Firstly, The term “Woman Hollering” is probably a very loose translation from the Spanish. The widely-known legend of La Llorona, “the weeping woman” or “she who weeps” is told to children all over Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.

La Llorona is a fixture in the Mexican pantheon of restless spirits. The tale dates back to the Aztecs and like “urban legends” – it possibly arose from more than one source. Like proverbs – but more wordy – it’s a morality story. Variations are included:

A girl, young woman / married woman finds herself “with child.” The father of the child is:
A. not interested in fatherhood
B. runs off with another woman or
C. He’s a new man that comes into her life who doesn’t want children.

After giving birth, she then drowns the baby (your choice of gender)
A. out of despair and her inability to face parenthood alone.
B. For revenge, or
C. to gain the new man’s attention by being unencumbered by child.The man:
A. still runs off with the other woman.
B. wins the lottery and runs off with the other woman or
C. graduates from medical school and runs off with the other woman.

The only consistent facts in all the variations we’ve heard are: the child is drowned – it’s the girl who is pregnant, never the man and she almost immediately regrets her act. She’s always haunting the scene of her horrible deed; weeping, sobbing, wailing, bellowing, or hollering.

Joe Troesser