Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a small town named after another small town (Sayula), lived a small girl foreign to the land. This little girl spent her days running around barefoot, swimming in the ocean and exploring the surrounding jungle. Sometimes she was chased by a Guacamaya (a big beautiful Macaw, this one was red, blue and green) on her way to school, and she would flee, running as quick as her little legs could carry her. The source of the Guacamayas anger was her jealousy of the little girls friendship with its owner, another kid in the neighborhood.
Her salty blonde hair was a constant issue at school, as the school teachers insisted she needed to show up peinada. Understanding the word itself but not its cultural relevance, her mother would brush her raggedy hair and leave it down. The little girl would show up to school, seemingly peinada, only to be scolded again. What the teachers actually wanted was for her hair to be put up in pigtails or braids, slicked back with gel, preventing unwanted hair-pulling and lice. As a result of this misunderstanding, her hair would often get pulled in all directions, especially by a particular little boy who confessed years later that he had had a massive crush on her. Another consequence was that she often did come home with lice, and many other kids were also sent home as well. Her mother would smother her head in pure coconut-oil and wrap a plastic bag around it, suffocating the nasty little creatures to their demise.
After school, she would run home and change. Most days she would jet out of the house again, usually running over to her friend Itzel's house, who's mother was always frying fish and had frijoles on the stove (she later went on to open Chilly Willy's, one of the Sayulita's most iconic restaurants). Since she was already feeding her own four kids, there was always a plate for one more. She would then mosy around town unsupervised, as back then there was no need for adult supervision. Sayulita was a safe haven where the old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" was alive and well.
On her way home she would walk through the plaza towards Calle Niños Heroes where she lived in what is now the blue house on the corner, opposite of tiendita Camachos. On the way there, there was a house with the door wide open, welcoming anyone to enter. In the middle of their living room, they had a beautiful altar set up with candles and flowers. In the middle stood a mirror, which had the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe burnt onto it by candle smoke. The little girl would quietly walk in and kneel to pray, having always thought that the Virgencita was a beautiful woman who took care of us all.
The legend of this mirror was that the man of the house had disappeared along with his companions at sea after going out fishing. His distraught wife had prayed and prayed for his safe return, and upon the third day of prayer, La Virgen de Guadalupe had appeared imprinted on the mirror. Just like in Spain La Virgen del Carmen is the patron saint of fishermen, in Mexico the Virgen de Guadalupe has had a long-standing relationship with men of the sea, protecting them and offering her guidance. By the miracle of prayer and the grace of the Virgen, the men were home safe and sound that same day she appeared, a vague, smoky, powerful image reigniting life in the townspeople's faith.
For more local folklore, be sure to continue reading El Sayulero. If you have any fond memories or anecdotes of our special town, as well as local rumors and folklore, please do not hesitate to send them in at zoey@sayulitalife.com