If you happen to be in Decatur, Illinois this coming weekend, check out the Haunted America Conference, where I'll be doing a fully-illustrated lecture on my various expeditions to Puerto Rico in search of the Chupacabras.
Here's all the info on the gig.
I've been in Puerto Rico for close to 3 years now. The one thing I've learned: nobody's talking about this thing but the gringos. Time and again, the response I receive concerning the phenomenon is "Oh, yeah. THAT," followed by a chuckle that seems to telegraph a joke that not everyone is in on. It sells beach towels and keychains to tourists, but everyone seems to agree that it was just this silly little think about ten years ago and now its over. This is why I find it so amazing that it's spreading like an infection throughout the rest of Latin America and now the southwest US. And that's it's gone from alienesque beast to what amounts to roadkill. God bless you for taking on those remains. I hope that you find something more exciting than ol' canis familiaris. Keep up the work!
ReplyDeleteCheers Cullan!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've been to PR 5 times now; collectively for several months, and there's no doubt that the Chupa has become a cultural phenomenon, and a fine marketing/tourist tool.
But, to ewhat extent that has a bearing on whether or not there is (or was) a real phenomenon, is another issue.