The Man with the Big Hat

Legends

Legends say el Sombrerón is a short man dressed in black with boots, a thick belt, and a shiny buckle. He stands out for wearing a disproportionately large hat, which he uses to cover his face. Although legends say he roams the streets of Antigua with four mules and a large guitar, others say they’ve seen him in the roads of Santa Rosa and other areas of Guatemala. Believers claim he aims to woo young, long-haired women by playing captivating melodies with his guitar that he accompanies with his sweet-sounding voice. This makes his targets fall under a spell of love as he serenades them. El Sombrerón then clings to the women and haunts them, stopping them from sleeping and eating as he tightly weaves long braids in their hair. If a woman becomes a victim of el Sombrerón, she is doomed to her death. The only way to send him away is by immediately chopping off the woman’s hair. After hearing this story as a child, I got scared every time I heard the sound of a guitar while I was walking around in Antigua! I recall one incident that still gives me chills today: One night, I was staying at a family ranch where my grandparents were stirred awake in the middle of the night by the agitated racket of three restless horses. Nothing anyone did could calm them down—not even the caretakers could sooth them. The next morning, my cousins and I went to check on them and to our surprise, each horse had its mane perfectly braided! No one could explain who had done such an intricate job in a matter of hours during the night. To this day, the ranch workers still claim it was the work of el Sombrerón.