Isla Mujeres History

This is Part II of the interview with 80 year-old islander "Chocolate" Garrindo by historian Fidel Villanueva Madrid, original article in Spanish is below. HUNTING CROCODILES      Although crocodiles are a protected species today (as are sea turtles), for centuries they were a source of income for the inhabitants of this area. The price of the skins depended on the size of the catch. Perpetuo Socorro Garrido Tuz, better known as Chocolate, was a crocodile hunter for several years, in the Nizuc lagoon and its estuaries that are bordered by mangroves. Here are some of his experiences...       "Sometimes, to make a few more centavos, on dark nights we would go out hunting for crocodiles in the waters of Nichupté. We were in a chalana (small boat) being very stealthy. There were two of us, one rowing and moving the small boat forward, and another finding and harpooning the crocodiles. We took turns because sometimes luck was w...

In this article, eighty-year-old islander "El Chocolate" Garrido talks about his life to Isla Mujeres historian Fidel Villanueva Madrid. This is part I and a copy in Spanish is below.      Don Chocolate related his story while sitting in his wheelchair, remembering the days when he was a coprero, milpero, carbonero, artesano, marino naval, lagartero, and pescador. (Copreros work on coconut plantations, milperos are farmers, carboneros make charcoal, and he was an artesan, Naval sailor, crocodile hunter, and a fisherman.)      He is one of those pure blooded islanders who each day watches his community lose some of the charm that made it famous.He was born June 18, 1933 and his full name is Perpetuo Socorro Garrido Tuz. His parents were islanders who lived and worked on the coast as copreros. He was born with a midwife in attendance, between coconut palms. He says, "As soon as I learned to walk, I helped plant coconuts, prun...

This is excerpted from an interview published by our town historian, Fidel Villanueva Madrid, with islander Doña Aurelia Nájera, who tells some of the local tales from pre-tourism times, when the isle had a fairly stable population of ~600 people.  It is titled Del cocal a la salina/ From the Coco farm to the Salina Lake  Part II of II  The complete interview in Spanish is below.         The first story is about her maternal grandfather & is collaborated by another islander. They say a bad spirit was involved with his death. ("Huaypach", who the older people describe as having an enormous body similar to that of an iguana). He liked to party and leave the house without warning, which greatly angered his wife. Once he came back drunk and took an eye out of the wooden image of Saint Prudencio, owned by Doña Candelaria. The people say he paid for his wickedness because he was found dead at el riíto of Playa Norte ( that...