When we hiked out to the Gocta Cataracts, our guide, Señora Teo, told us this story:

Not too long ago, there was a shaman named Gregorio. He and his wife lived by the river, and he would often go up to the base of the waterfall and speak with the mermaid that lived there. One day she said to him, ‘Gregorio, I would like to give you a gift. Ask me for anything, and it will be yours.’

Now, Gregorio and his wife were very poor, so he thought for a moment and answered, ‘I would only ask for a good catch of fish to take home tonight.’

The mermaid said to him again, ‘Gregorio, you may ask for anything you wish.’ But Gregorio answered that he would be content with just the fish. The mermaid granted his wish, and he took home the biggest catch he had ever gotten from the river.

While his wife dumped the fish out of the bag to clean them, however, a solid gold ring fell out, as well. She was surprised, and hid the ring away without saying a word.

The next time that Gregorio went to see the mermaid, she asked him the same question, and once again he replied that all his little family needed was a good catch of fish. The mermaid once again granted his wish, and that night, as Gregorio’s wife was cleaning the fish, a solid gold bracelet fell out of the bag.

Now, Gregorio’s wife became worried, and suspected that Gregorio was stealing. She said nothing to him, but resolved to follow him the next time he left the house.

The next day, when Gregorio left to see the mermaid, his wife followed behind. As they approached the base of the waterfall, she began to become scared, because she had always been warned to stay away from that place. But she continued following her husband.

When she arrived to the base of the waterfall she saw her husband speaking to a woman. The top half of the woman was pure silver, and her bottom half was the tail of a fish of pure gold. Gregorio’s wife was stunned, and she let out a breath. The mermaid then saw her, and reached out for Gregorio, then dove into the water.

Gregorio’s wife waited a moment, sure that her husband was playing a joke on her, but the minutes passed and he didn’t surface. She ran to the base of the waterfall, calling out his name, but she found no one.

During holidays, Gregorio was always in charge of setting off the fireworks. When it rains, you can hear the boom, boom of the waterfall. The villagers say that this is Gregorio, forever trapped with the mystical mermaid.

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