If you are like me and you grew up in a Hispanic household in the Southwest, then you might have heard about La Llorona, Spanish for the Weeping Woman. Ever since I was a little girl, I would hear stories about people hearing La Llorona crying, and how they would run back inside before she caught them. My grandma used to say, “La Llorona takes bad children, so you better be good, mija.” This was made even more terrifying to my 5-year-old ears based on the fact my grandma lives walking distance to the Rio Grande, so knowing she was so close by definitely affected my behavior.
But if you do not know about La Llorona, let me tell you about the tragic woman’s tale. The story varies depending on the region and the people who tell it, because it is an oral story, passed on through generations. The story I know came from both my grandmother and a children’s book, titled, “La Llorona / The Weeping Woman” by Joe Hayes.
In this story, there is a beautiful girl named Maria, who lives in a tiny village in Mexico. Maria was so beautiful, people considered her to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and she became proud and vain, leading to her not acknowledging any of the men from her village. She later became enamored by a rich man and married him. They had two children. But her husband grew bored of Maria and eventually left her, leaving for months, and only coming back to visit his children. Because of this, Maria began to be jealous over the attention her children got from her husband. The last straw was when she was taking a walk with her children and they saw her husband riding in a carriage with a rich woman, he spoke only to his children, ignoring Maria completely. After this, Maria became angry, taking her anger out on her children and throwing them into the river, where they disappeared. She realized what she had done and tried to save them, but it was too late. The next day, the villagers found her dead by the river, and after they buried her, they began to hear crying by the river. It was the cries of La Llorona, a spirit in a white gown, crying, “Where are my children?” She would take children who were out at night by the river, mistaking them for her own, and they would never be seen again.
The origin of this tale has been lost to time, but many attributes its significance in Mexican culture through a supposed connection to La Malinche, an indigenous slave woman who helped aide Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in his conquests. La Malinche is often conflated with La Llorona, as they share similar stories (though La Malinche was a real person). Her image in Mexican culture is often filled with mixed opinions. Some see her as a woman who had no choice, and as the founding mother of Mexico, while others see her as nothing more than a traitor as she became Cortés’ translator.
Another way people interpret the story’s origin is that it stems from the beginnings of Mestizos, children born from European and Indigenous American descent. La Malinche is often credited with being the first woman to have a Mestizo child, as she gave birth to Cortés’ son Martín. Mestizos were often the product of Spanish men raping or marrying Indigenous American women, as they often left behind their own wives in Spain. These children would often be taken by the fathers to be raised in the Spanish culture, while they called the mother’s “unfit”, calling into question their culture and beliefs. In this way, the tale of La Llorona could be considered an illustration of how Indigenous American women were treated by the European men.
Just like how the Spanish fathers would consider themselves above the mothers, Maria was always considered lesser than her husband, to the point where he leaves her for a richer woman. He only acknowledges her children, leaving her to question whether she really is lesser than them. This can be compared to the mistreatment of the Indigenous American mothers, who were called unfit to raise their children because of how their lives differed from the Spanish. The theory of La Llorona stemming from La Malinche and the mistreatment of Mestizos and their parents can be plausible, as it emphasizes the pain the mother’s often had to face through the loss of their children, and the emotional toll on them as they feel it is their fault they lost their child.
La Llorona is a terrifying story to tell kids, and is often used to lecture them into behaving, but its origins are even more terrifying. To imagine that it comes from such a horrid background of mistreatment of the Indigenous American people is disgusting, but it is something that people should acknowledge. The Mexican culture stems from this mistreatment, and, in a way, its people are still hurting, and this hurt is showcased in how we continue to pass on the story of La Llorona.