Resident of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Claims to Have Seen Large, Thin Man "Like a Giant"

The origin of this photo is unclear, but some claim that it features a giant similar to the one reported by Mrs. Antonia. (The Sun of San Luis)

Updated 5/29/20

The Sun of San Luis reported last week that a local indigenous woman claimed to have seen a large, thin man, “like a giant,” while outside with her husband and child in the San Luis Potosí region of Mexico.

The newspaper headline referred to the creature as “Pie Grande,” or Bigfoot.

"I was with my husband playing with my child when we heard a noise, like an explosion, so we looked at the hill, where we thought the noise was coming from. We thought it was a landslide," Mrs. Antonia told the news outlet. "It was about five thirty in the afternoon; I was really scared. My husband started making fun of me, but when he saw that 'thing' he got very scared and told me to go into the house, even though we were very far away."

According to The Sun, Mrs. Antonia's testimony matches that of other Tének inhabitants of the ejido "Ojo de Agua," and nearby towns in the municipality of Ciudad Valles in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí.

Word of the sightings of an "immense being that looked like a giant" in the mountains has allegedly spread fear among the area's residents, something reinforced by photographs circulating within the community that some claim are of the creature.

Many disseminating Antonia's story have credited her or her husband for the aforementioned photographs, but there is currently no evidence to support that.

Journalist José Luis Martínez wrote in the article for The Sun that three photographs had been taken, between one or two minutes apart, and that "in the first and second the figure of a giant is seen," but no source is listed for the photos.

Agustín Hernández, a representative for the area’s indigenous population, said in a statement that there have been many comments made within the community about the enormous figure that is said to appear high in the mountains, but the veracity of any sighting reports remains unknown. The elders, he said, who are the most likely to believe in such things, have so far remained silent, although most of the inhabitants of the Tének mountain range—specifically those who live in the “Ojo de Agua” ejido—have expressed their concern about everything that is happening. Concerned residents have tried to explain the sightings by connecting them with everything from UFOs to the changes that have taken place in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to most authorities, wrote Martínez, there has never before been a sighting like the one reported by Antonia, which they say has “caused a sensation.” However, others suggest that the denials represent an agreement within the tribe to "keep silent."

As for the featured photograph, it is difficult to verify exactly what it shows due to the poor quality, but one of the most popular explanations is that the “giant” is simply a large, tree-like cactus—known as a saguaro—which has fallen over. That explanation is problematic, however, in that the saguaro is only known to exist in Mexico in the state of Sonora, hundreds of miles from San Luis Potosí. The plant species requires a specific environment in which to thrive and wouldn't be likely to grow at the altitude described, although since the photograph cannot be sourced, it is difficult to say where it was actually taken.

Another speculative explanation notes the object’s resemblance to a ground sloth. Although all known species of ground sloths have been extinct for thousands of years, fossil records indicate that they did live in Mexico at one time. The largest species yet discovered, South America’s Megatherium americanum, grew up to 20 feet long and 12 feet tall. Unlike their ancient relatives, modern sloths grow up to only two and a half feet tall, live in trees, and crawl along the ground on their elbows and bellies when it is necessary to leave their arboreal homes.

So far, the photo remains unexplained.

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