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| La Llorona Durmiente, oil on canvas, 2012 Hector Garza |
La Llorona
Todos me dicen el negro, llorona
Negro pero cariñoso
Todos me dicen el negro, llorona
Negro pero cariñoso
Yo soy como el chile verde, llorona
Picante pero sabroso
Yo soy como el chile verde, llorona
Picante pero sabroso
Ay de mí, llorona
Y llorona, tú eres mi chunca
Ay de mí, llorona
Y llorona, tú eres mi chunca
Me quitarán de quererte, llorona
Pero de olvidarte nunca
Salías del templo un día, llorona
Cuando al pasar yo te vi
Salías del templo un día, llorona
Cuando al pasar yo te vi
Hermoso huipil llevabas, llorona
Que la virgen te creí
Hermoso huipil llevabas, llorona
Que la virgen te creí
Si porque te quiero quieres, llorona
Quieres que te quiera más
Si porque te quiero quieres, llorona
Quieres que te quiera más
Si ya te he dado la vida, llorona
¿Qué mas quieres?
¿Quieres más?
Si porque te quiero quieres, llorona
Quieres que te quiera más
Si porque te quiero quieres, llorona
Quieres que te quiera más
Si ya te he dado la vida, llorona
¿Qué más quieres?
¿Quieres más?
The legend of La Llorona has been a scary tale with which to frighten Mexican children into behaving for decades. "Be good, or La Llorona will get you!" is the refrain, and I'm sure that it works on young kids. It would have worked on me, that's for sure!
Her legend has many, many variations, but the ending is always the same. La Llorona was betrayed, and drowned her children in the madness of her grief, and is cursed to wander the earth for eternity, searching for them, weeping.
It's been pointed out that La Llorona, The Weeping Woman, has similarities with the American legend of The Woman in White, also betrayed, also a child-killer.
She's a staple of Mexican culture, so much so that songs have been written about her. Which brings me to a story of my own.
Y'all know I've been Halloween girl since forever. I live for all the trappings of it; the costumes, the food and candy, the decorations and the music. I live for Monster Mash!
A musician friend of mine, however, does not. He's not a fan of "novelty songs" as he calls them, and refuses to sing them. I was stunned to hear this, of course, and debated whether it might be too harsh to end the friendship.
I'm kidding, of course. He's a good guy. But I did tease him about it.
He rolled with it. We've known each other for over twenty years and he's used to my eccentricities. But he did come back a day or two later with a couple of spooky songs, one of which had to do with La Llorona.
Sung by Chavela Vargas, a contemporary and intimate friend of Frida Kahlo, La Llorona is truly evocative and passionate of the betrayal women often face in their most intimate partnerships. My friend told me there are a ton of verses to the song, so singers will often choose the verses they want to sing.
The saddest thing, I suppose, is that I had to concede that it was a solid spooky tune.
I still like Monster Mash, though.
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