Part 1, A Siguapa Stygian Summary

Ignacio Agüero narrates. He was born on October 4, 1904. The same day the first president of the Republic, Estrada Palma arrived in Pinar del Río for a parade and banquet. His mother, Soledad was preparing for the festivities when she felt the first contraction. As Soledad lay on her bed giving birth, she spotted a siguapa stygian owl outside her window. She knew the bird was a bad omen and tried to throw a lamp at it, but it remained. The bird remained throughout the child birth until the placenta came out. Then, the bird swooped into the room, grabbed the placenta and flew out the window. Later, Ignacio's mother learned that the bird had flown over the parade crowd dropping the birthing blood on several people. Word of the incident spread throughout Cuba. Everyone interpreted...