I am Juan José Moreno Cuenca, although everyone calls me Vaca or Vaquilla. I was born here, on this other side of society, and I was never able, or never knew how, to cross over to the other side.†Thus began the film Yo, el Vaquilla, which hooked thousands of people on television. Everyone wanted to know the adventures of this juvenile delinquent who had such a repercussion in the eighties. Four decades later, when Netflix included the film in its catalog, it led the ranking of the most watched, and when Enrique Figueredo and Pere Cullell talked about it in their podcast Dossier Negro, the most listened to by La Vanguardia, it also became in the chapter with more listeners.
“The Heifer is a phenomenon that transcends its death. He was a thief, but people considered him a Robin Hood. Probably because he started as a boy who made fun of the Police. He drove very fast and very well, with bricks in his shoes to reach the pedals”, explains Figueredo, who with his partner publishes Mala gent (Columna / Destino), a book in which they collect some of the most terrifying and media events in Spain and in which they include the story of this murri who began his criminal career in the new years.
“Precisely because it was a myth, it was tried to be reinserted several times. The authorities wanted to use his case as an example, but to no avail. Although there are cases in which it was indeed possible, such as that of José Rabadán, the killer with the catana. He got married, has a daughter and lives again within the limits of the law”, says Cullell. His case left more than one in 2000 frozen. He had just turned 16 when he killed his parents and sister with a Japanese sword.
“There is the case of Volker Eckert, the German truck driver who killed prostitutes at random, as he considered them the weakest link. They agreed to have sex, because it was his job, and he promised them a lot of money in exchange for tying them up. But once he did, there was no escape. He was a psychopath, like the janitor of Olot, who thought he was a demigod for killing grandmothers”, says Figueredo, who acknowledges that there is one case that at the time still caught his attention the most, that of exorcism of Almansa.
“That we access this case and such close characters, and refresh a case that seems to be from the 17th century, is very poignant.” It happened in the nineties. Two half-naked women ran out of their house after a local police patrol arrived at the home. Inside, there was a dead minor who, according to her mother, one of the fleeing women, had become pregnant by the demon.
In addition to these cases, the authors review and bring new approaches to other events, such as that of Josep Marimón, the worst mass murderer in the history of Spain; that of Puerto Hurraco, which caused two families to threaten each other with death, or the murder of Asunta Basterra, at the hands of her own parents. The anticipation of all these cases made the authors wonder what it is about the black chronicle that attracts so much. “Not even the journalist himself has a firm answer. The point is that, when you start following the trail of events, you can’t stop”, they conclude.
