Chupacabra, Boricua’s Blood-Sucking Supernatural Mystery
Halloween is not a thing in the Caribbean. We do, however, have a very vibrant cultural heritage of spirits, ghosts, duppies, jumbies and other supernatural creatures in the Caribbean. This heritage extends throughout the region, kept alive in colorful stories, myths, and legends. Some of the stories are very old; passed down through the generations as part of the Caribbean’s rich storytelling tradition. Others, like the Chupacabra, though, are more recent.
Chupacabra Origins
The legend of the Chupacabra, a blood-sucking creature originating in Puerto Rico, started in the mid-1990’s. I remember it really well as I was part of the team handling the island’s tourism PR at the time.
You might not think that a government tourist board would take a myth like this very seriously, but we did. I mean, something really was killing livestock and domesticated animals throughout the island on a fairly regular basis; always at night, always in strange ways… and no one could explain it.
What does a Chupacabra look like?
Fear gripped residents of rural Puerto Rico. Think you wouldn’t be scared if you saw one? Think again! Check out this description from Wikipedia:
The most common description of chupacabras is a reptile-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo. In at least one sighting, the creature was reported to hop 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. It is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sulfuric stench.When it screeches, some reports assert that the chupacabras’ eyes glow an unusual red which gives the witnesses nausea.
Rise of the Latino Bigfoot
Chupacabra incidents led the local newscasts in San Juan so regularly that the rumors eventually started making their way into the mainland USA media. News of the creature, though, wasn’t the only thing about it to make it off-island.
Before long, Chupacabra sightings were pouring in…from outside Puerto Rico.
The southwestern United States, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America were the primary areas. This gave the mysterious creature a global mythical status as the Latino Bigfoot.
Did tales of the Chupacabra lead fearful travelers to avoid trips to Puerto Rico? I don’t know about that. But, it did spawn a series of bad movies (Chupacabra on a cruise ship?!), and another great legend to share on dark and spooky nights…