La Llorona
Legend has it that in the middle of the 16th century, during the nights of the full moon, the neighbours of Mexico City were startled awake to hear the loud wailing of a woman, who cried out: "Oh my children!
The figure was dressed in white and a veil covered her face, as she wandered through the streets of the city towards the banks of a river, where she vanished.
It is said that the woman, after being abandoned by her husband, decided to drown her children in the river. Since then, she regrets what happened and wanders the streets of the city. Some say that her sad lament can still be heard today.
The story goes that La Llorona is a woman who wanders the streets of Mexico City in search of her children, whom she herself murdered, driven mad, during one night. It is said that she appears in places where a river once flowed. It is also said that she is a very beautiful woman dressed in white. Others say that only her silhouette can be seen, that she floats. The only thing they agree on is that whenever she is seen, a long and terrifying cry is heard: "Oh, my children!
Process:
There are several versions of the origin of this legend: one is the colonial one, which is based on the chronicles of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, who participated in the conquest of the Mexica Empire. The story goes that a woman of indigenous origin was the lover of a Spanish gentleman, and when she asked him to formalise their relationship, he refused because he belonged to high society. This unleashed the tragedy through which her soul would wander in sorrow.
It is said that that night the woman woke up her young children - a boy and a girl -, took a dagger and took them to the river, which was very close to her house. There, blind with anger, she stabbed them several times until she left them lifeless.
It is said that that night the woman woke up her young children - a boy and a girl -, took a dagger and took them to the river, which was very close to her house. There, blind with anger, she stabbed them several times until she left them lifeless.
Minutes later she reacted and, realising what she had done, ran desperately into the river and uttered the bloodcurdling scream by which she is identified.
From that night she was never heard from again and became a myth. Those who swear to have heard her say that she roams the streets and parks of Mexico City, as well as the canals of Xochimilco.
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