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| A still from KM 31: Kilometre 31 (2006), featuring a La Llorona-like character |
La Llorona, "The Weeping Woman", originates from Mexican mythology and folklore. She is said to be the spirit of a woman, dressed in white, with long, flowing hair, who roams the Earth mourning for her children, while wailing and crying.
One version of the tale of La Llorona tells of a beautiful woman called Maria, who falls deeply in love with a man who doesn't want her. She thinks that without her children, the man may accept her and so she drowns them, in order to make her more desirable to him. However, he once again rejects her and so she drowns herself in despair.
When she reaches the gates of Heaven, she is not permitted because of the murders of her children and, trapped on Earth as a ghost, she searches for them, crying "Oh! My children!" in sorrow. In some stories, La Llorona will also kidnap any children she finds in an attempt to replace her own children. It is also said that anyone who hears her wails will die soon after.
Other versions of the story:
