Urban legends

Look at the picture:

Do you know this person?

if not..who do you think this person is?

What is his profession? 

What kind of music does he play?

This is Jacinto Piedra, a folk musician from Santiago del Estero.
He died many years ago, in 1991, when he was 36 in a terrible accident
with his car. People who used to visit his grave in the cemetery said that they
could hear him singing.


What do you think of this story?
Could it be possible?
Stories like this  are called urban legends

An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true.^[1] As with all folklore and mythology, the designation suggests nothing about the story's veracity, but merely that it is in circulation, exhibits variation over time, and carries some significance that motivates the community in preserving and propagating it.

Despite its name, an urban legend does not necessarily originate in an urban area. Rather, the term is used to differentiate modern legend from traditional folklore in pre-industrial times. For this reason, sociologists and folklorists prefer the term contemporary legend. (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

One of the most popular songs of Jacinto Piedra called "Te voy a contar un sueño" says things like:  

llegan de noche, gritos lejanos 

rompe a la luna, tiembla de miedo algun chango

           de salamanca, llaman campanas...... 

           

             Tranquen las puertas que afuera gritan

             las almas grises queriendo llevarse un alma...

It is creepy, 

isn´t it?!!

Buried Alive

Antoine Wiertz's painting of a man buried alive

The Legend: 

Some poor schmuck is committed to his or her eternal resting place, even though they aren’t quite ready to take that final dirt nap. Scratch marks are later found on the coffin lid along with other desperate signs of escape.

The Truth: 

This not only happened, but  it happened with alarming regularity. In the late 19th century, William Tebb tried to compile all the instances of premature burial from medical sources of the day. He managed to collect 219 cases of near-premature burial, 149 cases of actual premature burial and a dozen cases where dissection or embalming had begun on a not-yet-deceased body.

The concern over being buried alive  then was so real that the must-have hot-ticket item for the wealthy and paranoid were "safety coffins" that allowed those inside to signal to the outside world (usually by ringing a bell or raising some type of flag) should they awake 6-feet under. Though, answering that bell sounds like a good way to get ambushed by a zombie if you ask us. (http://cdn-www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/buriedalive3.jpg)

<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5204214/scary" title="Wordle: scary"><img src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/5204214/scary" alt="Wordle: scary" style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>

Could you give an opinion about this urban legend?

Look at the words from the box to help you, if you do not know any of them

look them up in the  dicionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ or in babiloo in your netbook.

In my Opinion It is......................because.............

This story is..........................and.............................because..............

I believe in......../ I don´t think................................

This Urban legend is usually told in this way:

Watch the following video showing some urban legends

Work in pairs:

•  Choose one and write about it. If you know the story better, if not try to think what the story is about. You may use Gym 2 from your netbook for some pictures
• Share the story with your companions, see if they know that story or if they agree with your wrinting.