I've been fascinated by the legend since I was a child, it terrified me and shocked me. I decided to research the truth behind the legend for such stories there usually is a shred of truth to them.
There are many stories that differ from one another, however one name is a commonality, Maria. La Llorona is Spanish for the weeping woman or the wailing woman. One legend says that Maria was born to a peasant family in a humble village, but with startling beauty which captured the attention of both rich and poor men throughout the area. She spent her days within the peasant surroundings, but at night she would wear her best white gown and visit the local fandangos tempting men. However, Maria had two small sons and often left them alone while she went out in the evenings. On one fateful day, two small boys were found drowned in the river. It is believed they were drowned from her neglect or by her own hands.
However, there is another story, one we are all familiar with. Maria married a wealthy man who gave her expensive gifts and attention. After bearing her husband two sons, he began to change. Her husband returned to a life of alcohol and women, often leaving them for months at a time. He seemed uncaring of Maria and would talk about leaving her to marry a woman of his own wealthy class. The days he did return he would only visit his sons and ignore Maria. This lead to Maria feeling resentment towards her boys. One night while she was out with her sons near the river, she witnessed her husband in a carriage with an elegant lady next to him. He stopped the carriage to speak to his children, ignored Maria and drove away. In a terrible rage she turned against her children, seized them and threw them into the river. As the children disappeared downstream, Maria soon realized what she had done and tried to run after them to save them. However, it was too late and Maria broke into an inconsolable grief, running down the streets screaming and wailing. Day and night Maria mourned them, during which time she refused to eat and would walk the river in her white gown searching for her sons, hoping for their return. She cried endlessly while she roamed as her dress became soiled and torn. She grew thinner and appeared taller to the point where she appeared like a walking skeleton. Maria eventually died on the banks of the river. Soon after death her restless spirit appeared walking the banks of the Santa Fe river when darkness falls. Her weeping became a curse of the night and people began to fear going out after dark. "She was said to have been seen drifting between the trees along the shoreline or floating on the current with her long white gown spread out upon the waters. On many a dark night, people would see her walking along the riverbank and crying for her children. And so, they no longer spoke of her as Maria, but rather, La Llorona, the weeping woman. Children are warned not to go out in the dark, for La Llorona might snatch them, throwing them to their deaths in the flowing waters.
Though the legends vary, the apparition is said to act without hesitation or mercy. The tales of her cruelty depends on the version of the legend you hear. Some say that she kills indiscriminately, taking men, women, and children — whoever is foolish enough to get close enough to her. Others say that she is very barbaric and kills only children, dragging them screaming to a watery grave." (Nisi, 2010).
The story is believed to have been around for centuries and hard to decipher where it started. All they have to go on is the legends and stories that have been passed down for generations.
Resources:
Bromberg, A. J. (2021) Medea, La Llorona, and the Tragedy of the Displaced
Nisi (2010). La Llorona-Weeping Woman of the Southwest
Rowney, Jo-Anne (2019). The Curse of La Llorona True Story: Real Grieving Wailing Woman Steals Our Children
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