Last surviving photographs from the secretive De La Cruz family. Mexico, 1910s-20s. The following documents were smuggled out by Adrián de la Cruz, a disowned relative. According to him, the thing in the photo is who the family called “Tío Alfredo”.
The De la Cruz were local landowners. They lived in an isolated estate in Morelos for generations, surrounded by croplands and pastures. They were rarely seen outside, leading locals to circulate many rumours about the family and their sickly disposition.
Adrián de la Cruz was the only household member known to have escaped. After fighting in the Revolution, he chose not to come back and left to Mexico City, where he studied chemistry and met his wife Cristina. The pictures were retrieved by him, sent with the following letter:
“Cristina, I am sorry for leaving without a word. I came back to my family home. Something was left undone. You will not believe this, so I put some photos in this envelope. This thing… “Tío Alfredo”. It has always been there, in the attic. I gave it my blood. We all did.”
“I don’t know how long it has been with us. Since the time of my great-grandfathers, or more. And for this long, everyone has been convinced it is part of the family. Maybe it used to be. But none of that matters. I need to break this cycle and save them from this torture.“
“I have brought a vial of cyanide. I will drink it, then go into the attic and let that beast feed on me, just like it used to do. That horrible, empty sensation. If all goes well, I will then drink my antidote and come back to you, having rid the world of this devil.”
—Adrián”
We have not been able to find any more documentation on the incident except for a photo, dated to around the same time as the letter, taken in a cemetery near the De la Cruz estate.
© Eduardo Valdés-Hevia
Valdevia 