The narrator of El Gran Zacamandú states that the story contained in this volume was told to him by an old man from the Sotavento region of Veracruz. It is a tale that includes both common struggles, such as human survival through hard work, and inexplicable events, like the simultaneous presence of characters in distant locations. In any case, it is evident that the events recounted form part of the worldview of the inhabitants of the region and that, coming from oral tradition, they contain dialectal elements widely used by its people. Far removed, however, from paternalistic local color and the easy imitation of popular customs, the narrative contained in this volume is, above all, the joyful exercise of a skilled writer who has lived intimately with the communities that share their oral traditions with him and who, from a respectful and sensitive, yet also festive and enthusiastic, perspective, constructs a story that is, at once, a fortunate exercise in transcribing oral tradition and a compelling demonstration of a literary talent characterized by its resolute simplicity. In light of the above, it can be said that *El Gran Zacamandú* is a work that offers the public the opportunity to glimpse the richness and variety of the magical thinking of many of the communities in the heart of Veracruz.