This informant chimed in when she heard another informant telling the story of La Llorana. She is Mexican and said that her parents told her essentially the same thing as the first informant who was Colombian. She said that her parents told her”If you talk back to your parents, she will come and haunt you and/or steal you.” Again, by invoking fear the parents are seeking protection for themselves. With this version of La Llorana, the informant’s parents were trying to solidify a respectful relationship between them and their daughter. La Llorana is protecting the parents again in that the idea of her ensures that children will not challenge what their parents say. They will obey whatever they say and be respectful because they do not want to be haunted by a lady who seems like she is the worst mother ever.
Author Archives: Alexandra Dasilva
La Llorana 1
La LLorana means “The Crying Woman”The informant says that her parents would tell her not to stray alone in the street because La Llorana comes and steals kids.
The Story of La Llorana is:
“One day La Llorana was sad because her husband was angry with her. She sought vengeance and went to the river to drown their children. She was hanged for this criminal act in the middle of the town. After the fact, people said that they could hear her spirit crying and some claim that they see her roaming through the streets. Oh! You area also not supposed to look her in the eyes.”
The informant’s parents are both from Colombia and she was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She said that them telling her the La Llorana story worked – she would not go outside alone. The informant’s parents protected their own fears of their child wandering alone by invoking fear. Of course a child is going to be scared of a ghost who kidnaps children and killed her own, but that will eventually subside. A parents’ fear of their child being on their own and in danger never goes away. La Llorana serves as a helping tool for parents with younger children. Younger children will believe her story so they will stay closer to home or remain in bigger groups when they go outside. She might have been the worst mother for killing her children but she definitely is a great protector – as she is the reason why many children are careful when they are out on the street.
As I was interviewing this informant, a woman nearby said that the story of La Llorana resonated with her as well. Even though she was Mexican, her parents told her the story of La Llorana too so that she would not misbehave (See La Llorana 2). From this it is clear that La Llorana is a story shared across Latin American cultures.
The informant also mentioned that La Llorana has been used to make several films. Here is a link to a trailer for “The Wailer (La Llorana)” from 2006.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi93651225