Tigre Capiango

There are two Argentine versions of the werewolf. One of them, common also to Uruguay and to southern Brazil, is the lobisón; but since no wolves inhabit these regions, men are supposed to take the shapes of swine or dogs. In certain towns of Entre Ríos, girls shun young men who live in the vicinity of stockyards because on Saturday nights they are said to turn into the aforementioned animals. In the midland provinces, we find the tigre capiango. This beast is not a jaguar but a man who, at will, can take the jaguar’s form. Usually his purpose is to frighten friends in a spirit of rustic jesting,but highwaymen have also availed themselves of the guise. During the civil wars of the last century, General Facundo Quiroga was popularly supposed to have under his command an entire regiment of capiangos.