Puerto Rico’s La Llorona: Bereaved Mother or Vengeful Spirit?

Passed down from parent to child through the generations, traditional myths and legends play an important role in societies across the world. They connect people to their place of origin and bind communities in the joy of shared storytelling. They can also act as a warning to youngsters on the dangers of bad behavior... This is the story of La Llorona, one of Latin America’s most sorrowful paranormal legends.

La Llorona, the Weeping Woman

In Latin America and Spanish-speaking society in the US, no myth or legend is shared as widely – nor with as much fervor – as that of La Llorona. You can hear versions of her tale in countries from Puerto Rico and Mexico to Guatemala, Venezuela, and beyond. What links them, though, is their warning note of danger and tragedy.



The name La Llorona translates to ‘the weeping woman’ or ‘the wailing woman’. There’s evidence to suggest her story pre-dates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in Latin America, but in recent times it has become more closely associated with the Spanish colonial era itself – and the relationship between the conquistadors and local indigenous women.

The Story of La Llorona in Puerto Rico

Many years ago, a woman by the name of Maria was known far and wide for her extraordinary beauty. Hopeful men would ask for her hand in marriage week after week, though none would ever win it.

One day, a handsome man rode into town on horseback and caught young Maria’s eye. She knew immediately that he had to be hers, as he was the only man she’d ever met that matched her in beauty.

They married soon after, had two beautiful children, and settled down to family life together. Sadly, Maria’s happiness was not to last.

Some months into their marriage, Maria’s husband left town, and returned a few days later with another woman on his arm. Looking Maria in the eye, he told her she was no longer beautiful and pledged his life to his mistress. In doing so, he broke poor Maria’s heart.

Blinded by an overwhelming desire for revenge, Maria decided the only way to make her husband see the error of his ways was to inflict on him the same pain he had dealt her. She woke her boys from their sleep, took them out to the river for a bath and, hand in hand, led them into the gentle current.

Maria held her boys under the water until they drowned. When she came to and realized what she’d done, she screamed into the wind, “My children!” before letting the river claim her life, too.

As the story goes, the spirit of a weeping Maria – or La Llorona – is sometimes seen searching in despair for other children to claim as her own. Heading out along the river near Coamo, Puerto Rico, drivers are said to have reported sightings of a woman standing by the Puente de las Calabazas (Las Calabazas Bridge). They drive past and think nothing of it, until the women’s ghostly form appears in the car with them, looking mournfully for the niños she lost.

Tales like that of La Llorona play an important role in Hispanic society across the Americas, but there are many, many more. For more insight into the supernatural stories that circulate in this part of the world, check out our ghost walks in Puerto Rico.

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