Mexican Folk Tale “La Llorona” (The weeping girl)

A long time ago, there was a poor young girl who loved a rich man, and together they had three children. The girl wished to marry him; however, the man told her that he couldn’t get married with her because she had three out of wedlock children. The girl was determined to be with the man, so she decided to drown her children to prove her love to him. To her surprise, the man didn’t agree to marry her. She got angry and went out near the river where she drowned her children, started walking along the river and weeping and calling for her kids. But they were gone. So, she drowned herself. The spirit of the girl was condemned to wander the waterways, yelling, weeping and searching for her children. Usually, people say that if someone sees a woman dressed with a white dress or hears the phrase “where are my kids?” near a river, someone will die. – Ana Moyeda