Classic Mexican Horror Story: La Llorona

                  Let’s have a look at the classic Mexican horror stories everyone has heard. La Llorona, El Cucuy, La Chupacabra, and El Charro Negro are stories I grew up hearing. These stories were told to me so I could behave and be careful, especially at night. The classic stories are what got me into horror and cryptids. Today I want to do a deep dive on La Llorona.

                  The origin of La Llorona (the weeping woman) is not known. There are many versions of who she may have been. One thing is for sure, the woman was always in a low-class social category and the man was always in the upper class. This gives the story a feeling of amor prohibido (prohibited love). Unfortunately for this story, it doesn’t end with a love conquers all lesson. It ends in tragedy.

The main origin I heard and read about is it took place when the Spaniards first contacted the native people of Mexico. A Spanish man had an affair with a native woman. They kept their relationship a secret and eventually, they had three children together.  The Spanish gentleman would leave her and the family for many weeks. She wanted him to be more present in the children’s lives, but he never showed her any desire to move the family to his residence. It was most likely because of his upper-class status. Back then, it was frowned upon to marry or have children with native people. Years passed and her Spanish gentleman stopped coming.

Somehow, she found out he married a Spanish woman and started a family. Her heart broke. She was full of anger, betrayal, and sadness. She couldn’t think right. She wanted to forget about him but seeing her children just reminded her more of the Spanish gentleman that broke her heart and lied to her. She got her three children and took them to the riverbank. Filled with rage and sadness, she got a crazy idea to hug them and drown them. Once the horrible deed was done, she realized what she had done.

She was full of guilt and couldn’t believe what she did to her children. She drowned herself out of guilt. From this point, it is said that her spirit comes back. She cannot rest in peace because her spirit still carries the guilt of killing her children. People say her cries are still being heard and some people even see her! Remember, if you hear crying nearby, do not worry so much. She may be far away. If you hear crying coming from far away, beware! She might be closer than you think.

                  Another origin that I recently heard is that La Llorona started before the Spaniards came to Mexico. People started hearing a woman cry at night in Lake Texcoco which is in the capital of Tenochtitlán, present-day Mexico City. People heard a woman in white cry for her children.  They said it was the Mexica (Aztec) goddess, Cihuacóatl (See-wa-KO-atl). She is the “Snake Woman” who was known to foretell war and was one of the goddesses of fertility and motherhood. She wears a skirt with moving snakes and a necklace made of human skulls, hands, and hearts and her hair is long and black. Her breasts hang loose from pregnancy. For her hands and feet, she has claws.  This led people to believe the reign of the Mexica (Aztec) empire was going to fall.

I find it very interesting that there are similarities between La Llorona and Cihuacóatl. La Llorona is said to wear a white dress and has long black hair. Was this the true story? No one knows because stories change over time. In my research, I wanted to know if any other tribes had a story like La Llorona. I got curious to know if the Otomi told of any legends like this.

In my research, the Otomi had an angry spirit and guardian connected to rivers and lakes. I couldn’t find the name they called her or a lot of details. This is due to a lack of documentation. The Otomi are known to have a strong oral tradition. Unfortunately, I have not met anyone who can share stories with me, at least not yet. She is often found near a body of water crying but not over her children. Her cries are warnings. She is warning people about a disaster about to happen, or she wants to remind people about our duty to protect our environment. This version of the story is not about romantic affairs and betrayal. This version gives us more of a reminder to respect the Earth or harsh consequences will come.

Thank you for taking the time to read the story about La Llorona. I hope you are all enjoying the stories as much as I enjoy writing them. There is a comment section below. Please feel free to reach out for any questions or comments. I would love to engage with anyone. Next time, I will take a deep dive into El Cucuy. Please stay tuned.