Mexico: Strange Entity in Michoacán (1936)

A Strange Entity in La Piedad, Michoacán, Mexico in 1936
By Lic. Claudia Madrid Montezuma – La Esfera Azul
www.acusticavisualnet./grupoaesferaazul/

The following story took place in 1936 at La Piedad de Cabadas, Michoacán, when my grandmother was seven years old.

Teresa (my grandmother) was on the bottom floor of the hotel at which her parents and grandmother worked. Her job was to collect money – tray in hand – from everyone entering the restrooms. She suddenly became aware of “someone” walking through that area. It wore a dress, leading her to suppose it was a woman. However, no arms, legs or face were visible. The clothing, which she compared to gauze, floated along the hallway, leaving behind a trail of coins that emerged from its sleeve.

Despite the strange situation, the girl rushed to collect the money and place it into the pocket of the apron she wore. Both the mystery figure and the child were now heading toward the horse stables near the hotel. But when the grandmother realized that her granddaughter was heading to this location, she called her over. At that same instant, the bizarre escort disappeared and the young girl, booty in hand, ran back to report what had happened. The grandmother’s astonishment and fear were immediate: belonging to a rural and deeply religious environment, she thought it was a “snare of the devil” and decided to take the money to the town priest, Padre Bravo.

The priest blessed it and kept a part of the find, at the woman’s request. The remainder, in spite of being “evil money”, was used to buy Teresa a pair of sandals. Miracles were attributed to this priest after his death. According to the locals, his body remained uncorrupted seven years after his death, when the coffin was opened to relocate his remains.

The priest’s remains are currently kept at the La Purísima Church in La Piedad, Michoacán, but that is another story.

When Teresa was older, she moved to the capital with her mother and aunts, and has lived there most of her life. She currently resides in Querétaro, where she retold the story of what happened to her. She has never been interested in the paranormal, has always been very rational, and states that what she experienced was real. It has been the only unexplained event she has had in her entire life.

[Transcript of the 2009 Interview]:

Claudia Madrid: Tell us what happened to you.

Teresa: An anecdote, I don’t know what to call it, but I remember it perfectly. Bear in mind that I was just a child. My parents worked at a hotel, and I was in charge of a certain section. At a given moment, I saw a dress – a fabulous dress, floating in the air, without legs, hands or arms. It struck me, despite my age, and I followed it with my eyes, thinking, “it’s a lady, but why doesn’t she have any arms, or legs, what’s wrong.” I was never shocked, never felt any fear, I recall perfectly feeling no apprehension at all. Then, from her sleeves, from her dress, she let go of a considerable amount of money. There was no paper money at the time. I’m telling you that this was a long time ago, since I’m currently eighty years old, so if you do the math, I was seven, and therefore a child. It would now be the equivalent of two thousand [inaudible monetary unit] or so, but it was a lot of money. At the time I wore a pretty little apron that I made myself, so I got down pick up all the money, all of it. At this time, the dress flew away, it vanished, and I fearlessly went to tell my family. “See this, grandma,” – because I was raised by my grandmother – “look what I found in the yard.” She asked who let the money drop, and I said a person looking like this and like that, without head, arms or legs. Why weren’t you afraid, my grandmother asked, and I replied, “No, and here’s the money.” My grandmother used it, spent it on household goods, nothing bad ever happened, and it’s not superstition, these are just childhood memories.”

(Translation and transcription (c) 2012, Scott Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Claudio Mora, La Esfera Azul)