El Cuco - The Boogeyman
The shapeless horror that takes children who won't sleep. 'Duérmete niño, o viene el Cuco.' Sleep, child, or the Cuco comes. The Hispanic world's universal bogeyman.
El Cuco (or El Coco) is the bogeyman of Hispanic cultures, used to frighten children into good behavior.
The Legend
According to documented folklore, El Cuco is a shapeless monster that takes misbehaving children. It comes for those who won’t sleep and is formless, pure fear. The legend is used throughout the Hispanic world.
The Lullaby
The famous song goes: “Duérmete niño, duérmete ya, Que viene el Coco y te comerá.” This translates to “Sleep child, sleep now, The Cuco comes and will eat you.”
Description
El Cuco has no fixed form. Sometimes it appears as a dark figure, sometimes as a hairy monster. It may have glowing eyes or appear as a formless shadow. It takes whatever form frightens most.
Behavior
El Cuco watches misbehaving children and waits on rooftops. It comes at night and takes children away, either eating them or keeping them forever.
Regional Names
The creature is known as El Coco in Spain, El Cuco in Latin America, Coca in Portugal, and Cuca in Brazil, along with various other regional names.
Purpose
Parents use El Cuco to get children to sleep and encourage good behavior. It serves as general discipline and functions as a universal fear figure across Hispanic cultures.
Sources
Every culture has its boogeyman, the formless fear that keeps children in line. In the Hispanic world, El Cuco waits in the darkness, ready to take those who won’t sleep. The lullaby continues, generation after generation, and El Cuco never sleeps.