Sometimes, just at dusk, as the darkness begins to descend in southern New Mexico, wisps of mist begin to rise off the Rio Grande and the desert willows on the banks rustle and whisper softly. Or is it the sound of someone weeping? It is a mournful sound, full of grief and pain. A lonely dirt road winds along the bank and then turns and disappears into the scrub and greasewood. A dead tree stretches its stark, grotesque branches out to a darkening sky, framing the current of water as it hurries along.

Is that a dim shadow by the tree? A person in distress, perhaps, on this lonely stretch of river bank? Have a care! For it could be La Llorona, the weeping woman, looking for her drowned children!

The origins of the weeping woman are unknown, and versions of the tale are found in many regions and many cultures. The Hispanic roots of the legend go back to the stories of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, and his Aztec translator and mistress, La Malinche, making this woman the most widely known ghost in the Southwest. Her story can be interpreted in many ways, including punishment for treason, since many consider La Malinche a traitor to her people for collaborating with the conqueror. Or it may be a case of a woman scorned, betrayed by a lover who left her with children to marry a "proper lady" of his own station, which was also similar to the story of Cortes and his mistress.

It is a tale often told to children to keep them from wandering about after dark–they are told that La Llorona is looking for replacements for her own dead children. One man recalls that as a child, he often cried at night, disrupting the entire household. His mother told him about La Llorona and that she was looking for other children to drown. “If you don't hush and stop your crying,” she said, “La Llorona will hear you and know where to find you!” He says he never cried at night again.