Growing up Hispanic, we have all heard of different Mexican folklore. One story is about La Llorona (pronounced [la ʝo.ˈɾo.na], “The Weeping Woman”). She is a ghost of a woman who lost her children and now cries while looking for them in the river, between San Antonio and Seguin on I-10, near Exit 591, named Woman Hollering Creek often causing misfortune to those who are near or hear her. The Mexican legend goes that in a village of Mexico there lived a young woman named Maria.
Maria came from a poor family but was known around her village for her beauty. One day, an extremely wealthy nobleman traveled through her village but stopped in his tracks when he saw Maria. Maria was charmed by him and he was charmed by her beauty, so when he proposed to her, she immediately accepted. Maria’s family were thrilled that she was marrying into a wealthy family, but the nobleman’s father was extremely disappointed he was marrying into poverty. Maria and her new husband built a house between San Antonio and Seguin to be away from his disapproving father. Eventually Maria gave birth to twin boys, but her husband was always traveling and stopped spending time with his family. One day, he left and never returned. Years later, as Maria and her boys were walking by a river, she saw a familiar carriage with a younger, beautiful woman next to her husband. Maria was so angry and confused that, without thinking, she picked up her two boys and threw them into the river, drowning them. Only after she saw their bodies floating in the river did she realize what she had done and then she jumped into the river hoping to die with her boys. Now she spends eternity looking for her children around that river. It is said that if you hear her crying, you are to run the opposite way. If you hear her cries, they could bring misfortune or even death. Also, if you are a child, be extra careful, because La Llorona is attracted to children, thinking they are hers. Since she thinks children are hers, she tries to drown them. Children should not walk alone around this river, just in case. She constantly weeps, hence her name “La Llorona.”People who claim to have seen her say she appears at night or in the late evening by the river. Have you ever seen or heard La Llorona?
