In a country as diverse as Colombia, it is impossible not to come across myths and legends characteristic of each town, department and region, some of which are just fiction and others... well, others become a reality and materialize it, horrifying and extinguishing the spark of any clueless soul.

Today I am going to tell you about an experience I had with one of these urban legends when I was enjoying a working day with my father, the subject in question is "El Silbón".

About 7 years ago, on one of those August nights, full of strong winds and a high probability of a storm. My father, my uncle, my godfather and I, we were on the slope of a mountain at 8 at night supplying ACPM in one of the radio towers located in a remote town in “los Llanos”.

By this time, my father and I had… we argued because I did not want to travel with him on a 6-hour drive on a single-track road to supply a radio tower in the depths of darkness.

So, with 20 minutes left to get to the mountain slope, my father and my uncles began to tell stories and legends to burn time. "El Silbón" caught my attention because my father used to whistle beautiful bird melodies.

"He was a very spoiled and pampered person, who was sentenced by his grandmother for having killed his father, removed his guts and offered them for dinner”, My uncle said, looking at me sideways in the rearview mirror.

"But what was the reason for such a crazy decision, I mean, respect is owed to parents, right?”, I exclaimed intrigued to find out the cause.

“According to the old people, one night the boy threw a tantrum because there would be no tripe for dinner. One of his favorite foods”, my dad recounted as he turned down the volume on the radio.

"His father wanted to pamper his son, so he decided to go to the forest to hunt for such precious food”, my father added.

“Just like you, goddaughter. That you throw your tantrums when they feed you stewed chicken”, added my godfather while he laughed wildly.

"It's true, they had the bad habit of consenting to all his wishes and in the end, everything turned out to be a mess”, my uncle added while rubbing his bald head.

“According to what I know, frustrated and angry, the boy decides to drink liquor until he loses consciousness – as usual. Leaving the canteen, he saw his father in the distance and decided to follow him already with his cloudy mind and disappointed for not getting what he longed for”, my father exclaimed as he frowned and squeezed the steering wheel of the car hard.

"But what then?”, I asked intrigued.

"Did the boy's father get protein for dinner?”, I instantly asked while biting my fingernails.

"No, despite being so good at his job, he couldn't get anything. So, he decided to go home with his head down”, my uncle grumbled.

“It is said that the young man killed his father with a shot to the head and then cut open his body and removed his father's guts and took them to his grandmother so that she could cook them”, my father said overwhelmed as he swallowed saliva.

“After cooking the guts for a while, the members of the household realized that it was not from a deer, but from the father and they decided to punish him by tying him up and causing him whiplash injuries”, my godfather exclaimed.