Cadejo

    The imagination of Nicaraguans is rich in details. In the blink of an eye, anyone who didn't understand a story can twist it and made it more flavorful. There's never a conversation among friends where some legend doesn't eventually surface, and the storyteller swears up and down that it happened to them or to some acquaintance of their family. You never know if the story is true or false, but really, that doesn't matter. We all prefer to revel in the story and learn it by heart because someday, surely, we will retell it when ghost stories comes up again.

    Many Nicaraguans claim to have encountered the feared Cadejo. According to popular belief, there are two Cadejos that roam the lonely streets of my land. The Cadejo takes the form of a dog, large, with fearsome claws and a special sound as it walks. They appear at nightfall and disappear when the first rays of the sun illuminate a new day. The White Cadejo is a guide and protector of the man who wanders at late night hours, while the Black Cadejo is an evil spirit. The latter is terrifying, as its appearance instills terror with its eyes that seem to emanate fire. It is said that the white one protects the man against the black one, who is his natural enemy.

    A friend of mine told me that she walked alongside the white Cadejo once. It was night, and she was returning home after accompanying her grandmother in the final moments of her life, in her native Rivas. As she lived in the countryside, she had to walk alone to her house for a long stretch. She felt very afraid because the night was dark, without a moon. However, she claims she felt a presence beside her, but she couldn't see anything because the sky was shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, a lightning bolt illuminated her path. To her astonishment, she saw a white dog walking beside her. She had never felt so much fear in her life because she had heard that in that region, the guiding dog appeared all the time. Fortunately, at that moment, a neighbor passed by on horseback and offered to take her home. I always remember her story on dark nights when I feel like I'm not alone.