THE CAMPFIRE · FOLKLORE · 1500s · MEXICO
La Llorona
Near rivers at night, across Mexico and the American Southwest, people hear a woman crying. "Ay, mis hijos." Oh, my children. If you hear her far away, she is close. If you hear her close, she is far away.
A legend of Mexico and the American Southwest, told for centuries
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There's a legend that almost every child in Mexico knows. And in Texas, and New Mexico, and Arizona, and California. Grandmothers tell it. Parents use it to keep kids away from the river at night.
It's the story of La Llorona. The Weeping Woman.
There are a hundred versions. This is the one my friend's abuela told.
A long time ago, in a village by a river, there lived a beautiful young woman named María. She was poor. But she was the most beautiful girl in the village, and she knew it.
One day a rich man rode through the village on a fine horse. He saw María, and he fell in love with her. Or he said he did. He married her. And they had two children. Two little boys.
For a while they were happy.
But the man began to stay away. Days. Then weeks. When he came home, he only paid attention to the children. Not to her.
And one day María was walking by the river with her two little boys, and she saw her husband ride by in a carriage. With another woman. A rich woman, in fine clothes.
He didn't even look at her.
The fire is still burning
The rest of this story is sealed.
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