

Check out my unexpected experiences in Barcelona

4.Hall of the Abencerrages

The city of Granada is home to several legends and stories, dating back to the time of the Moors. The Hall of the Abencerrages, located in the city, derives it’s name from a tragic legend in which 36 members of the noble Abencerrage family were invited for a banquet at the Alhambra palace by the Sultan Abu Al-Hassan.The Sultan had found out that the chief member of the guest family,Hamet, was courting his favourite concubine, Zoraya. Seeking revenge, he called his guards during the banquet and made them slit the throats of every member of the family.Afterwards, the victims’ heads were thrown into the fountains. Legend holds that the stain visible at the bottom of the fountains today is the blood left behind as a permanent reminder of the horrible massacre.

READ: How to make the most of your visit to Granada, Spain

5. The legend of San Jorge(Saint George)

Now, this is one of the most popular Catalonian legends that is celebrated with great pomp and show, even today, especially in Barcelona. Legend has it that there was once a dragon living in Montblanc, who terrorised the villagers and devoured their animals. Soon enough, all the animals had vanished and it was time for the dragon to turn his wrath upon the people. The villagers decided to draw lots and sacrifice a person each day, by offering him to the dragon. On one of these occasions, the unfortunate person whose name was picked up was the princess. People offered to take her place, owing to her kind nature, but the King refused to let anyone sacrifice their lives for his daughter. The princess was sent to the dragon, and just as she was about to be swallowed up , a knight in shining armour appeared and decided to fight the creature. After a rough confrontation, he was able to kill the dragon with his lance and spill his blood. From the spot where the blood had spilt, grew a red rose, which the knight then plucked and presented to the princess. The knight was called San Jorge (Saint George). To commemorate this event, every year on April 23, a huge celebration is carried out on the streets and men give roses to the women they love. If you happen to visit Barcelona at that time, you are bound to experience a grand public event. In the recent years, women have started gifting books to the men on that day.

Read all about delicious food in Barcelona

Source: hithisisbarcelona

6.The Teruel Lovers

Think love,sorrow on the lines of Romeo-Juliet or other iconic love stories. The legend of the Teruel lovers dates back to the 13th century, when Isabel and Diego, both coming from wealthy families, fell in love and wanted to get married. However, an unfortunate turn of events caused Diego’s family to lose their money and Isabel’s father refused to let his daughter marry him.Diego requested her father for five years of time, in which he would be back after making his fortune, and then marry Isabel. No one heard of him for the next five years, and on the day of the completion of the agreed period, Isabel’s father got her married to someone else. In a twisted turn, right after the wedding ceremony, Diego was seen returning to the city with a lot of wealth and riches. He was heartbroken to see the love of his life being married off to someone else and could not bear the thought of their separation. Later at night, he sneaked into her bedroom and asked her to kiss him, as he was dying. Isabel refused to do so, as she did not want to deceive her husband. Diego died right next to her bed, leaving her in a shocked state. The next day, she went to his funeral in her wedding dress, and proceeded to kiss him one last time. However, she died right there, next to his body. The villagers decided to bury them side by side, near the church of San Pedro, so that at least in death, the lovers could be together. To this day, in February, the city celebrates the love of the couple and represents their story in different ways.

Source:Wikimedia

7. Giants and dwarves of Catalonia –

During my visit to Costa Brava and also the Gracia district of Barcelona, I had the luck of seeing locals build human castles and giants parading and dancing (thanks to TBEX!). I also saw a whole lot of giants, regular-sized figures with oversized heads(“Capgrossos”?) and strange creatures, all preserved in Gracia. Now, I am unsure of the origins of these figures, but from what I could find out, the oldest documentation about them was found to date back to the 14th century. The figures would represent some of the local historical characters, such as the king and queen, or other important people of the society.They could also represent the community as a whole, such as peasants,etc.The giants are made of papier-mache and are carried by people referred to as the ‘giant carriers’.There are different groups who organize parades during festivals, and from what I read on a website, there are about 100 of these giants in Barcelona itself. On the occassion of the fiestas, the giants and other creatures come out on the streets and dance in the traditional way.

Edit: I just came across a blog post explaining more about the human castles. If you like, you could check out inhabityourdreams.

So, with this we come to the end of #MythicalMondays- Spain Edition. Of course, we could go and on about all the stories, but I could tell you about only a select few stories this time. Lovers of ghost stories and urban legends can choose to check this post I found about strange stories of Gracia. And if you know of any more stories from Spain, let me know in the comments below or keep the conversation going on social media using #MythicalMondays!

Oh, and I am thinking of exploring stories from Germany for next month. So, if you know of any legends or folklore, so let me know!

Some other posts about Spain:

Sunset sailing experience in Barcelona

Staying in a beach hostel in Barcelona

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