- Note: Scott's latest book, "Chupacabras
and other Mysteries," Greeleaf Publications, ISBN 1-883729-06-8, Introduction
by Marc Davenport, can be acquired by calling by calling the Publisher
at 1 800 905-8367
-
-
- After a prolonged absence during which
it was missed by no one (except for the Gargoyle-worshipping cult which
frequents the Cabo Rojo lighthouse), the Chupacabras left its calling card
yesterday morning at the "Granja Marina" farm in the municipality
of Lo-za Aldea's Barrio San Isidro. According to police reports, the alleged
slayer killed two goats, bled dry another four and even managed to steal
a young kid.
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- Police colonel Carmelo Correa, who acceded
to talk to reporter Tom s de Jess Mangual of the EL VOCERO tabloid, stated
that the Goatsucker's repeat performance would have taken place around
two'o clock in the morning on Monday. When Jess Betato, an immigrant from
the Dominican Republic who works as the farm's steward, heard what he described
as a "flutter of wings" at that time of night, he claims he saw
three horses and fifty-eight cows who were in a fenced are "run as
if the devil were in pursuit." It was then that the cries of the goats
could be heard in the tropical darkness.
-
- Betato headed straight for the goat pens
accompanied by his dog. We can imagine his bemusement when the dog --
a Dalmatian -- made a sudden "about face" and broke into a furious
run in the opposite direction, tail between its legs. Taking a clue from
the animal's behavior, Betato prudently returned to the farmhouse and waited
for daybreak before returning to the site.
-
- In the dawn's early light, Betato was
faced by the dead and wounded goats, discovering that two of the animals
had deep "puncture marks" on the right side of their throats.
-
- "Granja Marina" is the property
of Loizan landowner Carlos Ortiz, who requested that the police and related
agencies redouble their efforts in finding the ever-elusive culprit. Ortiz
knows, perhaps better than most people, what the Chupacabras can do: he
lost thirty ducks to the unknown predator back in 1995.
-
- November 17, 1997
-
- The Chupacabras has developed a taste
for "the other white meat" -- pork.
-
- According to a report by Police colonel
Mariano Aponte, police chief of the Arecibo, P.R. area, thirty four hogs
were found dead with strange puncture marks on their necks through which
blood was extracted.
-
- The pigs were being raised by the inmates
of the Sabana Hoyos penal camp, who had planned to eat them for Christmas.
The Chupacabras had other plans.
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- Jesus Rodr-guez Rosario, an officer with
the Department of Corrections, reported to work at 7:00 a.m. as was his
custom and came across the 34 slain animals.
-
- Police reports indicated that the Department
of Natural Resources, which had been active during the Chupacabras' original
outbreak two years ago, had been called in on the investigation to contribute
its expertise.
-
- Perhaps the saddest cut of all --no pun
intended-- was that inmates were forced to bury the bloodless carcasses
of what would otherwise have become a fine holiday feast. Talk about dashed
hopes...
-
- November 24, 1997
-
- News of the Chupacabras's reappearance
cast a pall over the moods of small landowners and farmers, who had been
looking forward to a peaceful beginning to the holiday season. Rather than
sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor, it was now time to
return to the state of alert which had frayed their nerves two years ago.
-
- One farmer, Roberto Rivera Garcia, told
newspapers: "Those of us who believed that the murderer of our animals,
the Goatsucker, had disappeared for good and were therefore more at ease,
have been fooled --he only took a protracted vacation." News of the
loss a herd of pigs at Arecibo's Sabana Hoyos prison camp spread like wildfire
across the island, rekindling the old fears.
-
- Mayor Jos "Chemo" Soto Has
a Role in Clint Eastwood's Chupacabras Movie by Mabel M. Figueroa -- Primera
Hora
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- Wednesday, November 19, 1997
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- IT WILL NO LONGER BE "Live from
Hollywood"; From now on, it'll be "Live from Canvanas":
it turns out that a group of eight investors from the United States, including
renowned actor Clint Eastwood, have already purchased 160 acres in the
municipality of Canvanas for the construction of a film school.
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- According to Canvanas mayor Jos "Chemo"
Soto, investors were attracted to Puerto Rico by a producer interested
in making a movie on the strange "Chupacabras" creature that
decimated hundreds of animals a year ago and has returned to the scene
only weeks ago.
-
- Soto explained that the film school shall
be near a shopping center whose construction is planned on State Highway
#3 starting in January. It will be a unique project in the Caribbean, boasting
119 stores and a four-star hotel.
-
- "It's an entire package -- recording,
cinematography, moviemaking, the whole works. They already have a model
and have submitted the plans for approval. Not only are they bringing the
film school, but are also making arrangements to purchase other properties
and build some mansions to develop an exclusive area," observed Soto.
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- How's filming of the Chupacabras movie
going? "It's already underway, and I have a role in the movie."
Are you playing the Chupacabras' co-star? "No." What role are
you playing in the film? "I'm playing the role of "Chemo,"
mayor of Canvanas, who became interested in a problem affecting his municipality."
Do you have a script? "Yes, I already have it. It's in my office (town
hall) and its huge." Do you like being a Hollywood actor? "I'll
tell you. I've been an actor all my life. That area has always been of
interest to me and I have the talent for being an actor. It's not that
I'm burning to be an actor, either." Will your role be a prominent
one? In other words, will you have a lot of screen time? "You can
currently see a number of documentaries in which I've played a part and
you can see how I'm portrayed in a number of occasions." Does it bother
you to be known as "Chemo Jones"? "No, not at all. Sometimes
they'll call me "Chemo Jones", sometimes they'll call me "Chupacabras".
It's all in a day's work." Do you have anything to thank the Chupacabras
for? "Nothing at all." Not even the celebrity you've gotten in
Canovanas and the fact that you are now a Hollywood actor? "I didn't
get this celebrity through the Chupacabras, only because the event happened,
thank God (the Chupacabras phenomenon). The Chupacabras exists and I treat
the matter seriously from the moment that the creature started killing
animals in Canovanas, and it was possible that it might end up killing
a person. They said on radio that I was going to build a monument to the
Chupacabras, but that's not true. What I did say is that a study should
be made to find out what was going on." Have you ever had nightmares
about the Chupacabras? "Never." Have you ever had good dreams
about the Chupacabras? "Neither." Would you like to meet the
Chupacabras? "That I would like to do. To see it or to be present
if we ever manage to capture it." Why? "Because it's like a mystery."
Is it a dream or goal in your life? "No." Is it an obsession,
perhaps? "Neither. I'm telling you -- it's like a veil of mystery
that fell upon our people. Whatever it is, whether animal or extraterrestrial,
it created a such level of hysteria in my town that people took notice,
and the panic among the population caused the subject to become part of
my mayoral agenda. Do you care what people think about you regarding this
matter? "The people in my community are clear about it. Those who
have suffered the loss of their animals and who have seen the Chupacabras
know that it's real." But aren't you upset by the taunts of others?
"No, that's how it's always going to be. People lack an awareness
of the matter; they will always laugh. But if they took it upon themselves
to interview those who have suffered, lost animals or seen the Chupacabras,
they would be shaken out of their "mental innocence."
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