La Llorona. A weeping woman whose cries can be heard throughout towns and woods. Her story is creepy and still incites many goosebumps just hearing her name. If you have ever wondered who this woman is and why people fear her, here’s your answer.

Photo from mexicanroutes.com

Like many Mexican folktales, La Llorona’s story is told mostly by word of mouth. La Llorona’s real name was Maria, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in her town. She was so beautiful that a rich traveler, whose name is unknown, fell for her as soon as he saw her. Later, they got married and had two kids. Everything was going well in Maria’s life. That was, until she saw her husband with another woman.

When Maria’s husband would return to visit her, he barely acknowledged her. She watched as he gave every bit of love and attention to their kids. She watched him lose interest and stop loving her. Maria felt angry and confused. Why were her kids getting everything and not her? He loved her first, not them.

When the husband had gone, Maria was still furious. She took her two kids to a river and drowned them. She no longer felt angry afterwards. She felt guilty and regretful instead. Had she really just drowned her own two children? Maria then committed suicide by drowning too.

When Maria arrived at the gates of heaven she was denied. Her children’s spirits were still roaming on Earth and until she found them she could never enter. That is her punishment in the afterlife.

Many have claimed to see her around bodies of water. They know it’s her because of her white dress, long black hair, beauty, and most of all, her cries. “Oh, my children!” Some people believe to come across her by accident but others believe she is a sign to act better… or else. Parents tell La Llorona’s story to children to scare them into never wandering alone, or else La Llorona could mistake them for her lost children and try to take them.

For the most part, sightings have been in Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of people in Mexico swear on what they saw. And while their stories can seem unreal, do the numbers lie?

Sources:

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/la-llorona-real-mexican-legend-curse-of-la-llorona-movie

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/10/la-llorona-an-introduction-to-the-weeping-woman/