La Llorona Research Paper
Crystal Vejar
English 1B
Sias
31 October 2013
La Llorona The legend of La Llorona is a big part of Hispanic folklore. It is used to scare children from wandering in the night and to warn them of the danger of being alone. In this essay I will talk about Llorona. I will talk about her life before having kids, what she did to her kids and present day beliefs about her ghost. Stories of La Llorona date back to 1502, and differ in origins (Santistevan, 2007). Most of the stories have things in common. I will be talking about the most common and important points. Stories of La Llorona date back to the time of the conquistadors. This ghostly woman wanders along canals and rivers crying for her missing children. Called in Spanish La Llorona, "the Weeping Woman," is found in …show more content…
The anguish of having killed her children drove her to drown herself as well. When La Llorona tries to get through the doors of heaven she is pushed back and told that she may not enter until she brings her children with her. Ashamed she returns to earth and searches the river for her children. She searches all rivers but isn’t able to find them. As she goes around searching she cries, “Ay mis hijos!” (Oh my children!). Some stories say that in her desperation to find her children she grabs kids that are near rivers at night. The stories are used by parents to scare their children from wandering alone at night. Others also say that la Llorona attacks men who wander near rivers at night as revenge (West, 1971).
Today the story is well known by most of the Hispanic community (Hayes, 2009). I hope this essay helped explain La Llorona’s life before having kids, what she did to her kids and what she does today as a ghost. The stories are passed on from generation to generation. She will not be able to rest until she finds her lost children. The spirit of La Llorona still haunts the waters and lakes, wailing for her children.
Works
English 1B
Sias
31 October 2013
La Llorona The legend of La Llorona is a big part of Hispanic folklore. It is used to scare children from wandering in the night and to warn them of the danger of being alone. In this essay I will talk about Llorona. I will talk about her life before having kids, what she did to her kids and present day beliefs about her ghost. Stories of La Llorona date back to 1502, and differ in origins (Santistevan, 2007). Most of the stories have things in common. I will be talking about the most common and important points. Stories of La Llorona date back to the time of the conquistadors. This ghostly woman wanders along canals and rivers crying for her missing children. Called in Spanish La Llorona, "the Weeping Woman," is found in …show more content…
The anguish of having killed her children drove her to drown herself as well. When La Llorona tries to get through the doors of heaven she is pushed back and told that she may not enter until she brings her children with her. Ashamed she returns to earth and searches the river for her children. She searches all rivers but isn’t able to find them. As she goes around searching she cries, “Ay mis hijos!” (Oh my children!). Some stories say that in her desperation to find her children she grabs kids that are near rivers at night. The stories are used by parents to scare their children from wandering alone at night. Others also say that la Llorona attacks men who wander near rivers at night as revenge (West, 1971).
Today the story is well known by most of the Hispanic community (Hayes, 2009). I hope this essay helped explain La Llorona’s life before having kids, what she did to her kids and what she does today as a ghost. The stories are passed on from generation to generation. She will not be able to rest until she finds her lost children. The spirit of La Llorona still haunts the waters and lakes, wailing for her children.
Works