La Llorona Essay

In Mexican culture, La Llorona folklore is the storytelling that has passed on through generations for many years. Even though, folklores changed by new tellers. Every folklore needed to be analyzed and see how it had changed over years depending on the tellers. For instance, my family had been telling the folktale about “La Llorona” but it has been discovered that there were different versions of La Llorona in different places. The purpose of folklore is to scare children to behave, or not to go to dangerous places, or so many different reasons. This folktale can be considered as teaching morals, or cautionary tales, or familial cultural heritage. This folktale of La Llorona was from Mexico or even from the past in Mexico such as the Aztecs. La Llorona is one of the famous folktale for centuries and there are different stories regarding La Llorona over years.

Fuller (2015) found that La Llorona was about the Mexican woman who attempted to kill

her seven children by throwing them in the river of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas in 1986. Juana Leija was the victim of domestic violence and she wanted to end the suffering. She also wants children’s sufferings to end by killing them and then herself. Leija was considered as La Lorona which means as the wailing woman in English. Only two of her kids died and Leija’s ghost often was found by rivers, or sometimes at crossroads crying for her lost children. The infanticide was seen carried out with dagger or knife but often, children have been drowned. The reasons for her madness was that she found out about her lover or husband who was planning to marry a woman of higher status. When Leija realized her actions, she killed herself. To some, she was described as a lost soul or bogeywomen. Some parents used La Llorona to scare children into good behaviors. (p. 39)
Among other elements of folklores, Fuller (2015) illustrated that La Llorona was known as one of ten omens foretelling the Conquest of Mexico. During 16th century, two Aztec goddesses has been linked to La Llorona. The first goddess is Ciuacoatl and she was characterized as a savage beast who appeared in white wandering at night crying and wailing. Other goddess was Coatlicue who was thought to be the same as Ciuacoatl but she was the mother of Huirzilopochti, the Aztec god of war in the origin myths of the Aztec gods. However, Coatlicue was described as dirtiest and ugliest woman. Her face was so black and covered with filth. She was waiting for her son to return from the war and she weep and mourned for him when he was gone. Even though, both had different features but they were still known by the same name. (p. 39-40)
Other folk telling of La Llorona in 1917, Luisa was in love with Ramiro who is higher social status and he was a son of Cortes. They were together for six years and they have a son together. Ramiro was supposed to marry the very rich daughter of a judge which Luisa had no idea about but Ramiro hope to hide from her and continue his relationship with Luisa while marry the wealthy woman in secret. Apparently, a rival suitor broke the news to Luisa and Luisa immediately lose it when she also found out that Ramiro was planning to take their son away from her. Eventually, Ramiro came for their child after Luisa broke up the wedding between the wealthy woman and Ramiro. Luisa killed their son with a dagger and told him that he can have his son’s life since Ramiro already killed her soul. Thus, Luisa was executed for her crime by hanging in the public. Luisa was criticized as a witch. Ramiro was there when she was hanged. He died of sorrow and grief when La Llorona came to haunt him. In the society, the whispers of gossip had been spreading around about his mistress and son when he was planning to marry to marry the wealthy woman. Therefore, the peers of society did not respected Ramiro. The purpose of this story was about the reflection life in colonial Mexico when New Spain was known as back-stabbing and chaos. Supposedly, there was not enough of Spanish women in New Spain so the unions between Spanish men and indigenous women became very common. When 16th century ended, the population of European women had grown and indigenous women deceased. The Aztecs offered Spaniards their female relatives so they can marry to the path to success. But Spanish men tend to take advantage by practicing of polygamy when it came to indigenous women. (Fuller, 2015, p. 40-41)
Fuller (2015) found that the version of the La Llorona in 1933 emphasized the differences of class. This story mainly focused on Cortes who was cursed by the goddess of death during the Conquest. La Llorona convinced the main character, Margot to kill her son with strain of meningitis when she found out that her lover was about to marry an American millionaire. Just like the other story in 1917 that woman was driven mad by the idea of her lover taking her son away for her but really, it was the words from La Llorona that push Margot over the edge to madness. As it turns out that La Llorona was the child’s indigenous nanny, who was killed by a doctor who save the boy. There were matches between this version and 1917 version, the doctor who saves her son’s life really wanted to marry Margot. The opposite of earlier story was that they fell in love, got married, and bear a son together. It was believed as a metaphor for the uniting of the Mexican people that have the final picture of the ruins of Teotihuacan. The symbolize of the curse has been broken by sounds of flying overhead and fast car that drown out the sound of La Llorona’s cry. The focus was on Cortes and his son as the villains. It was about anti-Spanish emotion in Mexico during the 1930s. The history of Mexico, the Conquest and colonial period are represented as rape, destruction of the indigenous way of life. However, Cortes was painted as ugly, awful, chaotic orgy of rape, balding, diseased caricature with gray skin. (p.41-42)
Even so, La Llorona was presented as a villain in Spain but seen as a hero in the mestizo and indigenous cultures. There were great tensions between Spanish conquistadors and indigenous people when Spaniards treated indigenous people badly. The story was told that a mestiza named Luisa, and a Spanish conquistador named Nuno had children together but the twist part was that Nuno married a wealthy Spanish lady named Ana in secret. Understanding, Luisa felt betrayed but Nuno showed no remorse. Luisa stabbed children and threw their bodies into the canal. It did not affected Nuno when his children were killed. In the conclusion, Luisa was hanged in the city’s main plaza. Before her execution, she mentioned that all blood is the same. As a mestiza, she does not know where she belongs to but the conquistadors prefer purity of blood and not want to mix with Indian blood. It was Nuno’s intention to marry Ana because they have the same blood. Therefore, Luisa did not feel guilty about killing their children because she knew her children were not going to suffer by having to work like a slave. After her death, she cried for her children, and she took her revenge on Nuno. Eventually, Nuno collapsed and died. This story was describing about the ruins of Tenochtitlan. Apparently, the desertion of Luisa represents the abandonment of Mexico by Spain when land was exhausted of resources. (Fuller, 2015, p.42)
Anaya (1984) explained the legend of La Malinche and she was also linked to La Lllorona. La Malinche was the translator of Cortes and her people were outraged because Malinche betrayed her people by sharing information with the Spaniards which leads to their winning. La Llorona was represented as a traitor to her indigenous people. The story elaborated that Malinche was Cortes’s mistress and she gave birth to twin boys. The King and Queen of Spain felt Cortes has betrayed them so they asked him to come back to Spain. Cortes refused so the King and Queen sent a gorgeous Spanish lady to convince him. Thus, Cortes was convinced and he told Malinche that he was going to leave with their children and leave her behind. Malinche realized her actions that she helped him massacre her people all along. She prayed to her gods for help and one of the god told her if she allowed him to take children, which means one of them will return and destroy her people. Malinche felt obligated and she escaped with babies. Cortes’ soldiers discovered her by the lake of Mexico City and they tried to capture her but she stabbed her babies in the heart with a dagger then dropped their bodies into the water. Malinche was heartbroken and cried out, “Oh, my children.” Since her death, people heard her weeping and wandering the streets in white dress. Her agonizing cries scared everyone who seen or hear her. Her last stop was always at La Plaza Mayor where she lets out her most horrific cry then she vanished into the lake. ¬¬¬It was to warn children not to misbehave or play by the river alone or La Llorona will take them away. (p.53-54)
Just as my mom passed on to me when I was younger, Kathy Weiser’s telling of the story in La Llorona - Weeping Woman of the Southwest (2012) was just as my mother told me. Weiser states that, La Llorona began as “Maria” that she was beautiful and she was born to a peasant family. She had two sons and she felt they made it difficult for her to go out. Eventually, she left them at home and went out with different men who frolicked her. One day, her boys were found drowned in the river and people suspected that she drowned them with her own hands. Some say they drowned dues to her neglect. Her weeping and wailing became a curse of night and people began to be afraid to go out after dark. (para.1-4)
The very common of each storytelling was about a peasant woman who was betrayed by her wealthy lover who wished to leave her for a rich woman.

La Llorona was raged and revenged her lover by killing her children. In addition, the legend changed over time and there were different versions of the wailing woman in different regions. La Llorona was the interpretation of the history when Spaniards came to conquer indigenous people’s lands in Mexico and Spaniards treated indigenous people awful. Indigenous people were raged with Spaniards that they raped indigenous women and left them for much wealthy Spain women. Some says that the folktales of La Llorona was to scare children to behave, not to disrespect parents, not to go out alone at night, not to play by the lake, and so on. If children misbehave, and parents will tell them that La Llorona will come to get them. La Llorona only wanted children and she will snatch children into the lake. Folktales have passed through generations, and changed by new tellers in the

process.