We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you:

La Llorona

(The Weeping Woman)

Ghost legend

We attended the return of the legendary Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade attended by close to one thousand contestants from far and wide. I decided to represent a cultural specter that most Hispanic children are told about during Halloween which scares them to the core.

Early colonial texts provide evidence that the lore is pre-Hispanic, originating in the central highlands. However, La Llorona is most commonly associated with the colonial era and the dynamic between Spanish conquistadores and indigenous women. The most common lore about La Llorona includes her initially being an Indigenous woman who murdered her own children, which she bore from a wealthy Spaniard, after he abandoned her. The villainous qualities of La Llorona, including infanticide and the murdering of one’s own blood is assumed to be connected to the narrative surrounding Doña Marina, also known as El Malinche, or Maltinzin in her original nomenclature. Today, the lore of La Llorona is well known in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.

I was so pleasantly surprised to have so many recognize the costume and portrayal. I was approached by folks whispering, “La LLorona…”as I moaned and cried holding one of my children (portrayed by Chihuahua Kimba) and seeking my other dead children.

Happy Halloween!

Anthony Rubio Canine Couture

Event:

The 32nd Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Festival