La Llorona Research Paper
Crystal Vejar
English 1B
Sias
31 October 2013
La Llorona The legend of La Llorona is a big part of Hispanic folklore. It is used to scare children from wandering in the night and to warn them of the danger of being alone. In this essay I will talk about Llorona. I will talk about her life before having kids, what she did to her kids and present day beliefs about her ghost. Stories of La Llorona date back to 1502, and differ in origins (Santistevan, 2007). Most of the stories have things in common. I will be talking about the most common and important points. Stories of La Llorona date back to the time of the conquistadors. This ghostly woman wanders along canals and rivers crying for her missing children. Called in Spanish La Llorona, "the Weeping Woman," is found in …show more content…
many cultures and regions. One of the first stories of La Llorona links her to Hernan Cortés and La Malinche, the mistress of the conquistador. Together La Malinche and Hernan have two kids. As told in the stories La Malinche, who helped in the conquest of Mexico, is replaced by a Spanish wife when Cortes returns to Spain. As Cortés loses interest in La Malinche, she becomes jealous of the attention the children receive and as an act of vengeance, without thinking, La Malinche drowns her two children.
Other stories say she was a beautiful peasant woman named Maria who married a rich handsome man. This man has everything she was looking for. He was the son of a wealthy rancher; money was no problem to him. He knew he could have anything he wanted but Maria, knowing she was beautiful, refused to be taken easily by this man. The man after many attempts to persuade her, vows to marry her. Maria finally gives in and marries the man. In this version of the story she has two children and lives happily with the man for a while. After some time, the man starts to lose interest in her and becomes bored. He begins to spend more time with different women and devotes his attention to the kids rather that to her. Maria becomes outraged; she blames the lack of interest of the husband on her children. Without thinking, Maria drowns her children in a nearby river.
In both stories La Llorona realizes what she has done.
The anguish of having killed her children drove her to drown herself as well. When La Llorona tries to get through the doors of heaven she is pushed back and told that she may not enter until she brings her children with her. Ashamed she returns to earth and searches the river for her children. She searches all rivers but isn’t able to find them. As she goes around searching she cries, “Ay mis hijos!” (Oh my children!). Some stories say that in her desperation to find her children she grabs kids that are near rivers at night. The stories are used by parents to scare their children from wandering alone at night. Others also say that la Llorona attacks men who wander near rivers at night as revenge (West, 1971).
Today the story is well known by most of the Hispanic community (Hayes, 2009). I hope this essay helped explain La Llorona’s life before having kids, what she did to her kids and what she does today as a ghost. The stories are passed on from generation to generation. She will not be able to rest until she finds her lost children. The spirit of La Llorona still haunts the waters and lakes, wailing for her children.
Works
Cited
Hayes, Joe. "LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND." LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Santistevan, Bernadine. "The Cry - La Llorona." The Cry - La Llorona. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
West, John. "LA LLORONA." La Llorona. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Bibliography
Schlosser, S. E.. "La Llorona: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net." La Llorona: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Untiedt, Kenneth L.. "A Woman 's Touch." Folklore in all of us, in all we do. Denton, Tex.: University of North Texas Press, 2006. 110. Print.
English 1B
Sias
31 October 2013
La Llorona The legend of La Llorona is a big part of Hispanic folklore. It is used to scare children from wandering in the night and to warn them of the danger of being alone. In this essay I will talk about Llorona. I will talk about her life before having kids, what she did to her kids and present day beliefs about her ghost. Stories of La Llorona date back to 1502, and differ in origins (Santistevan, 2007). Most of the stories have things in common. I will be talking about the most common and important points. Stories of La Llorona date back to the time of the conquistadors. This ghostly woman wanders along canals and rivers crying for her missing children. Called in Spanish La Llorona, "the Weeping Woman," is found in …show more content…
many cultures and regions. One of the first stories of La Llorona links her to Hernan Cortés and La Malinche, the mistress of the conquistador. Together La Malinche and Hernan have two kids. As told in the stories La Malinche, who helped in the conquest of Mexico, is replaced by a Spanish wife when Cortes returns to Spain. As Cortés loses interest in La Malinche, she becomes jealous of the attention the children receive and as an act of vengeance, without thinking, La Malinche drowns her two children.
Other stories say she was a beautiful peasant woman named Maria who married a rich handsome man. This man has everything she was looking for. He was the son of a wealthy rancher; money was no problem to him. He knew he could have anything he wanted but Maria, knowing she was beautiful, refused to be taken easily by this man. The man after many attempts to persuade her, vows to marry her. Maria finally gives in and marries the man. In this version of the story she has two children and lives happily with the man for a while. After some time, the man starts to lose interest in her and becomes bored. He begins to spend more time with different women and devotes his attention to the kids rather that to her. Maria becomes outraged; she blames the lack of interest of the husband on her children. Without thinking, Maria drowns her children in a nearby river.
In both stories La Llorona realizes what she has done.
The anguish of having killed her children drove her to drown herself as well. When La Llorona tries to get through the doors of heaven she is pushed back and told that she may not enter until she brings her children with her. Ashamed she returns to earth and searches the river for her children. She searches all rivers but isn’t able to find them. As she goes around searching she cries, “Ay mis hijos!” (Oh my children!). Some stories say that in her desperation to find her children she grabs kids that are near rivers at night. The stories are used by parents to scare their children from wandering alone at night. Others also say that la Llorona attacks men who wander near rivers at night as revenge (West, 1971).
Today the story is well known by most of the Hispanic community (Hayes, 2009). I hope this essay helped explain La Llorona’s life before having kids, what she did to her kids and what she does today as a ghost. The stories are passed on from generation to generation. She will not be able to rest until she finds her lost children. The spirit of La Llorona still haunts the waters and lakes, wailing for her children.
Works
Cited
Hayes, Joe. "LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND." LA LLORONA - A HISPANIC LEGEND. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Santistevan, Bernadine. "The Cry - La Llorona." The Cry - La Llorona. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
West, John. "LA LLORONA." La Llorona. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Bibliography
Schlosser, S. E.. "La Llorona: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net." La Llorona: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Untiedt, Kenneth L.. "A Woman 's Touch." Folklore in all of us, in all we do. Denton, Tex.: University of North Texas Press, 2006. 110. Print.