El Cacabras In Dominican Culture

In the Dominican culture, we do not have the exact Bogeyman that is depicted in the American Culture or Hollywood movies. However, we do have some mythical creatures that have influenced our lives since we were younger. Some people still believe in these cultural Bogeymans. One of them is “El Cuco”. I do not really remember seeing pictures of its face at all or even knowing how this monster looks like. But I can still remember the fear that would come to our minds just by hearing this name. Its appearance was supposed to be really grotesque though. El Cuco would come after any child who has misbehaved or disobeyed their elders. It would always come at night and eat those unfortunate children. I was able to get rid of this fear or stop believing
That is what the name means in English, “Goat Sucker”. However, in my culture, they also kill and feed themselves from babies. They suck the blood from their belly button leaving their small bodies lifeless. This story is a little bit more widely accepted across the country compare to other legends. People believe that these creatures exist, and some even confirm to have seen it at some point of their lives. This story that has been passed from generation to generation. I always thought of this to be true since the story was told and confirm by someone I knew and trusted long time I ago. I cannot say that it is true, but neither that is
He would place into his sac any child who has misbehaved or has wandered around by himself or herself. As a child, we were always told not to play on our own during the night because this old man would come for us and abduct us. Children who were taken, were supposedly never returned to their homes. This legend was very scary just because we were told that this person was an old man who used to live in the neighborhood as well. So, we kind of believed in this story. We would never play outside without an adult watching us or misbehave at all. That is how it influenced our lives. I was able to get rid of this fear as well since the moment I found out the neighbor was not El Viejo del Saco. Usually, the people who still believe in all these myths are the elder, mostly people who live in the country side. They are often the ones who pass those stories to other