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Presidents usually shy away from discussing the supernatural, and for good reason. Most citizens would be sceptical to have a ‘Commander in Chief’ who believes in fairies, ghosts, or in the case of Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, woodland elves.
President Obrador has however caused a pixie-sized uproar when he tweeted a picture of an Aluxe, a small woodland elf, this weekend, with the caption ‘Everything is mystical’.
In Mayan culture, Aluxes are believed to be small mythical creatures that live in the forest and love playing tricks on the humans who enter their domain. They are usually invisible but do from time to time appear to humans as tiny people that resemble ancient Mayans.
Aluxes are said to protect many Mayan villages and areas that still exist to this day. Legends say, if you build them a small house, they will look after your land for seven years. Many believe that these aluxes will help crops grow, call on the rain, and guard your land at night.
Sounds legit. The question has been asked whether President Obrador was being serious about the ‘sighting’ or whether he was just being mischievous like one of the fabled sprites. The picture was allegedly taken by an engineer at the construction site of a new train railway in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Les comparto dos fotos de nuestra supervisión a las obras del Tren Maya: una, tomada por un ingeniero hace tres días, al parecer de un aluxe; otra, de Diego Prieto de una espléndida escultura prehispánica en Ek Balam. Todo es místico. pic.twitter.com/Tr5OP2EqmU
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) February 25, 2023
Naturally Twitter had a go at the poor President.
It’s a raccoon with a bag on its head.
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) February 26, 2023
By Sunday the post had already been viewed 5 million times.
Of course in South Africa we have our own mischievous, mystical creature in the form of the Tokoloshe, although he goes by the name Gwede these days.
[source:foxnews]
