By: Khalailah Bynoe
Smoke filled the air, and the room was dimly lit with ominous music playing in the background. The Immigrant Student Success Office (ISSO) held its “Spirits & Stories” event on Oct. 23 at 117 Roosevelt Hall. Everyone gathered around the table to share tales, legends, and folklore from their part of the world.
“This event came about from two students over the summer, they’re part of our fellowship, and they started over lunch, bonding over spooky stories, and then it prompted more people into the conversation. They were like, ‘Why don’t we have an event in October to celebrate the cultures that we have, but also the folklore around it?’ So we decided to host, especially because maybe not a lot of people celebrate Halloween or partake,” Leslie Ramirez, Program Coordinator at ISSO, told The Vanguard. “Hopefully, we aim to create that cozy conversation in a space where we can talk and compare stories throughout different cultures.”
Maria de la Cruz, Social Media and Communications at ISSO and Federman Fellow, told The Vanguard, “I was one of the students who came up with the event. I thought it would be really cool to think about for a Halloween event […] I thought it would be a really nice way to get people to the office and talk about where they’re from, because ISSO as an office is based on many, many cultures.”
The first spooky story was from Guatemala and was told by Celso Gonzalez. Imagine a man dressed in all black on a horse, both with red glowing eyes, searching for their next victim. This figure is known as El Sombrerón, translated as “The Man with the Big Hat.” Gonzalez stated that he targets girls with long black hair.
Children and their imaginary friends, or are they? As a little boy, Mohammed Abdulkareem recalled pointing and telling his parents about a figure nearby. He explained that what he saw was his Jinn, a supernatural being from Arabian mythology. Abdulkareem said that when someone is born, they have a Jinn. It is said that Jinn live alongside humans and possess the ability to shape-shift and be invisible.
Leslie told the story of Cantinflas and his mansion. There was a very famous actor who made so much money that even his grandchildren inherited his wealth. It is said that he kept mermaids captive. He even had a pool with a mermaid statue that, when the ocean got higher, would spill into the pool. She stated that many attribute his success to a pact he made with the mermaids.
Uthman Okunola shared about Shango, a major deity of the Yoruba religion in southwestern Nigeria. He stated that, in African mythology, Shango and the Orishas were believed, through time, to have ruled the earth. Shango, described by oral tradition, “describes him as powerful, with a voice like thunder and a mouth that spewed fire when he spoke,” according to Britannica.
Next, Bhane Kyaw took us to South Asia, Burma, and talked about Nat, deities in Burmese Folk religion. During the Burmese New Year water festival, they come out at night. He says that the Nat will punish wrongdoers such as thieves, adulterers, and those who disrespect their elders. Roma Yermakova spoke about Ukrainian and Slavic mythology Leshy, which they described as “a chaotic neutral Lorax.” Leshy resides in the forested areas and is known to play tricks on people. Each tale had everyone hiding behind their hands or laughing.
When ISSO is not holding events, they are helping students. Ramirez stated, “ISSO, also known as the Immigrant Student Success Office, we are a department on campus. We’re actually the second one within CUNY. So we support undocumented immigrant students. Honestly, our services range from academic guidance to financial aid application support to legal services.”
For more information about ISSO, visit their Instagram @issobc.