Centuries before Frankenstein’s bride first screamed and hissed on the big screen in 1935, the legend of the wailing woman who drowned her children was already terrifying kids throughout the Americas.
But only now, with Latinos constituting the largest minority group in the nation, has the tale of La Llorona started to creep into the nation’s Halloween festivities.
And she’s not the only Latino myth infiltrating the autumn celebration of all things scary and gory.
The trend in heavily Latino regions seems fueled by a growing Latino middle class that visits theme parks in greater numbers and the rising popularity of Halloween, now the second-biggest holiday for spending in the country, behind only Christmas.
Meanwhile, Americans plan to spend an average of $72.31 on costumes, decorations and candy this year, up from $66.28 last year, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group for the nation’s retailers.
Over the past few years, La Llorona (pronounced “LAH yoh ROH nah) has joined the urban legend of the bloodsucking doglike creature, the chupacabra, and the guitar-plucking skeletons of the Day of the Dead celebration in the nation’s traditional lineup of frightening characters at Halloween events.
“This (legend of La Llorona) transcends Mexico” and Latin America, says John Murdy with Universal Studios Hollywood. “This story has been told to millions and millions of people.”
