Legends of Mexico

[jaguarin]

Okay here I'll like post some of the most famous legends of Mexico. Most of them are from thr century XIV or XV.


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The Weeping Woman
(La Llorona)

La Llorona is a classic Southwestern folktale. She is called La Llorona, which translates in English to "the weeping woman," because of her cries at night.

The general legend is that there was a beautiful young Native American girl. A handsome man came riding into town and ended up marrying her. She had a child or maybe two or three, no one is really quite sure. When her husband left her she threw her children into the river out of madness. When she realized what she had done she ran after her children.

The next day she was found dead on the river bank. They buried her, but that night they heard a shrieking cry of "Ayyy mis hijos" which means "Oh my children!" Legend has it that she wanders the river at night looking for her children. Parents warned their children that if they were out late at the river at night, La Llorona might mistake them for her own children and take them.

There are many different versions to this story. Some say it originated in Spain. Some of the versions give her a name.

A second version of the La Llorona story is that she appears to young men who roam about at night. The young men believe that she is a young, beautiful woman, but when they approach her with sexual intent in mind, she shows herself to be a hag or a terrible image of death personified.

Rudolfo Anaya has another book call La Llorona which suggests that La Llorona derives from La Malinche (another Spanish folktale). La Malinche helped the Spanish conquerors who invaded Mexico and her name became synonymous with one who betrays.

No one truly knows if the story of La Llorona is true or if it was made up, but it has been carried down for many generations. Stories about La Llorona have been heard in Spain.

La Llorona is largely associated with "evil". Men going to red light houses at night are called by La Llorona. Children who stay out at the river at night probably doing things they shouldn't be doing are called by La Llorona. Throughout the years the story has changed and newer literature associates La Llorona with the abused and neglected children of the world. There are many poems of lost love that mention her.

She has almost become a symbol of sadness and pain instead of evil, hatred, and selfishness.

La Llorona was possibly originally used as a scare tactic towards "evil behavior," but as society changes the story is told much more often to frighten small children and to tell on Halloween night. The story of La Llorona has spread to the East and different versions of the story are told. The

References

Anaya, R. (1972). Bless Me Ultima. TQS Publications: Berkeley.
Baca, J.S. (1987). Martin and Meditations on the South Valley. New Directions: New York.
Hayes, J. (1987). La Llorona: The Weeping Woman. Cinco Puntos Press: El Paso.
Rebolledo, T.D. (1995). Women Singing in the Snow. U of Arizona Press: Tucson.
Villanueva, A. (1994). Weeping Woman. Bilingual Press: Arizona.

:dance: Ayyyyyyyyy mis hijoooossss!!!!

[jaguarin]

The mummification is thought to be due, though this is not a scientific opinion, to the quality of the air, given the altitude, rather than to the soil, since the same process occurs in tombs and in the ground. In any case it is certain that the phenomenon did not take place after the first corpses were exhumed from the Municipal Cemetery, after a set period of five years, and that mummification must have taken place previously.

The most important fact in regard to this phenomenon is the great loss of life which occurred at the time, so that as a result many of the corpses were buried almost as soon as they were pronounced dead, in order to prevent the spread of the plague. Thus it happened that in some cases they were buried when in reality they had not yet died, so that when they came out of that cataleptic state, in the tomb, they finally died of desperation, anguish and asphyxiation. Thus the expressions of horror and pain that is found on some of the mommies.


This occurred during the epidemic of cholera morbus that swept the area around 1833. The present cemetery (1861), where mummification was verified, was still not in existence. The numbers of the dead were so great that it was necessary to open up new cemeteries on the hillsides of San Cayetano and part of the Cañada de Marfil.

Churches did much to deal with this problem in almost the entire country. Here were those of the Jesuits, San Francisco, San Diego, Belén, San Roque, San Sebastián. This last is one of the oldest. The first mummifications date from 1861, when the Municipal Cemetery was inaugurated, during General Francisco Pacheco's term as governor of the state.


The first mummified corpse to be exhibited, in 1965, corresponds to the French Dr. Remigio Leroy, and it still exists. For many years the mummies have been exhibited to the public in a crypt that is just below the place where this curious phenomenon was discovered. The macabre spectacle is offered in a gallery at the back, with the mummies forming a double line of about 15 metres, behind a large plate of glass.

[jaguarin]

One of the most surprising legends, given its tragic and romantic flavour, is this one.

The story is told that Doña Carmen was the only daughter of an obstinate and violent man, but as tends to happen, love wins out, unlucky as it might be. Doña Carmen was courted by her beau, Don Luis, in a church near the maiden's home, where first he offered her holy water with his hand. On being discovered, she was subsequently locked up, threatened with being sent to a convent, and, worst of all, with being married in Spain to a rich, old noble, a marriage which would help to restore her father's dwindling fortune.

The lovely, obedient creature and her companion, Doña Brígida, wept and prayed together. Then, before the young girl submitted to her sacrifice, they decided that Doña Brígida should take a message to Don Luis with the unfortunate news. A thousand plans occurred to the young lover, but of all of them, there was one that seemed the best. A window in Doña Carmen's home gave onto an alley so narrow that it was possible, leaning out the window to touch the wall on the other side with a hand. If he could get into the house on the other side of the alley, he would be able to talk with his beloved and, between the two of them, find a solution to their problem.

He asked who the owner of the house was and bought it for a fortune. One can only imagine Doña Carmen's surprise when stepping out onto her balcony, she found the man of her dreams so close.

When a few moments had passed since that indescribable lovers' conversation began, and the lovers were deep in thought, violent words were heard from the back of the room. It was Doña Carmen's father shouting at Brígida, who risked her life trying to prevent her master from entering her lady's chambers. The father pushed Doña Carmen's protector aside with ease, and with dagger in hand, with a single blow he plunged it into his daughter's breast.

Don Luis was shocked into silence. Doña Carmen's hand, still in his, slowly went cold. Resigned to the inevitable, Don Luis left a tender kiss on that smooth, pale hand, now lifeless. This is why this spot, undoubtedly one of the most typical of our city, is called the Callejón del Beso (the Alley of the Kiss).

[jaguarin]

Juan José de los Reyes Martínez, a simple miner, native of San Miguel de Allende but working at the time in the nearby mine at Mellado, is better known to history by his nickname "Pipila". Once the conspiracy was discovered, Hidalgo gathered together a group of townspeople, among them some prisoners from the gaol, and with those they recruited along the way, arrived in Guanajuato. Their main objective was to take the Granaditas Corn Exchange, where Riaño, the governor, had taken position, with the soldiers of the garrison. The treasure in his care (some three million pesos), silver ingots, money in cash and even the mercury used by the Royal Tax Office, as well as military equipment and food supplies, were necessary to withstand the siege.

In the bloody, indescribable battle, this man of the people, a humble Mellado miner, put a flagstone on his back and carrying a torch, crawled to the door of the Corn Exchange, which he set on fire after having smeared it with pitch.

When the wood gave, the crowd broke in, undaunted by the many who fell, victims of the Spaniards' concentrated rifle fire. Some fell and others charged over them, into a hand-to-hand struggle on the inner patio, where the strength of the two bands was equalised since the firearms were no longer usable... until blood flowed in a torrent out the door and down Mendizábal Street...

Were it not for the courage of "El Pipila", Hidalgo would not have taken Granaditas and the result of the insurrection would have been quite different. In other words, Mexico's independence would have been won, but who knows how much later, under what conditions and at what cost?

The success of this historical clash between rebels and royalists was chiefly due to the courage of "El Pipila". This momentous event marks the beginning of an epic in which Guanajuato covered itself with glory and which constitutes one of the most magnificent episodes in the history of Mexico.

[jaguarin]

It is said that on that picturesque and lovely peak in the hills of La Bufa there lives an enchanted princess of rare beauty, who on the morning of each of the Thursday holy days of the year comes out to meet a man passing by, asking him to carry her in his arms to the high altar of what is today the Basilica of Guanajuato and telling him that when they arrive there the city will be restored to its former splendour, turning into a city of silver as it was once, many years ago. And she, the young girl with the spell on her, will regain her human condition.

To break this spell there are certain conditions, such as that the traveller, fascinated by the beauty of the young woman who asks him for help, must have sufficient will power to pass various tests. Carrying her in his arms he must walk straight ahead without hesitating or turning his head, in spite of the voices calling out to him and other strange noises he hears behind him.
If the man loses his nerve and turns around, the lovely maiden turns into a horrible serpent and all ends there.

The offer is tempting: a lovely girl and an inexhaustible fortune. But who is the gallant young man with nerves of steel who can perform this feat? Apparently it is extremely difficult to meet the challenge, since Guanajuato, the state we see today, is more than four centuries old and no one has yet been able to fulfil the requirements to break the spell.

Writers and poets are born and die, and with greater or less elegance of language, all of them retell the legend, a tribute to Guanajuato, to La Bufa and to the lovely enchanted princess.

[jaguarin]

The people who live here claim that the shadow of a man, dressed in the old style, in a long coat, and with a broad-brimmed hat pulled down over his forehead, so that only two eyes like smouldering coals can be seen in a pale, contorted face, slips hurriedly down the street when the silence and shadows of night arrive. This is the shadow of Don Ernesto, who stealthily halts before a door.

He knocks three times. A deathly creak is heard as the door opens. The gentleman goes inside. This is the Gambling House, where only the richest of men go. Here they play for high stakes.

First bags full of gold, then their estates, finally their homes. It is a bad night for Don Ernesto. He has lost three or four of his finest properties. He is more nervous than ever. Fortune has turned her back on him. He makes a calculation in his mind and realises that he has lost everything.


- "Not everything, friend. There is still something of value."
- "The devil only knows! What is it?"
- "And it goes in one play, for all you've lost, on the first hand," adds the first voice.
Don Ernesto, beside himself, exclaims:
- "What are you talking about? Tell me, once and for all!" And he starts to get up.
- "Calm down, calm down!" his opponent says.
- "And be damned!" cries the unlucky gentleman.
His adversary leans over the table to whisper a few words in Don Ernesto's ear.
- "No, by God! Not her!" shouts the loser, his emotions at a fever pitch.
- "Make up your mind. In this way you can win back your wealth."
A few instants pass while the grim gambler's struggles within himself. Finally he cries out,
- "So be it! To the highest card!"
His friend unhurriedly puts two cards on the table, a jack of diamonds and a six of spades.
- "To the jack!" shouts Don Ernesto, trembling with emotion.
The fateful cards slide off the deck, seven of clubs, three of diamonds, queen of hearts and finally, the card that will damn him, the six.
- "You lose again."

The gentleman is struck dumb, without moving, as if he has collapsed. He has gambled away his beautiful wife. He is a man of his word and he must pay up. This time his opponent was the devil himself, and for that reason Don Ernesto did not win a single hand.

[spyke]

I like the myth La Chupacabra(forgive me if I spellt it wrong)

[jaguarin]

Chupa cabras (suck goats)

That was a few years ago. In many parts of Mexico began to appear death cows. Nodody knew why, so one day the people began to said that was the "chupa cabras" a kind of big bat, a animal from imagination. But was just that a myth, but was very popular and now the word "chupacabras" is easily find in our daily talk.

[ShadowWalker]

OK curiosity has gotten the better of me. Jag, by any chance, after the appearance of the dead cattle and the big bat, did anything tragic happen in any part of Mexico?

The reason why i asked, is that when "The Mothman Prophecies" came out, I did some research on the Mothman legend.

1. Mothman was named after Batman

2. Cattle carcases where found strewn in farm fields around Point Pleasant, completely drained of their blood.

3. A moth/bat type creature was sighted flying overhead Chernobyl, before the tragic nuclear explosion.

An article I read said it was believed that after sightings of the Mothman in a town, something tragic happened.

[spyke]

I love that movie and I love that myth/legend/possiable reality.I know about some Mexican legends because I live in Texas.There is one myth about a "Goat Man" said to rome around lake Worth I think. He is supposed to a sort of Texas version of BigFoot but you know the crazy part about that? The "Goat Man" also is said to rome around teh Outdoor Learning Center and that is a place were schools take students for a overnight field trip.I went there ounce and my sister freaked me out when she told me about it cuz I was only 9 at the time and was in fifth grade.

[jaguarin]

Originally posted by ShadowWalker
OK curiosity has gotten the better of me. Jag, by any chance, after the appearance of the dead cattle and the big bat, did anything tragic happen in any part of Mexico?

The reason why i asked, is that when "The Mothman Prophecies" came out, I did some research on the Mothman legend.

An article I read said it was believed that after sightings of the Mothman in a town, something tragic happened.

Well the only thing that i know is that before the arrived of the Hernán Cortés in 1519, began to appear strange signals in all the country.

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Ten years before the Spaniards came to this land, the people saw a strange wonder and took it to be an evil sign and portent. This wonder was a great column of flame which burned in the night, shooting out such brilliant sparks and flashes that it seemed to rain fire on the earth and to blaze like daybreak. It seemed to be fastened against the sky in the shape of a pyramid, its base set against the ground, where it was of vast width, and its bulk narrowing to a peak that reached up and touched the heavens. It appeared at midnight and could still be seen at dawn, but in the daytime it was quelled by the force and brilliance of the sun. This portent burned for a year, beginning in the year which the natives called 12-House-that is, 1517 in our Spanish reckoning.

When this sign and portent was first seen, the natives were overcome with terror, weeping and shouting and crying out, and beating the Palms of their hands against their mouths, as is their custom. These shouts and cries were accompanied by sacrifices of blood and of human beings, for this was their practice whenever they thought they were endangered by some calamity.

This great marvel caused so much dread and wonder that they spoke of it constantly, trying to imagine what such a strange novelty could signify. They begged the seers and magicians to interpret its meaning, because no such thing had ever been seen or reported anywhere in the world. It should be noted that these signs began to appear ten years before the coming of the Spaniards, but that the year called 12-House in their reckoning was the year 1517, two years before the Spaniards reached this land.

The second wonder, sign or omen which the natives beheld was this: the temple of the demon Huitzilopochtli, in the sector named Tlacateco, caught fire and burned, though no one had set it afire. The blaze was so great and sudden that wings of flame rushed out of the doors and seemed to touch the sky.

The third wonder and sign was this: a lightning-bolt fell on a temple of idolatry whose roof was made of straw. The name of this temple was Tzonmolco, and it was dedicated to their idol Xiuhtecuhtli.The bolt fell on the temple with neither flash nor thunder, when there was only a light rain, like a dew. It was taken as an omen and miracle which boded evil, and all burned down.

The fourth wonder was this: comets flashed through the sky in the daytime while the sun was shining. They raced by threes from the west to the east with great haste and violence, shooting off bright coals and sparks of fire, and trailing such long tails that their splendor filled the sky. When these portents were seen, the people were terrified, wailing and crying aloud.


The fifth wonder was this: the Lake of Mexico rose when there was no wind. It boiled, and boiled again, and foamed until it reached a great height, until it washed against half the houses in the city. House after house collapsed and was destroyed by the waters.

The sixth wonder was this: the people heard in the night the voice of a weeping woman, who sobbed and sighed and drowned herself in her tears. This woman cried: "0 my sons, we are lost ...!" Or she cried: "0 my sons, where can I hide you...?"

The seventh wonder was this: the men whose work is in the Lake of Mexico-the fishermen and other boatmen, or the fowlers in their canoes-trapped a dark-feathered bird resembling a crane and took it to Motecuhzoma so that he might see it. He was in the palace of the Black Hall; the sun was already in the west. This bird was so unique and marvelous that, no one could exaggerate its strangeness or describe it well, A round diadem was set in its head in the form of a clear and transparent mirror, in which could be seen the heavens, the three stars in Taurus and the stars in the sign of the Gemini. When Motecuhzoma saw this, he was filled with dread and wonder, for he believed it was a bad omen to see the stars of heaven in the diadem of that bird.

When Motecuhzoma looked into the mirror a second time, he saw a host of people, all armed like warriors, coming forward in well-ordered ranks. They skirmished and fought with each other, and were accompanied by strange deer and other creatures.

Therefore, he called for his magicians and fortune-tellers, whose wisdom he trusted, and asked them what these unnatural visions meant: "My dear and learned friends, I have witnessed great signs in the diadem of a bird, which was brought to me as something new and marvelous that had never been seen before. What I witnessed in that diadem, which is pellucid like a mirror, was a strange host of people rushing toward me across a plain. Now look yourselves, and see what I have seen."

But when they wished to advise their lord on what seemed to them so wondrous a thing, and to give him their judgments, divinations and predictions, the bird suddenly disappeared; and thus they could not offer him any sure opinion.

The eighth wonder and sign that appeared in Mexico: the natives saw two men merged into one body-these they called tlacantzolli ("men-squeezed-together") -and others who had two heads but only one body. They were brought to the palace of the Black Hall to be shown to the great Motecuhzoma, but they vanished as soon as he had seen them, and all these signs and others became invisible. To the natives, these marvels augured their death and ruin, signifying that the end of the world was coming and that other peoples would be created to inhabit the earth. They were so frightened and grief-stricken that they could form no judgment about these things, so new and strange and never before seen or reported.

The Wonders and Signs Observed in Tlaxcala

Other signs appeared here in this province of Tlaxcala, a little before the arrival of the Spaniards. The first sign was a radiance that shone in the east every morning three hours before sunrise. This radiance was in the form of a brilliant white cloud which rose to the sky, and the people were filled with dread and wonder, not knowing what it could be.

They also saw another marvelous sign: a whirlwind of dust that rose like a sleeve from the top of the Matlalcueye, now called the Sierra de Tlaxcala.' This sleeve rose so high that it seemed to touch the sky. The sign appeared many times throughout a whole year and caused the people great dread and wonder, emotions which are contrary to their bent and to that of their nation. They could only believe that the gods had descended from heaven, and the news flew through the province to the smallest villages. But however this may have been, the arrival of a strange new people was at last reported and confirmed, especially in Mexico, the head of this empire and monarchy.

[kryptonite785]

Originally posted by spyke
I love that movie and I love that myth/legend/possiable reality.I know about some Mexican legends because I live in Texas.There is one myth about a "Goat Man" said to rome around lake Worth I think. He is supposed to a sort of Texas version of BigFoot but you know the crazy part about that? The "Goat Man" also is said to rome around teh Outdoor Learning Center and that is a place were schools take students for a overnight field trip.I went there ounce and my sister freaked me out when she told me about it cuz I was only 9 at the time and was in fifth grade.

OMG. I used to live in Fort Worth, and my friend's dad always talked about Goat Man. I always thought he was crazy and made it up...but I guess other people know about it too. He is a Mexican native with Indian heritage, so I always thought it was some old Native American tale. The story always used to scare the sh*t out of my other friend.

[jaguarin]

Well here the only legend of a big bat was the chupacabras the most of legends talk about souls, not Wolfmen, Draculas or things lke that. The myths of Mexico always have a relation between the people that is gone and the people alive.

[spyke]

The Goat Man is said to hand around the Eagle mountain Lake area and Lake Worth.There was even a incedent where alot of people saw it and a man with a camra dove into some tall grass and The Goat Man(Man with camras account) walked passed him and looked down at the man and he got a picture of him.Unfortuanatly this incedent was a night and in the seventies so the picture was not of good quality.I have seen this picture and it is kinda freaky,you can make out its shape but cannot see any feachers.

[jaguarin]

I didn't knew that, sounds interesting...

[spyke]

if I can find a pic I'll post it. ohh I got another one but its not a myth but it is freaky. I'm in a group called the Peer Helpers for my school and this is my second year in it.Last year when we went on a overnight retreat and I think its in two weeks when we go again.well anyways the leader of teh group(Mrs.Fielding) told us(When it was at night and we were all by a campfire) that the place where we were staying overnight at used to be a insane aslyam and the place where we were sleeping was there leaving quarters.How freaky is that?

[jaguarin]

Sounds very good.... let me search for a legend about vamps here, would be...

[srfrgrl]

Thanks for posting those legends, some of them are too freaky, like the first one, gave me the chills. I hope you continue to post more of them!