No one really knows, or at least to our knowledge, when or where the legend of " La Llorona" (weeping woman) originated and the tales vary from source to source, but they all have at least one common thread....

My dad always had plenty of stories growing up, some of them were funny, a lot of them were about the places and things he got to do while he was in the Army. Then there were strange stories, he never seems to have a shortage of strange stories either, now that I think about it. He was a police officer after all and you can only imagine the craziness our first responders have to witness on a daily basis. Now my dad had recounted a couple of Urban Legends  to me, one of which was about "La Llorona". Of course being at the ripe young age of about 9 or 10 makes hearing that story kind of scary, but to hear your father recount a personal encounter with the Llorona, was down right terrifying to my young, very green, but impressionable mind.

Anyway for those of you who don't know the story of "La Llorona", I'll try and give you a brief synopsis; as there are several variances in the story, depending on the source and the region you happen to be in, but it's a story that's rooted and unique to the Southwest. During my travels to various parts of the country it's the one of the Urban Legends I have been asked about the most.

I don't know how or when the story originated and as i said before the story varies from source to source, but they each have a common thread; that she is the restless spirit of a mother who drowned her children and is doomed to spend eternity searching for them wherever there is a river or lake.

According to how my father put it, "La Llorona" or Maria as she was known, had been a poor, but beautiful and loving woman who had married a man of wealth. In the beginning he had showered her with attention and gifts. However; after she gave birth to two children, (some say they were both boys) her husband had begun to lose interest and began having an affair with another woman. It had become clear that he no longer cared much for Maria, as he would be gone for days or weeks on end and he had spoken of leaving her to marry the woman he had been seeing. A woman who it seems also came from a wealthy family. When he would return it was only see his children. This began to cause a great deal of resentment for Maria, towards her children. But she clung to hope he would see he was wrong and he would come back to her. Sadly this would not be the case.

One evening Maria had decided to take a walk along the river bank with her children, it was here that she came across her estranged husband riding his carriage with his mistress, he stopped only to speak to his children and shower them with affection; Maria might as well have been invisible. When he was done speaking with their children; he rode off again with his lover, without acknowledging Maria or looking back. When he was out of sight, Maria flew into a rage, without thinking, she grabbed both children and threw them into the river. Realizing what she had done she tries to save them but fails and they slipped beneath the water, never to be seen again. Suffering from guilt, despair and hope that they had somehow survived, she began walking the lengths or the river bank, searching for them, day and night, crying and wailing for their return. This went on for weeks; finally out of despair, she threw herself into the river hoping to join her children.

Shortly after her death, people began witnessing the appearance of Maria's ghost after sundown. According to the legend, God cursed Maria, to roam the banks of rivers and lakes, in search of her children, sobbing and wailing as she did so. Naturally, the sight of Maria and the terrifying sound of her mourning, the loss of her children, frightened everyone so much, that they no longer ventured out after dark and it was the sound or her crying that earned her the name "La Llorona".

Growing up, I remember my grandmother, who incidentally live in South El Paso, near a canal, would warn us about going out to the canal at night, for fear the Llorona would snatch us away. Another common thread to the story, is that after her ghost began appearing, children we were warned to stay away from her, or she would snatch them up and toss in the river as well. According to some who tell recount the story, say she kills without regard to age or gender, only that you were foolish enough to be in her way. According to others she is vicious and kills only children, taking them to a watery grave.

I'm not really sure where exactly or when this story took place, but I've heard from some people that they believe it happened here in El Paso; along the Rio Grande, but I've not been able to find any record of it. Still others claim it happened somewhere along the Santa Fe River. In fact, there are some reports that she has been spotted in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the PERA Building. This building purportedly sits on land that was once an old Spanish-Indian graveyard and just happens to be near the Santa Fe River.

Regardless of where it originated from, it's a legend that has woven itself into the fabric of the southwest and has been handed down from generation to generation.
Now that you’ve heard at least one version of the story, I'm going to tell you about my dad's encounter, with La Llorona. Knowing my dad like I do, he's not the kind of man to exaggerate or easily be swayed. He's far from gullible and growing up the neighborhood he did, being gullible was not an option. He also found it hard to believe in things you couldn't touch or see. He's always believed there's a logical explanation to everything. That was of course until one fateful summer evening. He was around 11 years-old at the time and this particular evening he had found himself awake and unable to go back to sleep. After several minutes of trying, realizing it was a losing battle, he tried reading a book. Several minutes later he heard someone outside crying in the back yard.

I think mentioned before that my grandmother’s back yard faced the Canal that ran behind San Antonio street in south El Paso. Anyway. Against my grandmothers wishes he decided to see who was crying, it sounded to him like a little girl. So he decided to investigate, as he went outside he noticed a woman in white kneeling and sobbing on the other side fo the fence; near the edge of the canal bank. Slowly he approached the gate and asked if she was okay, she didn't answer, but continued to cry and speak incoherently. So he got closer, but he said as he got close, his legs started to feel funny, kind of like he was walking in mud. Although he realized he should go back inside, but it felt like he no longer had control of his limbs; he felt compelled to walk toward her. When he was just a few feet a way from the fence, he asked again if she was okay, again no answer.

Against his better judgment he decided to take another step, at just that moment she suddenly turned, to face my father, she rushed at him wailing loudly, he doesn't  remember why, but there was something wrong with her face, he didn't want to look at her, but he couldn't turn away. She passed easily through the fence and he found he couldn't move, but just as she reached him she vanished. Regretting his decision, he ran back inside, sleep or no sleep; he did not get out of his bed the rest of the week. Several months after that incident he said he believes he saw her again. Like the time before, he had been up late, he heard whispering and light sobbing. Not wanting a repeat of the previous events, he tried to ignore it, but curiosity got the better of him, so he opened his curtain and saw her standing there, looking in his direction and walking; only not walking, it was almost like a glide, there was not gait to her movement. He spent the rest of that evening sleeping in my grandmother's bed.

He never saw her again after that. But he did tell me of another story I'll have to share with you another time.

I'm happy to say I've not had the pleasure of coming across La Llorona, but I am curious to know if anyone here has seen her or has a different version to share. If so I'd love to hear about them. One interesting thing I would like to note, my father said there was something wrong with her face, almost like it was elongated. So I did some research to see if there were other accounts, I couldn't find anything, but a friend of mine told me of a version he had heard about how when God had cursed her, she was given the face of a horse. I guess that would explain the elongated face. But it reminds me of an incident Rose and I had a few years ago, along Montana street. Again that's another story for another time.

Illustration: Cathy Wilkins

For more art by Cathy Wilkins visit: www.epilogue.net or www.monsterparade.com

Copyright 2008-2009. Allrights Reserved.  The El Paso Alternate Reality Project.

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