La Llorona: Real or False? Myth or Truth?

La Llorona, Spanish for "The Weeping Woman", has long been a Hispanic folklore about a woman who weeps and prays on little children at night. Some believe it to be real, others fake.

La Llorona, Spanish for "The Weeping Woman", is a very old Spanish/Hispanic myth told for many generations to little children to strike fear in their hearts so they never disobey their parents and act out in rebellion, or La Llorona will capture and kill them.

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The myth has different versions, but generally it goes as follows:

Their once was a young, beautiful woman full of life, hope, love and innocence named Maria. She wore a white dress, similar to that of a wedding dress, and would roam the town she belonged to at night receiving compliments and cat-calls by the townsmen. One day a very wealthy man wooed her and married her. She conceived two children as a result. Through the years, however, the husband grew distant and had mistresses. One day, Maria saw him by the river bank with another woman. In order to get his attention she drowned her two children fueled with rage. After her rage settled and the man left without noticing the event, Maria realized what she committed and began to cry endlessly.

After noticing her mistake, she roamed around town, weeping aloud, for her children. She would cry, mourn, and torture people with her questioning and loud crying. Through time she grew skinnier and dirtier, adapting the appearance of corpse in a torn white dress. After she died searching for her children, her spirit remained and haunted the river as well as the town she belonged to. It is said she haunts the entire Southwest of the US, Mexico, and parts of Latin America to this day. Her spirit and presence is most strong at night, where she lurks the evening in search for her children. She is known to have no remorse and will take any child that approaches her or is seen by her. She takes children, hoping to finally satisfy her hunger for mercy and closure.

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The legend of the explorer archetype holds meaning to me because of my Hispanic roots and the core principle of never disobeying my elders resonated throughout my childhood, the message of La Llorona myth.

La Llorona has become such an integral part of mythology that it has gained much media attention such as the photograph to the left. It is from an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood depicting La Llorona praying on the innocent.

Another example of the mythologies strong impact, a movie called "Mama" was released in theaters in 2013. It is an adaptation of La Llorona myth but with a slight twist.

La Llorona has also been introduced to the National Museum of American History located in Washington DC. To the left is a doll created for the legend of La Llorona. Tracing the Spanish folklore to Aztec roots, the doll was fabricated in honor of the infamous legend.