La+Llorona

 The most moving tale that represents the ghost stories and legends of Mexico is one known as "[|//La Llorona//]", the English translation being Wailing Woman. This tale deserves to be at the forefront of the stories in Mexico as it is known all throughout the country; mothers sit their children down as the sun goes down, look them in the eyes, and warn them to never go out in the dark alone. If a child goes out into the night, stumbling through the bushes, scrambling blindly through the shrubbery, a terrible fate will inevitably encompass them as they approach a river or stream. This draft is written solely and genuinely by the author of this wiki and it is based on the retelling of the story by S.E. Schlosser.

 This ghost story begins with the life of a beautiful young girl named Maria, who lived in Mexico in the past, but she was a girl of the indigenous people; she was not Spanish. Many men had vied for her heart, but she was never interested in them, only one caught her eye. He was a Spaniard who came from a very wealthy family and women loved him for his looks and charm. As time passed the two became closer, and eventually she married him and gave birth to two children. The husband doted upon her until after the children were born, then a cold change swept through the house. The husband began to ignore Maria and spend time only with the children, which caused a seed of jealousy to grow in the beautiful girl. In addition, the husband began to seek out other girls and spend time with them as opposed to his wife, which only further coaxed her jealousy and anger. His family had encouraged him not to marry her, as Maria was a poor native girl, and they wanted a wealthy Spanish woman for their son. And it was with such a woman that Maria saw him with one day while she was walking with the children. The husband paused and gave the children presents, but did not as much as glance at Maria.

 That night, in a fit of crazed jealousy and rage, Maria dragged her children from their beds and threw them into the agitated river, drowning them instantly. Horror at what she had done gripped her immediately, and she spent the next few days pacing the banks of the river, calling for her lost children, while the townspeople shut their windows and locked their doors at night as they heard her wailing in the dark. Finally, with nothing left, Maria threw herself into the river and drowned as well.

 Now, it is said that the wails of [|//La Llorona//] can be heard in the night and there have been sightings of a woman in a white gown sweeping the shores of rivers. She calls for her lost children and waits for any other living children that might stumble across her path, so that she might drag them to meet the same fate as her own.

Here is an interview with Professor Taylor at the University of Oregon where she discusses La Llorona:

[|La Llorona Discussion]

Citation: Schlosser, S. E. “The Wailing Woman: A Mexican Ghost Story.” //American Folklore//. 31 Oct.

 20 Nov. 2011. http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/the_wailing_woman.html

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