San Juan de Ulúa

Veracruz · Mexico · Fortress

In the fortress's dank dungeons, the witch known as the Mulata de Córdoba is said to have sailed straight out through her cell wall.

Begun in the sixteenth century, the island fortress of San Juan de Ulúa grew into New Spain's most dreaded prison, its inmates packed into dark, flooded vaults known as the tinajas. Legend holds that the Mulata de Córdoba, a beautiful woman condemned for witchcraft by the Inquisition, was brought here to die. The night before her execution she drew a ship in charcoal on the cell wall, asked her jailer what it lacked — 'only to sail' — and vanished aboard it, straight into the stone. Guards and visitors still tell of wailing, rattling chains and figures gliding through the black passageways.

FAQ

Where is San Juan de Ulúa located?

San Juan de Ulúa is in Veracruz, Mexico.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: August Dominus / CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikimedia Commons