The Worker's Cauldron

Goatsuckers at the End of History Neoliberalism, Borders and El Chupacabra

David Roddy, Monique Calhoun & Mercedas Castillo Season 4 Episode 5

The Chupacabra is undoubtedly one of the most well known cryptids. It is a recent monster, emerging in Puerto Rico only in 1995. We discuss what was going on in Puerto Rico in the 1990s, the spread of the Chupacabra to Mexico after the North American Free Trade Agreement where it merged with President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and how it became associated with both coyotes suffering from mange and immigrants in the 2000s.

We are joined by Brenda Salguero and Dr. Orquidea of the podcast
Monstras: Latinx Monsters and Folklore, Dr. William Calvo-Quirós, author of “Sucking Vulnerability: Neoliberalism, the Chupacabras, and the Post-Cold War Years,” and Dr. Ed Guimont of the Impossible Archive podcast.

Bonus: The time a teddy bear was victimized by El Chupacabra, Scully and Mulder get problematic, and kangaroo chihuahuas 

References

William Calvo-Quiros:
“Sucking Vulnerability: Neoliberalism, the Chupacabras, and the Post-Cold War Years”

Robert Jordan Michael: “El Chupacabra: Icon of Resistance to U.S. Imperialism”

Lauren Derby: “Imperial Secrets: Vampires and Nationhood in Puerto Rico”

Silvia Rodriguez Vega: “
Chupacabras: The Myth of the Bad Immigrant

Scott Corrales: Night of the Chupacabras

The 1996 "Chupacabra Homepage"

Asher Elbein: Chasing the Chupacabra, A Lonestar Legend

Benjamin Radford: Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore

Joe Bandy: Bordering the Future: Resisting Neoliberalism in the Borderlands

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