La Llorona, “The Crying Woman,” is a wandering ghost in Mexican folklore who is said to cry and weep at night near bodies of water. La Llorona’s origin has been traced back to the early 1500s in Xochimilco– the largest river in Mexico City. The Florentine Codex—a Mesoamerican text from the 1500s—is said to contain La Llorona’s iconic line, “Mis hijos” (my children) further proving how far her legend traces back. But, why does this woman appear and why is she always near water?
La Llorona was not always called La Llorona. She was said to be named Maria and she was once a beautiful woman who married a rich man. She took care of her children, her home, and of course, her husband. One day, Maria found her husband with his mistress and was filled with rage. Rather than going after her husband or his mistress, she ran off with her children and ended up drowning them in the Xochimilco River. Many tales and legends say she drowned her children so their father´s new mistress would not be able to raise them, but because she is seen as a vicious monster full of rage, these tales are often forgotten. Filled with guilt, Maria ended up drowning herself after she drowned her children. It is said that she is cursed for hurting her children and is stuck in a realm as the ghost we know today. She goes to bodies of water in Mexico in search of her children, weeping for them to return.
Nowadays, the curse of La Llorona is told as a story to scare children into behaving and to warn them tostay away from large bodies of water. Not only is it said that she cries for her children, but she also takes the children that she lures into the water with her. Once she discovers they are not her children, she goes into full rage and drowns them. She is a symbol of misfortune and death which is what makes her so terrifying to all that hear her story.