Ratoncito Pérez is a little mouse who wears clothes and carries a red pack on his back. He loves to steal the teeth of children that are placed under their pillows.
Interpretation of Ratoncito Pérez by Artist-Illustrator Ray Wu
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, do not forget to remove those mouse traps before you place that tooth under the pillow.
*I have spoken to some 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.”
La Jupia is a spirit or ghost of the air who hides in daylight eating guavas and appears after dark in the form of a human. She resembles a human in all ways with one exception; it does not have a navel because it was not born of a woman.
Interpretation of La Jupia by Artist-Illustrator Ray Wu
Jupio or Hupio is an Indian word meaning dead men come to life. The Jupia is the feminine version of the same. She was a spirit or ghost of the air who hides eating guavas during the day only appearing after dark in the form of a human. This spirit resembled a human in all ways with one exception; it did not have a navel. The Jupia did not have a navel because it was not born of a woman.
Many men have fallen for these spirit women and made love to them unknowingly. He found that just as they were reaching the loving climax his arms and love nest would be empty. It is very important to remember to always check and see if whoever you decide to make love to has a belly button. If not then you know you have been had by La Jupia.
Today this indigenous legend is still said to be seen by Dominican farmers and people who live away from civilization. Jupia is a ghost woman who visits, riding on a dark horse. Quietly, in the darkest night, roaming through the open fields….
Nimitas, or Fireflies, are the souls of the dead watching out for their loved ones still living.
Interpretation of las Nimitas by Artist-Illustrator Ray Wu
Nimitas, or Fireflies, are a very common sight in the country around the open fields in the Dominican Republic. The males have a bright tail light that flashes hoping to get a return flash saying that the female is interested in getting to know him.
Las Nimitas, Luciérnagas and Bichos de Luz are known as Fireflies or Lightning Bugs. Dominican superstition says that the Nimitas are the souls of the dead who are watching out for their loved ones still living. They shine their light reminding all who see that they are there always there….watching.
Fireflies are also called Cocuyo which is a Taino Indian word.
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