La Llorona

 The story goes like this: There was once a beautiful young lady by the name of Maria, known all around her pueblo for her beauty. She was not only beautiful but also humble and kind with a good heart. Maria was also poor. One day while Maria was walking around her pueblo picking up the mercado for her family, Maria caught the attention of a wealthy, handsome businessman who was in town for work and visiting his family. He was determined to grab Maria’s attention and marry her. But it wasn’t so easy; it took time to finally get Maria to budge, but over time he finally got Maria to trust him, and they fell in love. They finally got married and had two boys. Life was going pretty well for a while for Maria. She had a loving husband, children, and a home. Maria’s husband, however continued to travel for work. At first he would be gone for weeks at a time, and over time the business trips would extend to months at a time, and the longer the trips got, the more Maria grew suspicious of her husband. Until one day Maria couldn’t take it anymore, and she decided to pay her husband a visit at one of his supposed jobs. Maria took her two boys and slowly followed her husband into  another woman’s home; the woman was almost identical to Maria when she was young. Maria, in a fit of rage, distraught and heartbroken, took her children to a nearby river and drowned them, and she took her own life too. When Maria got to heaven, God told her she would only be able to come in if she found her deceased children. Earning her the nickname La Llorona, which translates  to “ the weeping woman.“ There are many variations of this Mexican folktale, and it is one of my personal favorites and is often told as a cautionary tale to prevent people from wandering the streets late at night in Mexico. Many people from all over Mexico, especially in small rural areas, swear they have either heard or seen her still wandering the streets at night looking for her dead children.