Conclusion

After much research and thought on this topic I still feel as though La Llorona does not really exist, but the legend is a method to keep children safe at night.  I feel this way due to lack of evidence and sightings, however the story its self is still as entertaining and spooky to me.

Evidence

Although there is no concrete evidence of whether La Llorona really exists or not, all the stories have very similar elements to them and take place in similar settings such as rivers, drainage ditches or even train tracks states "Ed Walraven" -(Evidence of Developing Variant La Llorona).    La Llorona sightings have even taken place in non traditional settings such as city dumps and parks. People all over the country claim to have seen the weeping woman, but no official reports, videos, or pictures exist.

Stories

There are several versions about La Llorona that have been told to me throughout my life, one of my very favorite versions is one of the most tragic and dramatic and was also written by "Joe Haynes's (the Weeping Woman).

The story tells of a beautiful young maiden by the name of Maria, her astonishing  beauty and grace was known and envied throughout the land by all.  One day maria met a young, rich, handsome rancher from a nearby town and fell head over heels in love.  Shortly after that maria and the young rancher got married and started a family, maria gave birth to two beautiful sons and all was well for the time. Sadly all good things eventually came to an end and maria's husband grew weary of his ranch life and took to the wilderness looking for adventure, leaving poor maria and her children alone for months at a time.  When the husband would return home he would give all his time and attention to his children, leaving his dear wife lonely and in the shadows, eventually this became a normal thing and maria would no longer have any part of it. Maria became so angry and blinded by rage that one day she threw her children into the river! shortly after, realizing what she had done, maria panicked and ran down the river looking for her boys.  That was the last time anyone ever heard from maria or her children.
The legend tells that on dark chilly nights you can hear maria crying for her lost children, and every so often you will see a beautiful woman walking the river banks dressed in a white gown.


This version was told to me when i was a child by my mother. (Marie Sharski)

Background

The legend of La Llorona is a Hispanic tale that has been told for hundreds of years, although it is mainly told to children it is a very sad story and was primarily used as a warning for children to behave themselves and avoid bad behavior as stated by Joe Hayes (The Weeping Woman).

Proposal

I chose to write about the legend of La Llorona because he story has always interested me.  This story was told to me several times by my great grandmother in New Mexico when I was a child in order to keep me inside at night and away from rivers and drainage ditches.  Although there is no evidence of this legend being anywhere near true, I chose to write about it because it holds some south western culture to it.  The story tells of a spirit that wanders around in the darkest hours of the night, calling out for her lost children.  The legend states that if a child is to go out at night and wander the river banks or drainage ditches, La Llorona would find them and the child would meet a gruesome death.