The Great Deer of Masaya Lagoon

     “The old fishermen who live near Masaya Lagoon say that on Good Friday, on the shores of the lagoon, the devil appears transformed into a great deer with large horns and eyes spewing fire. Don Juan Galán recounted that while he was out on his raft fishing in the lagoon around two in the morning, he saw a large deer with glassy eyes on the lagoon's shore. He prepared his weapon and fired two shots at it, saw it fall, and arrived at the spot where the animal had fallen, but there was no trace of it.

    Once more, don Galán ventured into the lagoon. After a while, he saw the deer again, this time larger, the size of an ox. He prepared his rifle again and fired two shots at it, seeing it fall once more. However, this time, he approached the deer with great fear, prayed, and entrusted himself to God. When he arrived at the spot where the animal had fallen, he was very surprised because there was no trace of the animal. He lost consciousness, and some fishermen found him on his raft in the middle of the lagoon. Later, Don Juan exclaimed, “It's the devil who came out for me! It's the devil who appeared there!”

Excerpt taken from “Anecdotes of Holy Week in Masaya” written by Bayardo Ortiz Pérez, folklorist professor. El Nuevo Diario.