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Among hundreds of legends, "The Great Rock of Aquetzari, one of the most beautiful of Costa Rican tales, was chosen to be published in the book Tales of Enchanted Places" a compilation of the most known and loved Latin American traditional tales. The legend tells of a witch, Zarate. She enchanted an entire village after her lover had refused to marry her and broke his promise of liberating the indigenous people who were under Spanish.
According to legend, the villagers still live enclosed in a gigantic rock in front of Aserri, one of the oldest towns in Costa Rica located in the mountains south of San Jose. The witch will remain in the rock forever, like a sorceress with a beautiful peacock, and according to the legend she has the power to convert fruits into solid gold pieces.
Father has told this tale to son since the time of the colonial era. It was in 1930 when R. Quiros put it to paper and published it. There are still, however, many versions of this legend. Professor Carlos Rubio included his own version in the 1990 short story book "We want to play".
THE LEGEND
Every time Zarate went to the church in Aquetzari she stood on the doorway wearing only black clothes and taking deep drags on a big cigar. All of this scandalized the parishioners, who warned their sons:
"Don't look at her. That woman practices the wicked arts of witchcraft."
One day, when a group of Indians, chained with thick cuffs, walked down the middle of the street towards the mines where they worked for the Spaniards, an elderly Indian woman stopped in front of the mysterious Zarate.
"Zarate!" she screamed with a pathetic but firm voice, "you give fruits to the poor, fruits that change into gold. Your selflessness could save us from this humiliation. Don't you see how our race is being killed?"
Zarate did not answer. She threw the cigar to the ground, stomped it out with her foot, and stepped into the church to light a candle for God.
At that moment the governor arrived. He wore the uniform of the Spanish Empire. He was tall, handsome. She watched him and the governor smiled as he felt her look upon him.
As the candle was lit a mysterious green flame lighted the faces of woman and governor. "Don't be frightened, Zarate whispered, this is the flame of the love that has suddenly awakened." The governor stared at her with incredulous eyes.
"Your face shows me a bad omen, Alfonso de Perez y Colma. You govern our lands even though we have not asked you to do it. But we hold no grudge against you" added the woman.
She immediately fetched from her bosom a ring linked to a small golden chain and gave it to Alfonso.
From that moment on the governor could not stop thinking about that woman, until finally one night he went to Zarate's house. When she opened the door, he tried to kiss her but she would not allow it. Zarate told him he would first have to promise to liberate the Indians from their humiliation and then they could forever be joined.
He promised to abide by his word and they kissed passionately.
A BROKEN PROMISE
The next morning Zarate woke the governor up and asked him to take a ceremonial libation, and she added that hey would be married that day upon a stone altar:
"Then you will be my blood and will order the shackles taken away from the Indians working in the mines. They will all return to their lands. Our people that have always lived inside the great rock of slavery will now be so free that even the butterflies will want to be one of us."
The governor exploded with laughter at hearing that he was to marry her. He told Zarate that he would soon be returning to Spain to the arms of Miss Margarita de Alonso, to whom he was engaged.
"She is a woman as radiant as the sun, clean as the most crystalline waters, not a witch like you, he told her."
He also told Zarate that the "dirty Indians" could not return to their home because they now belonged to the King of Spain. With a terrible blow, he spilled ceremonial cup she had offered him and left her house.
That very day Zarate gathered the neighbors outside the church and told them that the man who made the Indians suffer under Spanish oppression, had promised her marriage and the liberation of her race.
However she told them he had broken his promise and deserved to be punished by all of them. All those gathered laughed at her and told her she was crazy; all witches end up the same, crazy. "Poor woman!" they mumbled under their breaths.
The Curse
Zarate was alone. A thin rain started to fall. The following storm lasted an entire week and a heavy fog settled over the village. The governor wanted to ride on horseback to Cartago "then the capital city of Costa Rica" but her dense fog blinded his way and he had to remain in the village.
That night Zarate stayed awake. Everyone in the village of Aquetzari went to bed exhausted. A strange dream haunted their sleep. They dreamt that from their skins grew scales, feathers, and thick hair, and that they were transformed into the animals of the mountains. The streets of Aquetzari became flooded with snakes, elks, jaguars, monkeys, parrots, and caimans.
The following day Zarate went to the village center carrying a peacock that had upon its neck a ring linked to a small golden chain. She addressed the crowd.
"People of Aquetzari, you have not been dreaming. This is the governor don Alfonso de Perez y Colma, who will now live with you dragging his body about the floor like an animal inside the great rock of our race, until he decides to keep his promise to marry me and free our people."
Then, the thick fog that had covered their roofs began to harden, slowly, until it formed an imposing rock. Outside of the rock there only remained the legend that a village once stood where it is now.
After time passed other men came and founded the town of Aserri. They forever stared with awed mystery at the great rock that seemed to hurl screams from its insides.
Favors
The legend also tells that if anyone wants to ask Zarate for a favor, they must walk up to the rock at night, knock three times and say:
"I seek for an ideal in my life... years walking and always on foot; fair Zarate, listen to me and open the rock for the love of the peacock."
The rock will open and out will come Zarate and her beautiful peacock. She will be dressed in black velvet with silver embroideries and will listen to you under the moon's eternal stare.
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