La Llorona Summary

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Folk Tales: La Llorona
At night under a full moon partially covered by clouds, a woman dressed in white with a veil appears by the river bank lamenting for her lost children. Anyone who hears her cry “AY….. MIS HIJOS” (OH MY CHILDREN”) gets frightened, terrorized and panics; chills run through your spine. It is said that, a person can turn hysterical if her face is seen. She is La Llorona (the weeping woman).
In Europe, they have their own weeper by the waterside. She is named be’an sighe, in English its “banshee”. The “banshee” is an omen of death. A small woman dressed in green. The tale of the weeping or vengeful woman occurs in many cultures around the world. In Germany they have “Die Weisse Frau”, in Ireland “shrieking banshees” and “Kuchisake-onna” over in Japan. All these legends have something in common with La Llorona. They wail at the presence of death, have lost a child, or have been wronged by their significant other. The Llorona is a tale from North America and can be found …show more content…

Usually these stories have been told to our mothers by our abuelitas who were once told by their mother. And eventually were passed down to us. Narratives have been an essential tool used as cautionary tales. One narrative that is used for the most part by Mexicans and Mexican Americans is the story of La Llorona. This story has several versions for different purposes. One of the ways this narrative is used by parents has been to inhibit children from being out late. It heeds warning to kids not to be out after dark because if they are caught out late something bad will happen to them. La Llorona is also used on young girls as a way to control their sexuality. It is also an example of the consequences a woman will endure if she doesn’t follow her “duties” that society has cast upon her as a woman. For men La Llorona is a reminder to be cautious about who they are with and the actions he

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