Events

The underpinning of what makes a culture distinct, folklore encompasses primarily oral traditions such as stories, legends, and myths; proverbs and poetry; and even the fundamentals of drama and humor. Indeed, folklore serves as a backbone for a group of people.

A few years ago, illustrator Paul Ziomek and writer Octavio Ramos joined forces to tell horror stories based on old oral tales told throughout Central and South America, as well as Europe. Folklore—in particular, horror folklore—has become a trend, with several movie directors attempting to craft films dedicated to such tales.

Although some of the movies were successful, most lacked the original intent of the folklore, namely to provide social mores and folkways of specific cultures. To remedy this drawback, Paul and I have assembled the first issue of what we hope will one day become a graphic-novel collection of Hispanic folklore. These are stories drawn from original sources, given new life in illustration. In this debut issue, you will learn about

 the weeping spectral woman, known as la llorona;
 la Tisigua, a cautionary tale designed to keep young men from falling prey to the temptations of young women;
 el Pishtaco, a parasitic thing that subsists of human fat, draining it from victims like a vampire; and
 the Mexican bogeyman, the cucuy, in one of its many variations, this one taken from a time when the Moors had conquered Spain.