THE CRY...La Llorona

You Will Cry Tears of Blood...

I came across this one account of La Llorona where I was told that she has long, knife-like fingernails that scrape the bottom of the rivers as she walks through the water looking for the body of her dead child. 

I found this version to be really freaky and had to include this in my film, The Cry.  So one of my favorite lines in the entire movie is where La Llorona whispers a curse that goes like this:  "Sisters...you're like me.  You're fingers will scrape the bottom of the rivers searching for your child.  And you will cry tears of blood."

La Llorona Terrorizes Kansas

I came across a person who told me that in Kansas, La Llorona roams the highways late at night wearing a hood over her head.  At such a late hour, it's usually truckers who stop to pick her up.  If the men are lucky enough to take off before she gets in, they live to tell the story of meeting her.  If La Llorona gets in the truck, the men disappear forever.

In my film, The Cry, La Llorona also seeks revenge against men--but not all men.  Only men who abuse or hurt women in some way.

Carlos Leon Stars in The Cry

When I was finishing up the script for The Cry, I had the great fortune of meeting Carlos Leon.  At the time Carlos was living between NYC and LA, and from his work on films like Empire, the Big Lebowski, Anne B. Real, and WishMaster2: Evil Never Dies, I knew that he was an incredibly talented actor. (Also, he's one of the nicest guys you'll every meet...as well as one of the hotest!)

Carlos plays the lead role of Sergio Perez--a sort of "caring womanizer" living in NYC who ties to stop La Llorona from terrorizing the city.  (Did I mention that La Llorona doesn't like womanizers?)

Carlos Leon as Perez:  

The Slavic Llorona, Rusalka, Also Wants Revenge

Ben W. recently wrote to me telling me of a Russian version of La Llorona called the Rusalka.  One story of the rusalka in the Salvic world is that she is the ghost of a young woman who haunts a lake where she died--likely murdered by her lover.  Supposedly, she isn't always evil, but her spirit can only find peace if her death is avenged.

The rusalka can emerge from the water at night, and will often climb a tree to sing, sit on a dock and comb her hair, or dance in the field in a circle with other rusalki.

Similar to some versions of La Llorona, Rusalki seduce men.  They do this by luring them in with their singing and then drowning them.  In some versions of the story, it's her laugh that causes death--similar to the crying of the Irish banshee...yet another version of La Llorona.

Children born out of wedlock and then drowned by their mothers can also become rusalki. These children wander through the forests begging to be baptized, which is the only way they can find peace.  They are known to attack you if you get too close.

in my film, The Cry, we see how La Llorona--just like the Rusalka--wants revenge...and how she gets it.

A Philippine Llorona

Today I met Anita, a person from the Philippines who grew up in Hawaii.  She was also told stories of La Llorona as she was growing up.  This reminded me of one of the most vivid stories of La Llorona that I heard from Philipino guy named Rick Hernandez:

"One story we have in the Philippines refers to La Llorona as the White Woman. We believe that she steals souls and lives among the patches of fog that drift along the ground at night. She is very beautiful and very alluring. People who follow her into the mists are lost forever. We also believed she takes the soul of a young girl every year during a parade we have in May. And the wind heard howling at night is actually La Llorona crying."

In my film, The Cry, I also use the wind as the cry of La Llorona.  And yes...she also takes souls.

"The Grudge" was Based on a Japanese Llorona Story

I just discovered that the movie The Grudge (Juon) was based on a version of La Llorona in Japan-- although it seems they changed the premise of the legend around quite a bit. 

They did keep the idea of a mother drowning her kid in the film, which is a basic premise of La Llorona.  I'm looking into the real Japanese legend now.  Does anyone know more about this this version?

The Banshee...an Irish Llorona

I met John a couple of days ago--a guy who is half Mexican and half Irish.  Being from Mexico, of course he knew about La Llorona.  But being Irish, he also knew about the Banshee...someone he called the "Irish Llorona."  I've known of the Banshee for some time, and also believing that she is La Llorona hiding behind another name, I mention the Banshee in my film, The Cry.

John said he had never heard La Llorona crying, but he had heard the Banshee crying.  They say that if you hear the Banshee cry, it's a sign that someone close to you will die.  Sure enough, a couple of days after John heard her, he recieved a phone call that a dear relative had passed away.  John is definitely a believer.

 

Does La Llorona Eat Her Own Flesh?

I just connected with a person from Mexico who said that one of the versions she heard was that La Llorona eats her own flesh.  (Yuck.) 

This is the first time I've come across this story.  Has anyone heard of any accounts like this?

La Llorona Drowned My Brother

One of my earliest interviews was with a historian from Dixon who was heading up a small cultural center in Northern New Mexico.  He told me that when he and his brother were kids, they spent a good deal of time hanging out by the river, even though they knew all about La Llorona and how she drowns kids if they play by the river alone.

The man told me that on one occasion, his brother went out on his own and never came home.  They found his body washed up on the riverbank a few days later.  Everyone in the area said that La Llorona killed him. 

I asked the man, who was now in his early fifties, what he thought happened.  He said, "It was La Llorona.  She drowned my brother." 

This sent a shiver down my spine. 

In my film, The Cry, my leading lady says exactly what I heard this man say and what so many other people have told me:  "La Llorona is real."

La Llorona Wearing a White Veil

Another story I was told by a woman was this: 

"Around 1965, my mom and my dad were having an argument over something. I wasn't even born yet.  They remember hearing a loud scream--like yelling. The house was right by the river. The yelling and screaming just kept getting closer and closer to the house.

They had a small puppy, and the puppy ran under the bed, frantic. He went under the bed and stayed there just whimpering. And my dad wouldn't even get out of bed. Usually, he probably would have. If he heard a noise he'd get out of bed and get his gun or something--at least go check. Apparently he was too afraid.

But my mom says she does remember that the noise came so close she actually could see a woman at the door with a shadow. She says the moon must have been very bright, because she could see a woman with a veil. It was a white veil. And the woman was just yelling. My mom made the sign of the cross and the woman disappeared. She never heard anything like that again.

My mom believes it was La Llorona. And she believes it happened because she and my dad were arguing."