Cadejo

The evil cadejo ranges in size, according to different tales in various regions. It lurks in graveyards and dark alleys, waiting to attack a passing victim. It has a distinctive smell of concentrated urine and burning sulphur. It rattles with a jerking motion, contracting its pharynx. Its gaze freezes anyone who makes eye contact. Its skin and short hair, similar to those of a pig, glitter in the pitch dark.

There are three types of black cadejos:

The first is the devil himself in the form of a large, wounded dog with hoofed feet that are bound with red-hot chains. It is said that not even the white cadejo is able to completely stop him. Unlike the regular black cadejo, it is not likely to pursue and attack a passing person, as it is a scout - the eyes of evil. Instead, anyone who spots him will have a sad event. In the short story "Leyenda del Cadejo" ("Legend of the Cadejo") by Nobel Prize laureate Miguel Ángel Asturias, this variety of cadejo terrorizes a young abbess and robs her of her braid.

The second type of cadejo is a mysterious evil dog. It kills and savagely tears through its victim. First, it demoralizes him with a series of sounds and other signs that it is nearby. Then, after the victim is scared, it leaps, and will kill him if the white cadejo is not near.

The third and least powerful type of black cadejo is the offspring of a normal dog and the "regular" cadejo. It is a mortal hybrid and can (with difficulty) be killed by a strong man (bearing in mind that most men in those regions only carry a machete for protection). Once dead, it will completely rot in a matter of seconds, leaving behind a stain of evil, on which grass and moss will never grow again. This cadejo will never bite its victim. Instead, he kicks and pecks them with his snout. After this happens, people say "Lo jugó el cadejo" which means "he\she was handled by the cadejo". The victim goes mad. This term is sometimes applied to people that are born with a mental illness.

A fairly popular version of the legend in El Salvador talks about two brothers who walk into the house of a black magician. During a storm, he asks the boys to help him with some logs for a fire. Both boys slack on the job but eat the man's food. Once he finds out the little bit of food he had is missing and that there is not enough wood for his fire, he puts a curse on the road that leads to the boys' village. Voices bother the boys and when they turn their backs on the voices they get turned into creatures: a white cadejo and a black one. After going back to their village in their cursed form they get kicked out and have no choice but to wander.

In the early 1900s, Juan Carlos was a guardian who lived in a thatched house near Los Arcos, in the country fields near La Aurora in Guatemala. He worked near Parroquia Vieja and arrived at his house at midnight. His wife and small children almost always spent the whole day alone, in the middle of the fields. Juan found a white dog when he arrived home one day. When the dog saw him coming, it shook, turned and disappeared. Juan always tried to follow the dog, but he could never reach him. One day, when he arrived, the white dog did not move, and when he approached the dog, it did not make a single sound. But then Juan touched his paw, and all of a sudden it opened its eyes. Juan was scared; the dog said, 'you do not need my help anymore'. Frightened, Juan exclaimed, 'what help'? And the dog said, in pain, 'I am a dog sent from above. My mission was to protect you from any danger. But you have showed me you do not need my help anymore.' Right after that, the white dog died. Juan buried him, and every time he came home, he remembered the white dog.

"El cadejo" originated in El Salvador. Legend says that a witch granted a gift of protection and power to only one family name. The family name is unknown but most villagers assume a certain family has it, even now in 2021. El cadejo attaches itself to people, especially children, who go through traumatic experiences. We spoke to the "family", we believe el cadejo "lives" in, and they didn’t want to disclose the host's name. But she is a female. Currently 19 years of age, married and has a child. Her family disclosed some of her past and she’s definitely a candidate according to the legends. We learned about the previous host, his name was not given, but it was her father who died back in April 2011. El cadejo is known to have a good and dark side. Seems like the dark cadejo took charge for years until about 2 years ago when her life changed and she became a better person.

2011, acrylic on canvas by Carlos Loarca, depicting the mythical dog "El Cadejo"

The cadejo is a primary motif in the paintings of Guatemalan-born artist Carlos Loarca, who was born in 1937. As a child, Loarca was told the legend and believed that the cadejo protected his father, as he always came home unscathed from the cantina. As an adult, Loarca felt the protecting spirit helped him break his own alcohol habit. Since the 1970s, the cadejo has appeared in his paintings. Loarca states the dog has been a companion, and guide, and has grown old with him. The cadejo is seen in places like Copán and Tegucigalpa in Honduras.

The Salvadoran writer Manlio Argueta wrote a children's book describing the folklore of the cadejo called Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes: Los Perros Mágicos De Los Volcanes (1990). The bilingual Spanish-English edition was translated by Stacey Ross and illustrated by Elly Simmons.

The black and white divine dogs summoned by Megumi Fushiguro in Jujutsu Kaisen are based on the cadejo. Death, a white wolf and the main antagonist in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, is based on the cadejo.

• Burchell, Simon (2007). Phantom Black Dogs in Latin America, Heart of Albion Press. Edited by Triniti R.

• Hellhound
• La llorona
• Madam Koi Koi
• Bloody Mary (folklore)
• Crybaby Bridge
• La Malinche
• Sayona
• The Silbón
• Cerberus