

The villagers said the owl was really a lechuza and its screams as it was being burned were the witch screaming. She doesnt have any friends, animals run away from her in fear, and her mom doesnt know. In August 2014, a video of Mexican villagers interrogating and burning an owl alive went viral. Zulema Ortiz is the meanest little girl in the whole wide world. Giant birds have been reported in the area, and legends from Native American tribes north of Texas also incorporate giant birds (e.g., thunderbirds).įearers of the lechuza have taken action against actual owls. The exact origin of the lechuza legend is unknown, though it is possible that an actual giant owl was the inspiration for the story. Stories of the lechuza are thought to have been around since the Spanish colonized Mexico.

Various methods are claimed to protect against the lechuza: tying seven knots in a rope and hanging it by the front door, throwing salt and chili powder into the bird’s face, shooting the bird, or reciting the Magnificat, a Christian prayer to the Virgin Mary. She lures her targets, often children or drunk people, out of houses by crying like a baby or by swooping down on cars late at night.

it is a giant owl, that is 7 feet tall and has a.Still, when women called the lechuza 'cuilonpl,' the nuance was more 'get. Ive heard several people describe it as a witch who transforms. Sometimes the owl is variously depicted as black or white and sometimes with the head of the old woman.Įxactly what the lechuza does to exact revenge varies widely across tellings of the story, though most reference the lechuza carrying away unsuspecting prey to her lair. La lechuza is the spanish phrase for 'the barn owl,' and in mexican folklore, it describes a witch who is capable of turning into a giant. As the story goes, an old woman shape-shifts into a giant owl, La Lechuza, to take revenge on people who wronged her during her life. Lechuza-a Spanish word for a type of owl, especially the barn owl-is a myth popular throughout northern Mexico and Texas.
