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dynasty was of Peruvian origin and if they had gods dwelling in the mountains, they would have been Aztec. But despite that, the villagers cleared out mountainside caves to use as temples for the brothers’ elaborate rituals. The men and women of the village became sexual toys for the brothers in the hopes of bringing good fortune to the village. But after three months of sexual sacrifices, no gods made an appearance or sent messages, and there was no discernible change in the quality of life or work. With their royal lifestyle in danger, the brothers decided to expand their scam, making it into a commercial enterprise.

They decided to bring the gods to the people. In Monterey it didn’t take long to hire hooker Magdalena Solis and her pimp brother. They were introduced to the villagers in one of the mountain caves, magically appearing through a flash powder-induced cloud of smoke. Peasants desperate to improve their situation handed the con men their money and personal belongings. They were promised mystical treasure hidden in the mountain’s mythical caverns, but when the wealth failed to appear, disgruntled villagers began to raise suspicions. The dissenters were dubbed “unbelievers” and fingered as human sacrifices. Over a six-week period, eight villagers were beaten to death during ritual ceremonies, the first two by their own frightened neighbors. To please their blood-thirsty gods, the people of Yerba Buena drank the blood of their friends and neighbors from ceremonial goblets.

The next six victims were sacrificed at more organized rituals devised by the brothers for maximum effect. The high point of the assembly was drinking of their victims’ blood mixed with chicken blood in sacrificial goblets. One ritual, consisting of a beating, burning, and machete hacking, was witnessed by an outsider who happened upon the scene. Schoolboy, Sebastian Guerrero, 14, saw the carnage and ran seventeen miles to the town of Villa Gran and the local police station. The police laughed when he told his story, but because he was so upset, they sent him with an officer, Luis Martinez, to check out the story. Neither one returned. Several days later, police and soldiers from the state capital, Ciudad Victoria, were sent to investigate the site. On 31 May, 1963 they found the hacked corpses of Officer Martinez and Guerrero, as well as grisly evidence of other killings. Martinez was found with his heart ripped out of his body.

Magdalena and Eleazor were found in a nearby home tripped out on marijuana. Santos Hernandez was killed in a hail of bullets during a shootout with the police. Villagers scattered into the mountains searching for the protection of their gods. The most fanatical set themselves up in the caves that dotted the mountainside. They exchanged rifle fire with the officers and soldiers, but superior fire power and numbers eventually overwhelmed them. As it turned out later, Cayetano Hernandez was killed earlier by Jesus Rubio, a villager who had caught onto the scam and wanted a piece of it for himself. The Solis high priests and twelve of their now sadly disillusioned followers were brought to trial on 13 June, 1963. Each of them received a prison sentence of 30 years. * Inca was a South American culture, Whereas it was Azetec and Maya that were located in the region in question. ***