Lección Diecinueve

Folk tales are one way that people keep their cultures alive. Some folk tales are designed to teach a moral lesson or give a warning. Other folk tales offer explanations for the natural world. Still others are told just for entertainment.


"La Llorona" is a Mexican folk tale that goes back to pre-Hispanic times. People tell many different versions of the story, which serves to warn or to scare people. According to legend, la Llorona is a skeleton of a woman, dressed all in white with a veil covering her face. She walks the streets, wailing and crying over the loss of her children. She is called Llorona, from the verb llorar ("to cry"). She is said to appear near a river or lake, because that is where her children drowned.
Some versions of the story say that la Llorona drowned her own children for the love of a man who rejected her. She was so overcome with grief that she killed herself, and she is punished for eternity by being forced to search for her children. Parents warn children not to stay out late at night because la Llorona might kidnap them.


"La Siguanaba" is a warning story from El Salvador told to keep men faithful to their wives. Part of the legend dates back to the time of the Maya, when it was told in the Nahuatl language. According to legend, la Siguanaba was a beautiful woman. She was married to the prince, but she had love affairs with many other men. She tried to murder the prince to replace him with one of her lovers. La Siguanaba's behavior angered the Mayan god and he punished her for eternity by making her face hideous.
According to the story, la Siguanaba is a woman with long, dark hair. Sometimes she is found bathing in a stream or pond, and other times she is seen wearing a long, flowing white gown. She brushes her hair, which covers her face, and men lose control of themselves when they see her. Then she uses her beauty to lure men to a cliff.
When the men get close to la Siguanaba, they realize that she is hideous -- she has a deathly green and wrinkled face, bloodshot eyes, long teeth and nails, and a horrifying cackle of a laugh. Other versions of the legend say that la Siguanaba has the face of a horse or a human skull.
Today, "La Siguanaba" is told to scare little children in El Salvador. People know of several folk remedies for getting away from la Siguanaba. There are different endings to this tale; in many, though, she does not kill the men but leaves them scarred as a reminder to stay faithful to their wives.