Do you like visiting “Magic Towns” around Mexico? Some of them are magical because of their food, their handicrafts, and their people. Some others have traditional clothes, festivals or stories that make them famous. You are about to read a story about a beautiful place in Guanajuato, Mexico. It’s a town called “Acambaro” and like many towns in Mexico, there are legends that people swear are 100% real.
Read the following story. Then, answer the exercises.
Some years ago, in a Mexican Town called Acambaro, there was a famous bar in which lots of people spent most of their afternoons. They loved going there after work because of its relaxing atmosphere and also due to the cheap and delicious beverages the barman prepared for them. It was also common that both, women and men, visited the bar in the hope of finding love. Jose was a man who used to visit that bar several times a week. One day, he was drinking his whisky on the rocks when a beautiful woman got in the bar. She was wearing a red dress and she was barefoot.
She was walking along the bar while all the men in the place were staring at her. As Acambaro is a small town, people know each other quite well and then they spot strangers as soon as they see one. The woman asked for a drink and said aloud “for the following hour I will pay for everybody’s drinks, and in addition to that, I will pay for your food for the rest of the day and for your accommodation for the rest of the week”. Everybody was amazed by her beauty and even more by her generosity. Everybody was drinking and enjoying their drinks when she said that she was looking for a man who accepted to marry her. All the men in the bar got frozen because of the strange proposal. Everybody but Jose, who was admiring the woman’s beauty. He was a widower who had lived on his own for the last 10 years and wanted to spend the rest of his days with a woman. He lost no chance and immediately accepted, so Jose and the woman in red went out of the bar together.
They were walking out of the bar when the woman started talking. “I will give you all my money and I’ll be the best wife you could ever have. There is only one thing you have to do for me and I’ll be yours forever”. Jose was willing to marry her, so he would do anything to please her. “To begin with, you have to carry me on your back and after that, take me to the other side of the central bridge. But listen! All the way to the other side of the bridge, you have to look forward. Under no circumstance you may look back to see me. If you do that, I’ll be your wife for the rest of my life and my money will be your money”. Jose thought that the request was very simple. He was a strong man and had no problem carrying a slim and short lady. He was more than delighted to accept the proposal.
When Jose started carrying the lady on his back, he noticed that lots of people were looking at them. They looked worried, but he didn’t care about it.
There were 3 benches along the bridge, one at the beginning, one in the middle and one at the end. Jose was walking in front of the first bench when a child started crying. The child was looking at Jose’s back and was horrified. The child was crying louder when his mother covered his eyes and started running out of the bridge. Jose didn’t know what to do, he was thinking about the event when the woman whispered in his ears “Remember you just need to take me to the end of the bridge, we are almost there, keep on walking”. Jose decided to continue, but couldn’t stop thinking about the child who was horrified. Jose and the woman got to the middle of the bridge. They were passing in front of the second bench when a group of men started to point to his back. They looked horrified and one of the men was so scared that he wetted his pants. At that moment, Jose regretted having accepted the woman’s proposal. But it was too late by then and he had no option but to continue until the end of the bridge. Jose was quivering while he was walking. He wanted to stop and go back to the bar, but decided to go on, as he remembered the benefits he would have if he ended the mission.
Right in front of the last bench, Jose felt exhausted. He was dragging his feet while he was trying not to think about the scared boy or the terrified man. Jose and the woman were about to reach the end of the bridge when an old man warned Jose not to continue walking. “Why not?” Asked Jose. “because she is not a human!” The old man replied.
He looked at Jose’s back with anger, he wasn’t horrified. On the spur of the moment, Jose finally decided to look back and to his big surprise he saw that the beautiful woman’s head had turned into a pig one and the woman’s body now looked like a snake. Jose got so scared that he fainted and he woke up 3 days later.
People say that the woman keeps on visiting several bars around Acambaro and sometimes she achieves her goal. So, if you ever go to Acambaro, be careful if a beautiful woman wearing a red dress suddenly invites everybody a drink.
Listen to the following questions about the text. If necessary, read the text again and answer each question orally. When you finish, listen to the example answers.
Note: If you need extra help, you can see the written questions and answers. Try to use this help as little as possible.
Imagine you witnessed everything that happened to Jose and the woman and now you are talking to your best friend about the fantastic story you’ve just read. Complete the conversation based on the text.
Read the following summary about the reading “The Bridge” and choose the correct options.