La Llorona is a folktale which originated in Mexico but spread to many other Hispanic countries. La Llorona means “The Weeping Woman” and tells the story of a woman named Maria who drowned her children in order to be with her true love, but he rejected her and she killed herself. When she got to Heaven Maria was asked where her children were and because she didn’t know, she wasn’t allowed to enter. Parents now tell their children that Maria, the Weeping Woman, is still looking for her children so they must be careful about being out after dark or flaunting expensive items for fear that she will snatch them up! Others believe that if you hear the Weeping Woman crying, it means death will come soon.
