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One of the most popular Latin American folktales is La Llorona (the weeping woman). It has been adapted into several films (one as recent as 2019), stage plays, a folk song and has been featured in various tv shows, such as Grimm and Supernatural. It has clearly been a powerful pop culture influence. To understand it's allure further, we'll recount a version of the story here.
La Llorona: Woman in White
Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman, named Maria, who lived in a remote Central American village. None of the men in the surrounding countryside drew her eye and she resisted all marriage proposals. Her heart skipped though when a handsome, rich foreigner rode into the rural settlement. He, likewise, was struck by Maria's beauty and they fell in love and married, eventually having two sons together.
The husband changed as the years progressed - he began to drink more alcohol, stayed away from home more and overall seemed to be more distant. During some conversations he even joked about marrying a wealthy woman and leaving his wife. One hot evening Maria strolled along a pathway near a river, hidden from the main road, with her two children, when a carriage trundled by. Within the vehicle was her husband who was busy kissing an unfamiliar woman. She stormed out into the road, causing the carriage to stop, whereupon her husband jumped out, but ignored her, only greeting their two sons. Rage seethed through her; she picked up her boys and threw both into the river. They screamed and struggled but couldn't keep themselves from drowning in the strong current.
Her sons' deaths left intense emotional scars on her. Maria moved out into the wilderness, always marching beside the river which had claimed her boys' lives, all the while wailing and tearing at her clothes. Her form became more and more skeletal as she refused to eat until she succumbed to hunger and died on the river bank. Late at night, her spirit is still said to haunt the river, crying out for her sons and snatching any children unwise enough to be alone at night.
History
The La Llorona story is, in part, a representation of a historical reality in colonial Mexico during much of the 16th century CE. Marriages between Spanish men and indigenous or mixed race women were quite a common occurrence in the initial period of Spanish rule, in part because of the small number of European women present and attempts to make connections with the indigenous elites. At the start of the early 17th century CE, an influx of Spanish women into the colony started and the status of the indigenous and mixed race women worsened, as many were cast aside and their children were taken away from them, because of fears that they were unable to raise the children. During the later colonial period there was an increasing focus on racial purity and legislation was passed to diminish the rights of the mixed population. The tale dealing with La Llorona could thus be a reference to the anxieties and fears were present in premodern Mexico.
Thank you for reading!
One of the most popular Latin American folktales is La Llorona (the weeping woman). It has been adapted into several films (one as recent as 2019), stage plays, a folk song and has been featured in various tv shows, such as Grimm and Supernatural. It has clearly been a powerful pop culture influence. To understand it's allure further, we'll recount a version of the story here.
La Llorona: Woman in White
Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman, named Maria, who lived in a remote Central American village. None of the men in the surrounding countryside drew her eye and she resisted all marriage proposals. Her heart skipped though when a handsome, rich foreigner rode into the rural settlement. He, likewise, was struck by Maria's beauty and they fell in love and married, eventually having two sons together.
The husband changed as the years progressed - he began to drink more alcohol, stayed away from home more and overall seemed to be more distant. During some conversations he even joked about marrying a wealthy woman and leaving his wife. One hot evening Maria strolled along a pathway near a river, hidden from the main road, with her two children, when a carriage trundled by. Within the vehicle was her husband who was busy kissing an unfamiliar woman. She stormed out into the road, causing the carriage to stop, whereupon her husband jumped out, but ignored her, only greeting their two sons. Rage seethed through her; she picked up her boys and threw both into the river. They screamed and struggled but couldn't keep themselves from drowning in the strong current.
Her sons' deaths left intense emotional scars on her. Maria moved out into the wilderness, always marching beside the river which had claimed her boys' lives, all the while wailing and tearing at her clothes. Her form became more and more skeletal as she refused to eat until she succumbed to hunger and died on the river bank. Late at night, her spirit is still said to haunt the river, crying out for her sons and snatching any children unwise enough to be alone at night.
History
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| La Llorona mural by Juana Alicia. |
The La Llorona story is, in part, a representation of a historical reality in colonial Mexico during much of the 16th century CE. Marriages between Spanish men and indigenous or mixed race women were quite a common occurrence in the initial period of Spanish rule, in part because of the small number of European women present and attempts to make connections with the indigenous elites. At the start of the early 17th century CE, an influx of Spanish women into the colony started and the status of the indigenous and mixed race women worsened, as many were cast aside and their children were taken away from them, because of fears that they were unable to raise the children. During the later colonial period there was an increasing focus on racial purity and legislation was passed to diminish the rights of the mixed population. The tale dealing with La Llorona could thus be a reference to the anxieties and fears were present in premodern Mexico.
Thank you for reading!
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