The Spirit of La Llorona
Ok, this is long... but... great reading for those interested... (cough, cough) uhmmmm P.C...
First of all, this is not connected to the fact that Halloween just passed, but because I grew up with this legend or folklore (however you wish to name it) and the fact that PC finds it so cute to tease me and torture me at night with threats that she is under my bed, in my closets and behind me... (he loves me so much! Enough to torture me and scare the bajeebies out of me, knowing that I was scarred as a child, even to this freakin’ day, thanks to my mother growing up!!! I still CAN NOT sleep with the closet door open!)
I had lightly mentioned the Llorona at one time a while back and kept thinking that some day I would blog about her. I did some very light research, on the history and legend, and believe me, there’s tons of stuff out there. It’s been one of those on-going thoughts of I need to do my research and post my findings and share my memories.
A bit of history of me and LA LLORONA…
I remember growing up, all the kids, or should I say… “I”, was always told that if I didn’t behave that La LLORONA was going to come after me. Just the threats themselves, left me to believe that La LLORONA was not a good person or spirit in this case. I remember my bedroom being at the back of the house. Upon hitting my junior years, I remember my dad adding a den, and two more bedrooms to the house and of course, my room being in the back of the house again. As far away from my parent’s bedroom, by the time I was in high school I was basically the only one left living with my parents. So I had the back of the house all to myself and the threats continued. I figured out by the time I was in junior high that if I was still around (as bad as I apparently was) La LLORONA was not about to come and get me, she obviously had children that were worse than me!! She was a busy spirit!!! None-the-less, I was still scarred! As I mentioned, my bedroom was in the back of the house, overlooking the under pass of I-10,where a homeless man had been murdered. Where “bad” kids would go to shoot up, have sex and do things that were meant to be hidden from the publics eye. The window to the den and the door faced that section. Oh, and how could I also forget that one of our dogs “PeeWee” was buried right outside my bedroom window! DAMN! I was surrounded by spirits!
I was especially intrigued by a particular sight, I will list all the URL’s where I got my information, but remember, most of my memories and recollections of the Llorona are from all the threats that she was coming after me!
My recollection of the legend:
Basically the way I remember the legend was that of a woman that had children, was not married. She was deeply in love with a man and one night she went to his house to proclaim her love for him, he turned her love and affection away and told her that he did not want an instant family. Heartbroken and torn and distraught, she went home and decided she would show her unfailing love and devotion for him. She took her children to the Rio and drowned them. This was believed in her mind to be an act of love! He would see now just how much she loved him. Upon returning back to her love, she told him what she had drowned the children and that they could now start a life together. The man was in shock with her actions, so much that he slammed the door on her and told her he never wanted to see her again. She left devastated, frantically running back to the river to try and see if the children were possibly still alive. She couldn’t find them, apparently the currant of the river washed their bodies away. So…to this day, she roams cities looking for the bodies of her children, “crying” = La LLORONA.
So…can you all see why I can’t sleep with the closet door(s) open, or the window not being covered; blinds drawn or the curtain closed???
I had lightly mentioned the Llorona at one time a while back and kept thinking that some day I would blog about her. I did some very light research, on the history and legend, and believe me, there’s tons of stuff out there. It’s been one of those on-going thoughts of I need to do my research and post my findings and share my memories.
A bit of history of me and LA LLORONA…
I remember growing up, all the kids, or should I say… “I”, was always told that if I didn’t behave that La LLORONA was going to come after me. Just the threats themselves, left me to believe that La LLORONA was not a good person or spirit in this case. I remember my bedroom being at the back of the house. Upon hitting my junior years, I remember my dad adding a den, and two more bedrooms to the house and of course, my room being in the back of the house again. As far away from my parent’s bedroom, by the time I was in high school I was basically the only one left living with my parents. So I had the back of the house all to myself and the threats continued. I figured out by the time I was in junior high that if I was still around (as bad as I apparently was) La LLORONA was not about to come and get me, she obviously had children that were worse than me!! She was a busy spirit!!! None-the-less, I was still scarred! As I mentioned, my bedroom was in the back of the house, overlooking the under pass of I-10,where a homeless man had been murdered. Where “bad” kids would go to shoot up, have sex and do things that were meant to be hidden from the publics eye. The window to the den and the door faced that section. Oh, and how could I also forget that one of our dogs “PeeWee” was buried right outside my bedroom window! DAMN! I was surrounded by spirits!
I was especially intrigued by a particular sight, I will list all the URL’s where I got my information, but remember, most of my memories and recollections of the Llorona are from all the threats that she was coming after me!
My recollection of the legend:
Basically the way I remember the legend was that of a woman that had children, was not married. She was deeply in love with a man and one night she went to his house to proclaim her love for him, he turned her love and affection away and told her that he did not want an instant family. Heartbroken and torn and distraught, she went home and decided she would show her unfailing love and devotion for him. She took her children to the Rio and drowned them. This was believed in her mind to be an act of love! He would see now just how much she loved him. Upon returning back to her love, she told him what she had drowned the children and that they could now start a life together. The man was in shock with her actions, so much that he slammed the door on her and told her he never wanted to see her again. She left devastated, frantically running back to the river to try and see if the children were possibly still alive. She couldn’t find them, apparently the currant of the river washed their bodies away. So…to this day, she roams cities looking for the bodies of her children, “crying” = La LLORONA.
So…can you all see why I can’t sleep with the closet door(s) open, or the window not being covered; blinds drawn or the curtain closed???
There are various versions of this legend…
I found this great website that seems to fit my memories very close, but it covers all the history, plus lists connections to other cultures.
La Llorona – Siren; Sirena, Harlot; Ramera, Virgin; Virgen, Timeline; Cronologia
1502 – “OH hijos míos…ya ha llegado vuestra destrucción. Donde
los llevare?”(Oh my children…your destruction has arrived. Where can I take
you?)
posted by a faith bigger than fear at Wednesday, November 01, 2006
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