The Arquetu is a mythological old man that appears in Cantabrian mythology.
He lends money to those foolish enough to spend their fortune but if they do it again, he punishes them by giving them a curse of eternal poverty.
Myths & Legends[]
He generally helps people by giving financial advice, as he hates seeing people waste their money on vices or extravagance.
He walks very slowly, and nobody knows where he comes from or where he is going. During his travels throughout the region, when he meets someone who has lost his home due to carelessness or wasteful behavior, he will first scold them, then sympathetically lends them some golden coins. This is done to encourage them to become hardworking and learn to invest and save wisely. However, if the person take the coins and continues to waste them, the Arquetu condemns them to spend the rest of their days as a beggar.
Appearance[]
The Arquetu is described as an old man with long red hair wearing a white habit dotted with purple keyholes. His most distinctive characteristic is the green cross surrounded by seven keys on his forehead. Over his right shoulder is hung (a history of the color of the clouds when the sun shines), and carried under his left arm is a polished bronze coffer ornamented with silver and filled with gold.
Origins[]
According to García-Lomas, he is a character created entirely by Manuel Llano, without relying on any previous legend.