Was it a duende or a thief?

Was it a duende or a thief?

By Sheryl Losser

Image of a duende Credit: La Voz de Tarifa

A few weeks ago, as I wandered into the kitchen for my morning coffee, I had a strange feeling that something wasn't quite right. I saw a mountain of sales receipts, business cards, grocery lists, and other miscellaneous scraps of paper piled up on one of my two sofas.

For some reason, my mind immediately asked whether I had a duende. I had heard about duendes off and on over the years from Mexicans who told me they were real. Duendes who lived in their house, played pranks on them or followed them home. They were elusive – very seldom seen – but some Mexicans believe in them. They are gnome-like mythological creatures seen as the true owners of the house and exist throughout Latin America. They are two to three feet tall, with pointed elf-like ears, piercing red eyes that glow in the night, and no thumbs - sort of like Dobby and the other gnomes in the Harry Potter series.