La Llorona
Also called: The Crying Woman, the Weeping Woman, or the Wailer. She’s a vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who’s said to roam near bodies of water mourning her kids whom she drowned in a jealous rage after discovering her husband was unfaithful to her. Whoever hears her crying either suffers misfortune, death, or their life becomes unsuccessful in every field.
The Full Story:
A beautiful but poor woman (often named Maria) falls in love with a wealthy man (either a Spanish conquistador or a nobleman). After bearing him some kids, the man rejects her. This was either to marry a woman of his own high social class or because he had grown tired of her.
Well, our girl Maria didn’t handle this too well. In a fit of blind rage, & despair, Maria drowns her kids in a river to hurt the man who abandoned them. Immediately realizing what she’d done, she spends the rest of her life (& afterlife) wandering the riverbanks, dressed in white, wailing: “Ay, mi hijos!” (“Oh, my children!”)
Before the Spanish arrived, Aztec mythology spoke of Cihuacoatl, a goddess who abandoned her son at a crossroads. She was often heard at night, wailing, & shrieking through the streets of Tenochtitlan. The earliest documentation of La Llorona is traced back to 1550 in Mexico City.
The legend of La Llorona is traditionally told throughout Mexico, Central America, & northern South America. Many scholars link La Llorona to Malintzin (La Malinche), the indigenous woman who served as an interpreter & mistress to Hernan Cortes.
In Mexican history, she’s a complicated figure. She’s seen by some as the “mother” of the Mestizo race & by others as a traitor. La Malinche is considered both the mother of the modern Mexican people & a symbol of national treachery for her role in aiding the Spanish.
La Llorona is a soul denied entry into Heaven until she finds her kids. She serves as a “living” (or undead, depending on how you look at it) example of the Stations of the Cross gone wrong. A figure of eternal penance who cannot find the absolution of the Church. Because her sin (infanticide) is so grievous.
Unlike the Lavandieres, who are often punished for working on a holy day (the Sabbath. Also check out our post about the Lavandieres.), La Llorona is punished for her passions. She’s a more visceral, emotional figure, representing the “shattering family” rather than “forbidden labor.”
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#1550 #AztecMythology #CentralAmerica #Cihuacoatl #Crossroads #HernanCortes #HispanicAmericanFolklore #Infanticide #LaLlorona #LaMalinche #LesLavandieres #Malintzin #Mestizo #Mexico #MexicoCity #NorthernSouthAmerica #Spain #Spanish #SpanishConquistadors #StationsOfTheCross #Tenochtitlan
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