News

Witches and other legends live on in Escazú

Posted: Friday, January 27, 2012 - By Ashley Harrell

EYES ON ESCAZU: Legendary figures like the Tulevieja and Zárate the witch still lurk in the shadows of the now-upscale western suburb’s strip malls and high-rise condominiums.

The Escazú municipal seal depicts a witch flying over the mountains and church of the western municipality.

Escazú means “resting place,” but there’s a restless and often spooky quality to this suburb southwest of San José. In recent years, the area has burgeoned into a thriving commercial hub that plenty of well-heeled Ticos, Gringos and foreign ambassadors call home, but ancient burial grounds still lie beneath their modern abodes. Old Escazú remains steeped in its pre-Columbian history, and its legends have tended to take on lives of their own.

Bizarre creatures, enchantments and particularly witches are said to roam the land, and escazuceños seem generally accepting of this. Known informally as the “city of witches,” Escazú spawned a soccer teamed dubbed “Brujas F.C.,” and witch figurines are displayed prominently on residential chimneys. The municipal seal also depicts a witch on a broom.

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Comments

Phil Duncan

Friday January 27 2012

I didn't belive in ghost until moved to the mountains of Escazu not far from old town Escazu. Myself, my wife and her two daughters moved into a house that's only about 9 years old, about 5 years ago. My wife and her kids start talking about spirits in the house, because of doors opening, closing and even locking. Water turning on and off, TV and so on. I seen the TV turn on and off in the middle of the night in my bedroom on 3 different occasion. But it wasn't enough for me to think the house was haunted. Until one day, one of my stepdaughter took a picture of herself sitting on her bed with her cellphone camera. To my amazement, there in the picture was some kind of humanly creature , with eyes, ears, nose, mouth and shoulders with a smile on it face, detailed and easy to see with the naked eye. Funny part about the picture is, my stepdaughters looks blurry in the picture, while the ghostly figure over her left shoulder is not blurry at all. We've gotten so use to this thing we call it Steve. It seems playful, not a threat to anybody. I'm not kidding!!!