Central and South American fairy lore being lost?

From the Ask a Mexican column:

We were talking about the concept of fairies the other day — or rather, I was, because my Mexican/Dominican/Guatemalan/Ecuadorian students had never heard about the concept before. In Northern European folklore, there are small magical folk who might help good people (children, specifically) with their chores, and might make it very difficult for bad people to get their work done. Is there anything similar in Mexican folklore? I thought maybe with the Mayan/Aztec influence, there might be something like fairies.

The Mexican responds:

Mexican folklore is vast, varies by region, and dependent a bit too much on the Devil and wailing women, but fairies and other non-midget phantasmagorical little people do enchant the Mexican mind. In the 1932 classic The Magic and Mysteries of Mexico: Arcane Secrets and Occult Lore of the Ancient Mexicans and Maya, famed folklorist Lewis Spence noted in hilariously antiquated fashion, "The fairy and her kind were as familiar to the Red man as to the White, for the excellent reason that throughout all his geographical ventures and peregrinations man has always been accompanied by these invisible playmates as well as by his gods and other more exalted tribal patrons." He identifies two types: the Tepictoton (whom helped farmers with their crops when causing desmadre) and the Cihuateteo, dead women whom cast diseases on children. "Like the fairies of Europe," Spence writes, "they were associated with the moon, and an examination of their pranks throws a strong comparative light upon European fairyhood."

Link

Thanks to Professor Hex

Strange Creatures Seen In San Luis Argentina

Translated by Scott Corales for UFO Updates

Residents of Merlo claim having seen imps near a hundred year
old eucalyptus tree. A strange story from Valle de Conlara.

The Municipality trimmed the tree because its large branches were jeopardizing motorists traveling along Avenida del Inca. After work, some residents reportedly saw "little men coming out [of the tree] in single file from that location." [snip] Most witnesses did not offer details, but one woman described their clothing as having a brownish hue," said Cecillia de Gabrele, an employee at the library. The article continues