Ever since the passing of Hurricane Maria, and arguably long before, things only seem to get more bizarre in Puerto Rico. Last month brought news of the appearance of a winged, five to six foot tall, muscular, red-eyed creature: the gargoyle, or, as Puerto Ricans refer to it, la gárgola. WAPA and several other local news sources reported the recent attacks on livestock, specifically chickens, that took place in the town of Barceloneta over a month’s time. The dead chickens are eerily reminiscent of an urban legend that Latinos know too well. Of course, I’m talking about el chupacabras, a creature that is common in most Latin American folklore and is well known for draining animals of blood and then disappearing, never to be seen, but speculated about for an indefinite amount of time. These myths have existed for quite a while in more than ten countries, meaning that… wait, this isn’t the first time this has happened in Puerto Rico? Of course not.
Around the spring of 1975, Puerto Rican press started a frenzy after something similar happened in the town of Moca. Chickens, cows, and sheep were suddenly dying during the night, found lifeless and drained of their blood in the morning. The citizens of Moca were panicking and quickly designated whatever had been killing their animals as the Vampire of Moca. Ironically enough, this “vampire” was not described to look human or ghoulish at all. Rather, the vampire was described as a gray bird-like animal with huge fangs that weighed around 50 pounds. Around that same time, many Puerto Ricans speculated that the vampire had nothing to do with the killings, or probably didn´t exist, and they claimed that it was actually the work of UFOs. A few sightings of alien aircraft took place around the same time, although there has never been any definite evidence of these happenings. Many huntings took place to try and capture the vampire, but none were ever conclusive enough to satisfy everyone. After a few myth-busting explanations that ranged from huge snakes to exotic bats, the topic of the flying creature seemed to settle down, but it didn’t last forever.
Skip the 80’s to the 90’s, circa 1995, the mythical creature extravaganza reignited. This time, under the more well-known name of el chupacabras, a hunting spree for the creature began in the town of Canóvanas, led by the paranormal enthusiast and the mayor at the time, José “Chemo” Soto. Chemo insisted that the chupacabras existed and even went as far as enlisting armed personnel to help him search for the creature. As usual, the search came up short. In 2010, the creature was yet again identified as the culprit behind the deaths of many animals in a short amount of time. In Guánica, a search party led by self-proclaimed gárgola expert and infamous ufologist Reinaldo Ríos sought to eliminate a different creature altogether, the gargoyle, which Rios inferred was hiding out at an abandoned sugar mill. Chemo even made an appearance and helped out. According to El Nuevo Día, approximately 500 people showed up to either hunt the elusive beast, make fun of it (as many doubted the credibility of either Ríos or Soto), or simply observe the sheer madness of the situation. After the expedition failed, little was heard about either animal up until two years later when the ufologist hunted again for the chupacabras (reported by El Nuevo Día), but this time in Vieques, a small island-town near the east coast of Puerto Rico.
Despite all the inconclusive searches, a hunt ensued due to the evident threat that was being posed to the animals and chicken owners of Barceloneta in 2018. This time, the search was led by Edgardo “Nino” Santiago Rodríguez. The leader explained to Primera Hora the process that he and his team went through to search for the gargoyle (yes, the name tends to fluctuate between gargoyle and chupacabras). Even with chicken traps, weapons, and trained men, the most they were able to find were some claw-marks and a characteristic foul smell. The beast has been reported to be heard in other towns by residents, as per usual for every time the flying mythical predator frenzy happens, but the number of recent incidents aren’t frequent enough to conclude that it’s the work of the same being.
Despite how seriously the affected citizens have taken the livestock attacks, a larger part of the population tends to doubt the existence of any creature that sucks chickens dry of blood. In fact, there have surfaced a lot of memes that have surfaced about la gárgola. A notable one is a frequent reference to Randy Nota Loca´s song “Soy Una Gárgola” and its lyrics. This proves that many people treat these appearances as wild goose chases that have little point. The matter of the dead animals, however, remains. As of now, there’s no official recorded evidence of any of the three creatures listed so far. I’d like to think that there’ll be a way to pinpoint the actual cause of the deaths of so many animals, or maybe, that there actually is a creature waiting to be discovered out there. If there is, it’s possible that we lack the means to find it. Either that, or it’s all made up. Who’s to say?