Dominican Republic Myths and Legends page 2

VooDoo Curse on the Cincinnati Red's

It was said that pitcher Pedro Borbon (he was into voodoo, curses and cockfighting) of the Cincinnati Red's (said to be one of the finest pitching arms to ever come from Dominican Republic) was so angry at being traded in 1979 that he put a voodoo curse on the Reds that lasted 10 years.

When the curse was finally lifted Borbon said "Yeah, I lifted it. I told everybody when they traded me that I was putting a curse on them and they'd never win again. The people who did me wrong are not with the team any more, so now I don't care if they win."

The 1990 Reds finally won their first game. Was this because of the hex that Borbon lifted or just because they played well? We will never know for sure.

More about Dominican Baseball here.

Magnetic Pole/ Polo Magnetico (or Magnetic Hill)

There is an old man in his 90's that seems to have all the "facts" about Polo Magnetico, according to him when he was interviewed by Dominican newspaper El Caribe in 2003. This "expert" says things move up this hill because of the two underground mines that are found here. One is a petroleum mine and the second is a sulfur mine. According to him, and the locals, objects here move uphill. A car left out of gear will appear to be rolling uphill. A bottle or ball left on the road here will roll up hill.

This place that is magic is located in the Barahona providence of Dominican Republic along the Cabral-Polo highway. This stretch of road is between the towns of the Auyamas and Polo. It is on a hill called La Cueva/ The Cave. The only thing that marks the place where this natural phenomenon takes place is a sign placed there by the Brugal (rum) Company. There are pale remnants of a painted circle with a yellow dot in the center. This is all that marks the spot, this and people standing around watching the happenings in amazement.

Now you may wonder what causes things to magical roll uphill on their own. In truth, it has nothing to do with magnetic fields, electricity or unknown mysterious forces. The slope of a magnetic or gravity hill is an optical illusion. Gravity has nothing to do with what happens here. The most important thing contributing to this illusion is an obstructed (or mostly blocked) horizon. If there is no horizon it can make judging the slope of a surface very difficult. There is no reference point. Objects that normally seem to be more-or-less perpendicular to the ground (such as trees) may actually be leaning, thus misconstruing your visual reference. Since we do have a sense of balance to determine the slope of the ground, visual clues can override this sense, especially if the incline is slight. So, whatever name we give it, Magnetic Hill, Gravity Hill, Mystery Hill or Electric Brae it is an optical illusion. One of the hundreds of known gravity hill locations around the world.

For me, I prefer to blame it on folklore, the mysteries of nature and the supernatural. It makes life a little more enjoyable and mysterious....

Joaquín Amparo Balaguer Ricardo

Born September 1, 1906 -- Died July 14, 2002. Balaguer was the President of the Dominican Republic from 1960 to 1962, from 1966 to 1978, and from 1986 to 1996. It was said that as long as Balaguer had his hat on that there would never be a major hurricane. The story is told that he made a pact with the Virgen de la Altagracia. During all his times being president there was never a natural disaster that he has to deal with. (the hat on could mean a real hat or maybe the proverbial hat meaning he was still in charge).

Once when Balaguer had a heart attack the island was hit with a small hurricane. The Dominican people believed he had died and they were not told as this is the only way that this hurricane would have hit the island.

I was told by friends of mine that the people were truly afraid when he did die in 2002. Many believed that soon after there would be a giant catastrophic event in Dominican Republic. It is said that he was buried with his hat on so the island will still be protected until it rots in the grave.

There are a few other mysteries surrounding Balaguer. He wrote poetry and many works of literature. One of these books was called Memorias de un Cortesano. Balaguer, in this book he stated that he knew the truth about the controversial death of the revolutionary journalist Orlando Martínez. This book had a blank page in the center. He said that when he died the page would be filled.

The page in the book is blank to this day...

Ratoncito Pérez / The Mouse Perez

Who takes your children's teeth in the night from under their pillows? It is not the Tooth Fairy/ Hada de los Dientes as we were taught in USA. It is a little mouse who wears a straw hat, gold glasses, linen cloth shoes and carries a red pack on his back.

This little mouse has been around for a long time but in ancient times he did not wear clothes. Mothers would offer the baby teeth of their children to the mice that lived in the fields to ensure good crops thus making their children strong and healthy. The mouse in clothing came about in 1894 when Queen Maria Cristina Coloma of Spain asked the Jesuit priest, Father Luis Coloma to write a story for eight-year old Alfonso XIII when his baby milk tooth fell out. The priest wrote the story about the small Mouse Perez, clothed him and made him the most beloved mouse of all time.

So remember, all little mice are not nuisances. It just may be the friendly Ratoncito Pérez visiting to exchange the little tooth with money or a small gift. Taking his precious tooth to make jewelry, build a castle or adding another star to the sky. Also, remember to remove those mouse traps before you place that tooth under the pillow.

*I have also spoken to other Dominican children and they tell me that they throw their teeth onto the roof of their homes so the new teeth will grow down straight and good.

To read more about some superstitions involving children go to the superstitions page here.

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El Bacà

The Bacà is a diabolical creature that people conjure up to get wealth and property. It is also called upon to protect land and property from being stolen. It is thought that when a person all of a sudden gets prosperous they have conjured up a bacà. The baca can take the form of a black cat, a dog, bull or other animal. Once conjured he becomes very demanding. It wants great sacrifices on the part of the person who uses him. To get what you ask from this creature it is like making a pact with the devil himself. In return for your gains he might be nice and just take some of your lands, homes, businesses or livestock. But then you might have to pay the ultimate price by having you, your friends or your family suffering with diseases, illnesses, bad things happening or the ultimate price, dying mysterious or by committing suicide.

So before you decide to give anything to be prosperous think long and hard before you call upon a baca. Do you really want to sell your soul to the devil for eternity just to have a short time of prosperity?