#don copal

[rosebloodcat]

Don Copal- Once A Coward

It wasn't his fault. And maybe if he said it enough times, he could make himself believe it. (Don had always been a coward.)

AN: Hey all, this story is from a Grim Fandango AU idea I had back in 2020 (ish) and never really posted. But I've stumbled upon this ficlet again and figured, may as well post the thing. If people wanna know more, go ahead and ask! (I'll add some more notes at the end.)

It wasn’t his fault. That was the mantra Don Copal had been repeating to himself for… Too long now.

(He’d been saying more after Hector had… had sprouted…)

He supposed he should've realized Calavera would start to catch on that something wasn’t right about how the jobs were getting shuffled around. That something was crooked in the DoD, and possibly try to do something about it.

He’d always been a sharp one, for all his antics.

(Manny had been at the DoD longer than Domino. Longer than Don. Longer than a lot of them. They should have realized that keeping him there would have been an obvious mark that something was wrong.)

But it wasn’t Don’s fault.

He couldn’t have predicted that Manuel would do something like that. His stealing a client from Domino hadn’t been predicted.

It couldn’t have been expected!

(Maybe he should have expected it. Manny was always too sharp, too skilled for his own good. He always had been. Don had needed to do a lot of cheating to get ahead of him in this job. Because Manny had always been that good.)

Hector had wanted to get rid of the problem. Of someone who’d robbed him of another ticket. Of getting more power.

Don knew it. Domino knew it. They all knew it.

The problem had been who would take the brunt of it.

Domino openly blamed Manny for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, saying he’d caused more trouble than he was worth.

(Like Don, he hadn't wanted to be in Hector's sights. He didn’t want to be the one taking the fall.)

Don knew it wasn’t his fault, what had happened that day, and said as much.

Manny had never done that before, none of them could have considered it. He was the issue, not any of them.

(It wasn’t his fault. It was never his fault.)

He’d realized they’d made a mistake the moment the flowers had appeared, that they weren't right. They weren't normal, even for sproutella. Even for the (so very few) flowers that could be found in the land of the dead.

And then the chill of something familiar-but-not washing over them all before the flowers, and Manuel’s remains, blew away in a gust of unnatural wind. Scattering like dust before them, leaving nothing behind.

It had felt like a sign of some kind.

He didn’t have the poetic skills to say what that sign was.

Maybe it was a sign of their foolishness. Maybe it was for their arrogance. Maybe it meant that things were going to change, whether they liked it or not. Maybe it was some combination of all three.

But it wasn’t his fault.

None of them could have known what would happen. Manny had never said or done anything that could have told them that he was any different from the rest of them. Not even a hint of something being weirder than anyone would have thought about a guy who’d just… Been another reaper. As far as any of them had known, he was just another schmuck who had a debt to pay off to the powers that be. Just like the rest of them.

How could they know something they were never told?

(They couldn’t have. That was true, it couldn’t have been his fault. It couldn’t have.)

But he knew Hector wouldn’t let it lie. He wouldn’t let Manny’s last act against him go unchallenged, no matter who or what else might also have been entangled in it. It was bad for his business.

And his business was more important than anything else. (Not even another soul.)

So Don had shut his mouth and let Hector do as he pleased.

Let him take over the work for a short time. Let Domino rise above him and go about unhindered and take over completely.

He bowed his head, kept silent, and forced himself to keep working, no matter how angry he felt about it.

(It wasn’t his fault. If he said it enough times, he would finally convince the voice in his head that it was true.)

When he’d laid eyes on that living soul wandering in the city, trying so hard to not be noticed, so hard to not be seen, he knew.

He knew.

He knew exactly who that soul was, no matter how insane it seemed. Souls weren’t supposed to have that fast of a turnover, but he knew.

That was HIM. He was back. (No matter how crazy it sounded.)

It was a young face, much younger than he’d ever know him. (But older than he would have thought.) But he still recognized it. Even with the layers of skin and life on top of the skull he knew was there.

Don was absolutely sure that that was Calavera, ducking into the shadow of an alley and trying to survey the street without anyone taking notice of him.

He could have said something. He could have pretended to help him, get himself back into Hector’s good books by delivering the teen to him. Win back the boss’s good favor by handing the man what he was after.

(But that would have meant meeting Manny again, whomever he was now. Of seeing someone he’d once offered as his scapegoat to escape Hector’s fury. Of knowing he was leading him to his death again. That he would be killing someone he knew again. Because he’d known Manny. He hadn’t been a stranger that he only knew on a screen.)

Instead, he ignored him.

Don ignored the still-living boy creeping through the streets and side allies and continued with his day. Dutifully pretending that he’d seen nothing and knew nothing. That he was blissfully unaware of any plan Hector was enacting to undo whatever Manny had done in his second death to defy him. About whatever Manny had done to protect the saints in those hair-thin seconds between when he’d seen Hector and when his bones had been pumped with sproutella.

Or whatever vengeance the Boss was trying to unleash on the teenager because of it.

It had nothing to do with him.

(He’d always been like this. Always running from his choices. Always hiding from his actions. Always ready to lay the blame on someone else for his mistakes. He’d never been able to face the consequences of his decisions.)

(And his conscience would always remind him of that, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it or how far he tried to run from it. For as loud and angry as he pretended to be, he was a coward.)

(He had always been a coward.)

AN: Okay, and that's a wrap on this ficlet! This AU doesn't have a proper name, but I think folks can gather up some of the basic details from this story just based on what's in it.

Long story short, the idea was that Manny got sprouted at the start for interfering with Hector's business, but there were some unexpected consequences to that. Namely that Manny wasn't the 100% human soul everyone thought he was, and when he was sprouted, something kicked in to stop/permanently mess with the people who did it. And Hector, in a mix of spite and determination, decided to hunt down Manny's reincarnation to FIX that problem. (As second deaths result in the souls being sent back to the 7th/Living World.)

I also wanted to get a little introspective on a character we'd only known for a short while before he got offed.

[matias-2003]

Cómo me imagino el Grim Fandango con doblaje al español latino (parte 1)

[mad-iska]

another day in DOD i believe they have this cpnversation at least once a week.

[citlalya1311]

IDK, I wanted a GF OC too.

Meet Rita!

I still have no written ideas of her role in the storyline, but is fun to draw poligonal skelletons!

Little note: "Gollete" is the name of a kind of bread of the dead that looks like a pink donut, but is crunchy inside.

It represents the Tzompantli, that was a sort of aztec wall made of skulls.

I wanted to follow the line of tematic names. You know... Mebrillo, Don Copal, Olivia Ofrenda... those xd

[xoxomissm]

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

a review

As soon as the sun sets on Hacienda San Isidro, the trapped souls in the walls come to life to get revenge on the unfortunate souls who walk its halls. Those who know how it became that way find ways to protect themselves inside the haunted house or decide to avoid it altogether, but they are always dubious when asked to speak about it. The walls are always listening.

Along with Don Rodolfo Solórzano’s proposal of status via marriage to Beatriz, he offers her the opportunity to escape a home life where Beatriz is constantly begrudged for her complexion and parentage to a place where she and her mother can be comfortable again. The new Doña excitedly, but unknowingly, moves into the hacienda after she accepts Rodolfo’s proposal against her mother's wishes. 

When Doña Beatriz arrives at San Isidro, she seeks to reclaim the house as her own to replace the home and land her family lost when her father was betrayed and assassinated in the overthrow of the Mexican government following the Mexican War of Independence. She must quickly adjust her expectations when her politician husband returns to Mexico City very shortly after they are married and Beatriz’s mother refuses to return her letters. She is left feeling alone in a house that seems to be speaking to her through a voice that only she is tormented by.  

In country society, as Beatriz distinguishes, she is repeatedly compared to the last Doña of San Isidro, Rodolfo’s first wife who suffered the apparent misfortune of dying of mysterious circumstances. When she attempts to recruit allies to confirm the evil spirit of the house she is always immediately deflected to more polite conversation. Even though Rodolfo’s sister, Doña Juana Solórzano refuses to be in the house at night and the head of the household, constantly burns copal incense, the only person willing to confirm that Doña Beatriz is indeed being haunted by the hacienda is Padre Andrés, the local priest who has recently returned under contentious circumstances after joining the priesthood. Padre Andrés agrees to return to Hacienda San Isidro where he grew up visiting his family under the guise of offering mass to all the workers on the hacienda to help Beatriz. With the disreputable priest and his cousin, Paloma, as her only allies Beatriz works tirelessly to restore the hacienda.

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is a gothic thriller that takes place in the chilling Hacienda San Isidro. Beatriz is determined to defeat the evil spirits haunting her new home so that she can be reunited in a place her mother will be comfortable. Doña Beatriz relies on Padre Andrés' power as a witch to free the hacienda that he once considered a second home. of the demons haunting the home the new Doña was promised.

I enjoyed the main character’s sass and resolve as she fought tirelessly against the formidable cursed souls of Hacienda San Isidro, which was beautifully described throughout the story. The author also engages with the themes of colorism, colonialism, and the Casta system by employing Beatriz as a bold and ambitious woman, aware of her dark complexion, intent on surviving the curse that is San Isidro to raise her family’s station.  

If you liked Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, let’s be friends, please! I think you’ll like this one, let me know. This was one of my favorites read in 2023.

-xoxo, miss m

[labrat8899]

Don Copal discovers affair between Manny Calavera and Domino Hurley, colorized

[sincerelyveronica]

The Hacienda-Review

My anticipation for this book was low-key at first. I was a sucker for the cover though. I knew I would get to it eventually. But, it kept popping up on my Goodreads feed. It almost felt subliminal. Looked it up on Libby and sure enough, the book was there. Seriously, I'm glad my library had copies of it. I was instantly swept off my feet! I forgot about my other books and just fell into world that is Hacienda San Isidro. I'm still reveling in the aftermath. A book hangover, if you will.

Plot:

In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.

Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.

4/5 STARS

Let me start off with saying that The Hacienda had my WHOLE attention from the very beginning. I can say with much certainty that it's been a long time since an audiobook pulled me into its clutches that quickly. I'm usually apprehensive with most audiobooks because I don't know how the narrators will be. Most of the time, it takes a couple of chapters for me to get use to narrator's voice and then connect with the story. But not this book, these narrators held my attention from start to finish.

From the VERY start, it enveloped me an unforgettable way. The first chapter starts from the end of the book and works backwards. I absolutely loved that beginning. Not only was I intrigued with the direction but I was instantly curious about these characters. We are first introduce to Andres and know nothing about him or his purpose in the book. It flashbacks to Beatriz before arriving to Sin Isidro and introducing us to her. I actually liked having different perspectives in books. I enjoyed going between Beatriz and Andres' thoughts and experiences.

The relationship and dynamic built between Beatriz and Andres was probably my favorite thing about this whole book. Their forbidden love that grows so delicately and lovely throughout the book. I don't want to say anymore. But, I will forever ship those two! PARA SIEMPRE!

This story takes place during a few timelines: after the Spanish Inquisition, a little before the overthrow of the Mexican government and present day 1800s. You could tell the author really did her researching during that time period. Discussing the Casta system and the constant question of linage and skin color. Casting a light on how the Spanish used their systems to maintain their power and superiority over other racial groups. Their total lack and blatant disregard for mestizos and indigenous life. It's not for the faint-hearted. There was also heavy themes of Catholicism and how it ruled during that time.

The Hacienda also gets very atmospheric. Each chapter brings on that eeriness of being watched. Being hunted and teased by the evil that resides in the house. It almost feels like you stepped into the house and are experiencing it yourself. That's what happened to me. Like the hands of the Hacienda pulled me into its darkness. That my book buddies, is a sign of good writing. I know I could keep writing about it but I have to stop...

In all honesty, I wasn't sure what to expect from this story but this is exactly what I wanted out of a gothic story. I mean, a creepy and eerie haunted house story set in Mexico with intriguing, complex and layered characters? What more can you ask for? But my biggest reason and connection to the story was the culture and heritage. I come from a Guatemalan family. Much of my bloodline is indigenous and Spanish. I was able to understand these topics so well because I heard my own families' stories. I knew the hardships and I know how bad indigenous communities still have it in Guatemala, Mexico and other Central & South American countries. Unfortunately, the fight is far from over. I hope it will end one day. I applaud and appreciate the author for her research and shining lights on topics that still need to be discuss. That need to be changed.

The Hacienda is definitely worth a read. I highly recommend and I can't wait to put it in my collection!

XOXO

Sincerely,

Veronica

[lisa-lostinlit]

💬 What is your last read of 2022 going to be? 🤎📖 I’m currently reading The Housemaid’s Secret by @fizzziatrist, but if I’m able to finish that one this week, I’m thinking about starting The Hacienda by @isabelcanas_. Seriously, how good does this sound! 🤎📖 . . . s u m m a r y : Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches... In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost. But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined. When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano? Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her. Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness. Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom. 📖🤎☕️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CmeQStCumzt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[jacks-tracks]

Puerto week 1

Yes 1 Week here and I,m in the groove. Lots of old friends, same nice cabina, more flowers than ever, big surf. and good swimming, both in the warm lap pool and at Playa Manzanillo. It,s been sunny most days, except when there was evening thunder and lightning that rolled out to sea and back again for hours. US election night, some kind of omen?

While prices have risen (10%) rent increase and food is up sharply, the increase in the canadian dollar against the peso has evened the costs out, such that I,m paying $50 a night same as last year. since i do all my own cooking, it,s easy to economize while eating very good food and tons of fruit. Smoothies everyday with some for the staff as a treat. It,s not the tips that people remember, it,s the friendliness, attempts to speak Spanish, and thoughtfullness like sharing smoothies. The locals don,t extend their purchases to smoothies, so it,s a treat. Mind you my Spanish is patchy, but I,m surprised how much has come back. Trying to find pancake mix in the supermarket, 3 staff helpers directing me to everything from the bakery to jam, I finally remembered to word "polvo" powdered and pancakees and was shown 5 different choices. The elderly(like me) Mexican customer at the shelf pointed out his favorite. In the coffee store I realized the clerk was asking me did I want my medium roast and dark roast mixed? And "effectivo" means cash.Always use local knowledge!

Uptown markets are easy now that I know the stops. First the good fruit stand where local prices are charged and big bags of fruit and veg are cheapest(and better quality). A sudden stop at a shack where an ancient guy was roasting corn in husks over a brazier but had a tiny sign for Copal , tree sap incense. He dove into a corroding camper for a couple of minutes and emerged with a little plastic bag of the incense that looked home foraged. 20 pesos! I did not need anything from the main roofed market, but went for an aroma therapy stroll all the way down the flower aisle. Countered the stinky dried fish and dripping beef legs. A small ball of oaxaca cheese, and some fresh tortillas and out the other side. Caballeros wholesale market was the usual zoo of women shopping for their tiendas, porters hustling through overloaded with giant bags of carrots,cabbage and potatoes, all the while calling for passage. I bought peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and avocadoes. Along with the oranges, limes,and onions from stand #1, i was overloaded by a backpack and 2 full bags . The Mayor Domo chocolate shop was just finished grinding raw chocolate beans and the smell was terrific! I got a half kilo for domestic consumption. Topped off my load with a kilo of shrimp.flash frozen and quick cooking. What with some chicken legs and a dozen eggs I,m good for a week or two.

All this shopping is done via "combis," the frequent pickup trucks that do a set route for 12 pesos. Uptown and back 24 pesos, about $1.75 canadian, and i,ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes. Passenger vans are becoming more common. Same procedure, flag, hop on, yell for a stop, and pay 12 pesos. More comfortable and less inclined to reach escape velocity on the main drag. It,s always interesting to see who,s on board, mostly locals, shopping ladies, and Mexican tourists. It,s very polite to say Buenas Dias on boarding and a surprising number of passengers reply. It,s proper to be polite here.

Hammock snap. After 6 days in my cabina hammock, the rope over the tree limb broke quite unexpectedly. Only a 1 foot drop, and I did the Judo breakfall to slow the blow. ooof! Sore elbows, but no broken butt. I got new rope from the office and re-rigged the line with excess knots. Sisal rope. might last 1 year.

Butterflys: 5 new ones(to me) ranging from sulpher yellow fast flitters, to mottled brown with red "eyes"on the wing top . Up by the pool I thought I saw a bird fly into the banana leaves but no it was the biggest butterfly I,ve ever seen, perhaps 10 inches across!! Dark brown with filagree black markings swirling in dizzying patterns, and a large red circle eye on top. Of course by the time I ran for the camera it was gone. Life can be a running series of short flashes of beauty that we have to look for and appreciate.

[sincerely--me]

Glottis: “alright then. Manuel "Manny" Calavera is a travel agent at the Department of Death in the city of El Marrow, forced into his job to work off a debt "to the powers that be".Manny is frustrated with being assigned clients that must take the four-year journey and is threatened to be fired by his boss, Don Copal, if he does not come up with better clients. Manny steals a client, Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, from his co-worker Domino Hurley. The Department computers assign Meche to the four-year journey even though Manny believes she should have a guaranteed spot on the "Number Nine" luxury express train due to her pureness of heart in her life. After setting Meche on her way, Manny investigates further and finds that Domino and Don have been rigging the system to deny many clients Double N tickets, hoarding them for the boss of the criminal underworld, Hector LeMans. LeMans then sells the tickets at an exorbitant price to those that can afford it. Manny recognizes that he cannot stop Hector at present and instead, with the help of his driver and speed demon….that being me, he tries to find Meche on her journey in the nearby Petrified Forest. During the trip Manny encounters Salvador "Sal" Limones, the leader of the small underground organization Lost Souls Alliance (LSA), who is aware of Hector's plans and recruits Manny to help. Manny arrives at the small port city of Rubacava and finds that he has beaten Meche there, and waits for her to show up.”

[Rudy]

Sounds pretty difficult.

(And he still decided to be the doorman after all of that?)

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Hacienda. By Isabel Cañas. Berkley, 2022.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction, Gothic

Series: N/A

Summary: In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.

But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.

When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?

Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.

Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.

Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: disturbing imagery, rape, blood

OVERVIEW: Even though I was lukewarm on The Vampires of El Norte, I was intrigued enough to want to read more from Cañas. So when I saw this book was available at my local store, I snatched it up. But just like the first book I read, my reaction was a little mixed. While I love Cañas's imagination and some of the spooky descriptions of the hacienda, I ultimately felt like this book lacked strong characterization and didn't so much build suspense as it did whack you over the head. So while I enjoyed the Gothicness of the story, the quality of the craft puts it at about a 2.5 or 3 star read for me.

WRITING: Cañas's prose is not as smooth in this book as I would have liked it to be. There seems to be an imbalance of showing versus telling, and Cañas leans a bit too heavily on rhetorical questions in order to drive suspense. She also repeats a few key phrases often - things like "I was a general's daughter" and "I was going to die in this house." It wasn't always bad, but it was enough to draw my attention.

The narrative also flips between Beatriz's and Andrés's points of view, but because Andrés's chapters are so few, the shift felt a bit random. I think the entire book could have been from Beatriz's POV with more things about Andrés's past revealed over time, or else a more even distribution of chapters.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Beatriz, the 20 year daughter of a Mexican General who marries her political enemy for security. Beatriz's husband brings her to his hacienda, where Beatriz meets his sister, the staff, and a mysterious priest named Andrès. But when her husband departs for the capital, Beatriz becomes plagued by a malevolent spirit who seems connected to the history of the house.

I really loved the Gothic vibes in this book. The hacienda was unsettling and the power play between Beatriz and Juana was all the delicious stuff of a great Gothic story. I also really loved the blend of Catholicism and witchcraft that made the "magic" of Andrés's family feel complex. Cañas also has a knack for creating disturbing images associated with the supernatural, and I loved all the creepy moments.

However, I do think Cañas kills the suspense of her narrarive in a few ways. First, Cañas goes from 0 to 100 fairly quickly so that rather than building up this mystery associated with the house or causing the reader to doubt what Beatriz is seeing, we pretty much understand that the hacienda is haunted and unsafe right away. Second, events didn't seem to build very much, and moments of tension were interrupted by moments of downtime that killed the buildup. For example, there are multiple instances when characters see something scary or get hurt, but instead of motivating them to act right away, these events are followed by things like cooking or going out to hold unrelated mass.

Finally, I thought the romance was rather weak. Without spoiling too much, I will say that I think the lack of chemistry is due to the writing style and one character not being very agentive. Honestly, the romance could have been left out and the book could have focused on family ties - that might have felt more cohesive.

I also had a hard time being engrossed in the plot because character motivations and actions were never quite clear. For example, Beatriz is so afraid of the hacienda that she can barely sleep; but she never seems to consider leaving for her own safety, and she's not stubborn or agentive enough as a character to convince me that she stays in order to show the ghost who is boss. Juana's motivations are equally baffling; though I understood her end goals, I couldn't see how her actions were supposed to align with them.

On top of that, I felt like the central mystery of the house was something of a letdown. Given all the focus on race and colonialism, I thought some of those themes would play out (and to be fair, sometimes they did), but in the end, the big reveal was a bit underwhelming.

TL;DR: Despite some delightfully creepy images and a good Gothic base, The Hacienda doesn't quite deliver due to its lackluster characters, tell-heavy prose style, and bland central mystery.

CHARACTERS: Beatriz, our main POV character, is a little hard to root for. Though I'm sympathetic to her plight, there wasn't enough to her character to make me want to see her succeed. She states that she just wants stability and a house represents that, but when she encounters the supernatural, she's not exactly stubborn or determined to get to the bottom of things. Instead, she seemed to flip back and forth between wanting to run away in terror and wanting an exorcism, and I couldn't quite pin her down the way I wanted to.

Andrés, the priest/witch, was a little more interesting in that he had family ties to the area and grappled with his abilities. I liked how Catholicism and witchcraft were blended together seamlessly, and I liked how Andrés struggled with the responsibility of being his grandmother's heir. However, I also didn't feel like his motivations were as strong as they could have been, though this was probably due to the writing style.

Side characters were kind of confusing. Rodolfo, Beatriz's husband, seemed poised to be the "dark love interest" from Gorhic fiction, but he is barely present enough to feel like a ge uine threat. Juana, Rodolfo's sister, has moments where I liked her contention with Beatriz for authority, but towards the end, I felt like she disappeared for a while and then came back acting nonsensically. My favorite supporting character was Paloma, the housekeeper's daughter. Though she didn't exactly have an arc of her own, I appreciated the kindness she showed to Beatriz and the love she had for her family.

[aimeepadilla]

Por Aimée Padilla Seguramente has escuchado decir que a algún vecino “se lo ha chupado la bruja”… Y es que en México existe aún la creencia de que las brujas rondan por las noches en busca de víctimas a las cuales sorberles la sangre, tal como los vampiros en otras latitudes. Pero, ¿de dónde viene esta superstición? Como casi todas las tradiciones en México, esta leyenda tiene un origen prehispánico. En Tlaxcala, estas criaturas son llamadas tlaltepuchis que, en lengua náhuatl, significa “sahumador luminoso”. Las tlaltepuchis eran orignalmente una especie de nahuales que tienen la capacidad de convertirse en animales y de cometer atrocidades. Hoy en día se las relaciona con las brujas. Las tlahuelpuchis son mujeres comunes a la vista de todos, a quienes los dioses les han concedido un don que algunas usan de manera maliciosa. Ellas se enteran de que son portadoras de este don al llegar a la pubertad, específicamente cuando tienen su primera menstruación. Ahí cuando entran en contacto con el potencial de sus poderes. Con el tiempo y la práctica, lograrán desarrollarlos por completo, hasta finalmente dominar la técnica de convertirse en animales. Se dice que, una vez que logran tomar la forma de un animal, se desprende de ellas una luminosidad que advierte su presencia. Aún hoy en día se puede oír el testimonio de muchas personas que dicen que han visto aquellas luces alejarse y acercarse. Las tlahuelpuchis son territoriales y, a diferencia de las brujas en otro lados del mundo, ellas no conviven ni trabajan en grupos, se reconocen unas a otras aún cuando presenten su forma humana y guardan su distancia respetando el territorio de cada una, pues son sumamente agresivas. Únicamente se tienden la mano cuando existe un peligro común que en solitario no pueden sortear. Las tlahuelpuchi no atacan jamás a sus familiares, excepto si el secreto de su existencia es revelado por algún pariente a otras personas. Las tlahuelpuchis se alimentan de sangre humana, pero por sobre todas las sangres prefieren la de los niños pequeños, quiénes son sus víctimas favoritas y a quienes acechan en forma de animal o, si la situación lo exige, en forma de neblina que se filtra por puertas y ventanas. Se dice también que las tlahuelpuchis pueden usar poderes hipnóticos con los moradores, logrando que se duerman profundamente, o volver su sueño más pesado para evitar que despierten. Para tal propósito, echan su fétido vaho a la cara de los infortunados. Hay que tener mucho cuidado cuanto más frío y lluvioso sea el clima, pues es entonces cuando más ganas tienen las tlahuelpuchis de buscar víctimas recién nacidas. Una vez dormidos los bebés, las tlahuelpuchis se convierten en mujeres, chupan al infante y salen presurosas de la casa. Cuando los padres de la criatura se despiertan, se dan cuenta que el pequeño presenta moretones en el pecho, la espalda y el cuello. A veces, cuando una persona está bajo la hipnosis pierde el juicio y se aventura a caminar sin tener conciencia del lugar por donde transita llegando a cometer un suicidio. Los poderes de las tlahuelpuchis son intransferibles, no se los pueden pasar a ninguna persona ni se heredan. Pero si una de ellas llega a ser asesinada, el asesino será convertido en tlahuelpuchi. Se dice que a las tlahuelpuchis les gusta chupar la sangre de los bebés y de los niños porque en esa edad la sangre es más deliciosa. Generalmente la aparición de las tlahuelpuchis sucede entre la medianoche y las cuatro de la mañana. Para llevar a cabo el ritual de transformación las tlahuelpuchis preparan en el fogón de su hogar con madera de capulín, al que agregan raíces de agave, copal y hojas secas de zoapatle, la planta medicinal de la mujer que, desde tiempos prehispánicos, que propicia el coito e induce al aborto. Una vez listo el fuego las mujeres caminan sobre él tres veces de norte a sur y de este a oeste, después se sientan en dirección al hogar donde habita su víctima, mientras que de su cuerpo se desprenden las extremidades. S...

[appatary8523]

I like Don and I don't know know why

[srhunt]

Manny: Hey Don, could you give me some better clients?

[grim-fandango-confessions]

[fivenightsatcorans]

mutuals i want to share some sort of crunchy with