10 VERY CURIOUS WARRIOR LEGENDS (MEXICO) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Among the most outstanding legends of Guerrero are the woman with the lamp, the golden worm, the day of enchantment, the red water, the Chilpancingo hill and the mulatto woman. All the conceptions that are expressed in these legends are characterized by seeking to represent the way of seeing the world of the inhabitants of Guerrero.

They are stories that are transmitted from generation to generation and, therefore, constitute the particular worldview of a Mesoamerican state, which symbolically connects the fantasy plane with the empirical one.

This is the representation of Quiáhuitl, who is part of the legend from which the name of Acapulco arose. Source: Codex Magliabechiano

Usually, people link the facts that can be considered real with the spiritual ones. That is why it is expressed that the territories of Guerrero are usually sacred, since in these deities are born. It is also manifested that in these spaces there are treasures that are the product of nature.

In the same way, citizens consider that the inanimate organisms of those lands have life. In this context, natives of the region have attested that amorphous figures reside in some caves located in mounds of the population.

It is possible to see these figures as the engine that generates the amazing events that take place in the province. This is an essential aspect, because this is where the collective imagination emanates, in which legends are seen as a threshold that shapes people's reality. Guerrero's location also contributed to the construction of the imaginary.

The state of Guerrero is located in the southwestern area of ​​Mexico. It limits to the north with Morelos and Puebla, to the southwest with the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast with Oaxaca and to the northeast with the Balsas River. It is a territory whose surroundings are surrounded by mountains, hills and lagoons.

Its structure and relief generate that the region is perceived as an ideal setting for the development of fables that support both Mexican history and the thoughts of its inhabitants.

The 10 most popular warrior legends

The colored water

It is said that in the Costa Chica population, located in southern Mexico, it was where the name of the Jamaica flower was given through a contest conducted by individuals who lived in the region. Due to the heat, people decided to make a flower-based drink.

Each household had to present a concoction and the heads of the family met in order to select which one was better prepared. On election day, most of the men voted for the red water.

However, no one knew the name of the flower. For this reason, a council was held that was intended to name the plant. From that moment they called the flower Jamaica, due to its color, medicinal properties and flavor. Since then many farmers have dedicated themselves to the cultivation and production of the seed.

The chaneques

One of the legends that prevails in the Guerrero region is the existence of entities that are called chanes or chaneques. The villagers express that these spirits inhabit the rivers and have the function of purifying the water found in the subsoil of the springs.

These elemental beings are amorphous and short in stature. For this reason they usually take the form of children or young adults.

They are characterized by their malicious or playful acts, as they sometimes attack people who want to bathe or get water from a lagoon.

They also detest loud noises after dark, as they rest at night. In general, they do not intervene in the lives of the inhabitants, who state that thanks to them the evils that unfiltered water possesses are avoided.

The Chilpancingo hill

The hills in Mexican culture stand out for being the space where gods and men can socialize. In this way it is observed in the Chilpancingo hill.

According to the locals, in that place every June 24 at midnight a portal opens that communicates the chosen being with the world of divinity.

It is stated that that world is similar to a fair, but only the person with an honest heart is selected. However, when she returns to her reality it no longer exists, because the years have passed.

As a gift for their visit, the gods usually give the lucky person eternal youth and numerous gold coins for their subsistence.

Acatl and Quiáhuitl

Acatl was the heir to a nomadic tribe, whose father had dispossessed the Yope ethnic group of their lands. Before completing his work -protecting the temple of Quetzalcóatl-, the prince left in search of a wife who would be the guide of the home and the sanctuary.

After pilgrimage, Acatl crossed paths with Quiáhuitl with whom he fell in love, but his marriage proposal was rejected by the maiden's father, since the prince was the son of the man who usurped his belongings. King Yope did not settle for blaspheming Acatl, but invoked the gods to cast a spell on him.

Due to the enchantment, Acatl melted into a puddle of mud from which countless reeds sprouted. Instead, Quiáhuitl was transformed into a cloud that threw itself into the mud in the form of a waterspout, joining his love.

What is relevant about this legend was that it originated the term Acapulco, which comes from the union of Acatl and Quiáhuitl. This denomination is defined as the reeds destroyed in the silt.

The woman with the lamp

At the beginning of the 20th century a woman saved her gold coins in order to get to know the Vatican. It is said that she left at four in the morning and, as there was no transportation on the coast, she walked near the beach with the guidance of an oil lamp.

She had been walking for an hour when some men murdered her to take her money. From that moment on, a light floating between Carrizal and Mitla is perceived; It is said that she is the woman with the lamp who continues her journey.

The mulatto

In Taxco, the son of a wealthy family confessed his love to the maid who did the housework, but his parents did not accept the idea and asked Felisa to give up her work.

The mulatto woman went up the hill and plunged into the middle of a river bed, where she slowly sank.

When Álvaro learned the truth about what happened with Felisa, he chose to follow the same path. For this reason, the inhabitants say that on moonless nights two intertwined silhouettes are perceived that roam the mountains, and that they are the allegory of an unrealizable passion.

The Tuxpan lagoon

Due to the magnitude of the rains, the inhabitants of Tuxpan decided to move towards the mountains. From there they observed how their parish, which was scarce in lagoons, was shipwrecked under the rains, but there was a priest who did not want to leave the region because he trusted that the event would stop quickly.

Hope betrayed him and when he tried to retire, he did not succeed because his high age prevented it. However, a group of men managed to rescue him even though all the buildings were flooded.

Nowadays and in the dry months, a cross can sometimes be seen in the place where the clergyman lived.

The gold worm

One day when Otoniel was farming in Teloloapan he came across a gold worm, who promised to give him gold coins if he fed it.

After a time, the peasant possessed great wealth. This fact aroused the jealousy of his brother Alexander, who intoxicated the farmer and made him confess the source of his fortune.

Blinded by ambition, Alejandro seized the invertebrate, but to his surprise the animal did not place any coins, as it had become a vine surrounded by rocks.

The legend explains that the gold worm only appears before noble people and repudiates the greedy and egotistical.

The baby boy

The story goes that Don José refused to believe in the existence of an evil being that appeared in the town. He justified his idea by stating that those stories were created by ladies without trades, and that if the demon appeared before him he would only show his teeth.

After leaving the canteen, the villager noticed a lump that would not stop moving or crying. When he got closer he noticed it was a baby, grabbed it and insulted the carefree mothers.

However, the blankets grew heavier until a misshapen shadow emerged from within, revealing his teeth. From that moment, José lost his sanity and died.

The day of enchantment

At the beginning of the 20th century, a merchant who transported his merchandise disappeared in the Zumpango mountain range.

His relatives searched for them for many years until one afternoon he arrived at the door of his house and was shocked that everything had changed: the terrain, the decoration, his wife was an older woman and his children - whom he had only seen as children - they were married.

The impressive thing was that the merchant was apparently 23 years old. Time did not pass for him and his explanation was based on the fact that, to shorten his path, he continued along a luminous road that rises near the hill every July 25.

References

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2. Alcocer, M. (2017). The American imaginary. Retrieved on July 30 from the Historical Bulletin: boletinespublicados.org
3. Encarnación, G. (2005). Cultural features of the Guerrero state. Retrieved on July 30, Prospectus of Mexico: publicacionmexico.mx
4. López, A. (2011). Mesoamerican religious tradition. Retrieved on July 29 from the Academic Unit of Mexico: unam.edu.mx
5. Luján, A. (2013). Myths of the Guerrero region. Retrieved on July 29 from Imprenta cultural: relatosculturales.com
6. Speckman, E. (2008). Myths and legends. Retrieved on July 29 from History of America: colmexguerrero.net
7. Zoraida, J. (2010). Mexican territorial history. Retrieved on July 30 from the Library of Mexico: Bibliotecademexico.gob.mx