By Dj Mike
In the early 1700s, there was a young woman named Maria living
in Juarez, Mexico. As Maria blossomed into a young woman, her
striking beauty attracted the charms of many local men. Coming
from a poor family, her mother encouraged her to marry one of
these dashing young men for a good life. However, Maria refused,
stating her beauty would one day attract the charms of a very rich
man.
Before long, the handsome young man of her dreams rode into
town. He was the son of a well known wealthy rancher west of
Juarez. He wore nice clothes and had a handsome, well groomed
horse with a fancy saddle – all the signs of a man of wealth.
Maria would follow him around, trying to catch his eye, but he
seemed to only notice the young women who were fairly “well to
do.” At night, he would charm the local ladies with his guitar and
golden voice, breaking Maria’s heart.
One day, the young rancher came into the tienda where Maria was
shopping. She blushed from embarrassment, as she was wearing
an old dirty, tattered dress. However, the blushing beauty suddenly
caught the eye of the young rancher. She was the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen.
After a short courtship, the rancher paid her father a large dowry
and they were soon married, in spite of the objections of the
rancher’s father. After all, it was frowned upon for a wealthy man
to marry a woman from a lower class.
Once they were married, they moved to Mesilla, where it is said he
worked his own ranch and worked as a merchant along El Camino
Real. Other say he moved to Mesilla to avoid the scorn of his father
for marrying a woman from such a poor family. Regardless, over
the following years, Maria bore him three children.
As the years went by, Maria and her wealthy husband grew apart.
He was often gone for months at a time on the ranch, or shipping
goods along the Camino Real. He developed little interest in Maria
or the children. Maria suspected he was frequenting the company
of other women during his travels.
One day Maria was walking along the street with her three children
when her husband’s buggy approached. Sitting close was another
woman – a beautiful young woman. He passed her and the
children, pretending not to notice them. Maria’s heart was
wrenched in two.
Her anger exploded into a jealous rage. If only she didn’t have the
children, she thought, then her husband would love her again. In
her rage, she dragged her three children to the Rio Grande and held
their heads under the water until they were dead. Maria had
committed the ultimate sin – deliberately killing her own children.
Returning home later that night, she explained to her husband what
she had done to please him. He was horrified and ordered her out of
his life. It is said Maria roamed the streets of Mesilla for many
nights, calling and crying for her children, earning her the name La
Llorona – the wailing woman.
Realizing she had lost everything in life, she went down to the river
and cried for her children one last time. When there was no answer,
she drove a dagger deep into her chest, falling dead into the Rio
Grande.
The people of Mesilla, finding her body, buried her in the town
cemetery. It is said, even today, La Llorona can be seen roaming
the cemetery and the river, crying for her children, giving the
Mesilla cemetery the reputation for being haunted