Border Lore Folktales and Legends of South Texas by
Award-winning translator and author David Bowles brings together twenty-five darkly memorable stories of the southern borderlands of Texas, retold in his unique voice. Ranging from the age-old folktales heard at his grandmother's knee to urban legends collected down the years, each of these narratives is brought to stunning visual life by artist Jose Melendez. An appendix classifies the pieces and enumerates motifs.
Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys by
Have you ever been too scared to sleep with the lights off? Were you frightened by a scratching sound inside of your walls or the beady red eyes and knotted green fingers of a duende? In his first collection of scary stories, Xavier Garza asks these questions. The stories in this collection curdle with the creepy and crawling characters of traditional folklore. These stories brim with the supernatural: the mysterious disappearance of children who made deals with duendes, evil trolls who live inside the walls of our houses; the ghostly specter of La Llorona who floats along the creek bed, howling, Ay, mis hijos ; witches that turn into great white owls; a severed hand that hurtles across floors and catches a death grip; and even the Devil himself harvesting wayward souls. These are all cucuys, supernatural beings who have come to haunt the imagination in these tales of wonder and warning. These delicious and frightful stories come down through generations of grandmas teaching children to respect the laws of nature and the All Powerful. These particular spooky cucuys are recounted and illustrated by master storyteller Xavier Garza, just the way he heard them at the knees of other masters when he was growing up in South Texas. Garza has preserved just the right gory detail and startling surprise to frighten the socks off you. And he always insists that you learn your lesson and take heed, or else...
Vincent Ventura and the Diabolical Duendes / Vincent Ventura y Los Duendes Diabólicos by
Another family has moved into the house at 666 Duende Street across from Vincent Ventura's, and once again there's something mysterious going on. There's a boy who constantly argues with himself. "You can't tell me what to do," Vincent hears him say, but there's no one around. Who could he be talking to? When Vincent sees a green creature with glowing red eyes and needle-sharp teeth terrorize the boy into vandalizing a neighbor's car, he knows there is another monster mystery to solve!His cousin, Michelle, is one of the smartest kids around, and she quickly finds information in a library book on Latin American monsters. She's sure the creature Vincent saw is a duende, which is similar to an evil troll or gnome. Is Sayer Cantú really a target of these wicked beasts?! Everyone at school knows he's a troublemaker to avoid. Could duendes be forcing him to misbehave?Once again Vincent Ventura recruits his cousins and gathers his monster-fighting tools-crosses, holy water, packs of salt, silver metal beads and slingshots-for the upcoming showdown. This bilingual book for intermediate readers, the third installment in Xavier Garza's exciting Monster Fighter Mystery series, also contains the author's black and white sketches of the creepy creatures. This spine-tingling short novel introducing Latino creepy creatures to kids ages 8-12 is sure to thrill a new generation of readers!
For centuries in Hispanic folklore, Los Duendes are elves or goblins that live in the walls of children’s bedrooms or forests. Duendes are generally considered fierce protectors of their homes and are usually characterized as mischievous. Duendes have an affinity for children and are seen as guardians of children who are feeling neglected. Duendes are sometimes considered protectors of animals and appear when animals are killed without reason—a version of the legend that relates to Creole cultures, where Duendes are referred to as “Tata” meaning Grandfather or old.
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Wikimedia Commons: From Los Caprichos, a set of 80 aquatint prints created by Francisco Goya for release in 1799.
Adela Cadena currently is a Library Assistant for Special Collections and Archives. She joined the legacy institution, UTPA, in 2002. Adela earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from UTRGV in 2019. She has over 20 years working in academic and public libraries and is passionate about customer service.
