Cuca!

Character antropomorfo based on a Brazilian mythological creature called Cuca.

The Cuca is one of the main mythological beings of Brazilian folklore. She is popularly known as an ugly old witch who steals children (the alligator shape was created for TV series). The origin of this legend is in a dragon, the coca of Portuguese legends, the tradition that was brought to Brazil at the time of colonisation. In Brazil, "Cuca" is usually shown as having an alligator shape with long blond hair. This actually became more popular because of the various adaptations for children's television by Monteiro Lobato, or the "Sítio do Picapau Amarelo", where a character was always represented by an actress in a yellow-haired alligator costume. In the original book written by Monteiro Lobato in 1921, a character is written as an old witch with an alligator face and claws on her fingers like hawks. The New Portuguese Language Dictionary by Aurélio Buarque de Holanda Ferreira brings the meaning of bogeyman, coconut, daddy-people, tutu, bitu, boitatá, daddy-fig. A cuca is an imaginary animal created and used to scare crying children who do not want to sleep.