Debra Blake: Chapter 4

In chapter four, Blake writes that La Lloronas’s story is still popular because “Mexicans and Mexican Americans find in her stories a number of ‘truths’ worth deliberating, including economic, political, racial, and gender realities”(Blake 145). La Llorona is typically depicted as a malicious individual, who has wicked intentions for children but in the narratives, she is transformed into a symbolic figure of being a “savior” and as being “benevolent, protective”( Blake 162, 163). In one of the stories, La Llorona is said to mourn the loss of a woman, Carmen, who has denied “her racial and cultural heritage” (Blake 163). She is now being linked to the loss of culture, which is due to the complete assimilation into another culture. By assimilating, Carmen distanced herself completely and grew ashamed of her Mexican identity. Instead of the Llorona mourning for the children she killed, she is mourning the lost ones, like Carmen. This narrative of La Llorona is one of many representations that exemplify her distinct meanings, in this one she represents change and the resistance of domination. Carmen represents those who have Mexican upbringings, whether it be immigrants or first-generation, who slowly drift away from their upbringings and try to assimilate completely into American culture. La Llorona depicts the resistance of the assimilation into American culture, which is necessary in order to preserve our culture for the generations that come after us. Through all these representations of La Llorona, it is effortless to find one that most Mexicans can relate to, which is why it is such an important part of our culture/upbringing.