La Llorona means the Weeping Lady. In addition to being a Woman in White – a lady ghost who wanders by lonely roadways at night – La Llorona is also considered by some communities to be a demon or even a tulpa.
Folklore
In most communities, La Llorona is thought to be the ghost of a woman who was betrayed by her lover, who murdered her children for revenge. In Texas, she is thought by some to be the ghost of La Malinche. In life, La Malinche was an Aztec woman who served as a translator for the Spanish colonizing Mexico in the time of Hernan Cortes.
Tradition has it that she was Cortes’ mistress who bore a son for him, but was abandoned by Cortez in favor of a highborn Spanish wife.
Children in Miami know La Llorona as a demon feared even by Satan. She feeds on the fear of children and rejoices in their death. Her curse can be caught by glancing into a mirror by accident in a darkened room and seeing her face. Once La Llorona has seen the face of a person, she can always find them.
Other similar spirits
Another wandering spirit lady in Miami is the Blue Lady, related to Yemana, who exists to give hope to children.
La Llorona and all of the other stories of predatory roadside women relate to Hecate, witch goddess of the crossroads, and to the demonic version of Mustang Sally as entities that know secrets, are filled with malice, and whose images are similar among several cultures.
The myth of Medea in Greek mythology is similar to the stories of La Llorona. There is something very primal about a woman who slays her family in a fit of passion and is cast out of society to wander the world forever.
