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LEGEND OF THE WEEPING WOMAN

It is midnight, and everyone in town can hear the ringing sound of the cathedral bells. From the most distant neighborhood of the city, a mysterious woman always dressed in white walks through the narrow dark alleys, a soul in pain who, burdened by her enormous sins, continues in this world, crying out loud. Those who unfortunately get to see her die of fright, while those who hear her deep moans run in terror from that infernal specter.

It happened in New Spain during the 16th century. The aristocrat Don Nuño de Montes Claros fell in love with Luisa de Hernán y Martínez, a beautiful mixed-race daughter of an Indian princess and a Spanish conquistador. She was twenty years old, slim, and white as a lily. She had burning black eyes, her hair was long and curly, and with lips were red and fresh as pomegranate blossoms. Many were in love with her because they considered her a human angel, and some were so daring that they went to her balcony to recite love poems every night.

However, young Luisa never looked out the window or opened the door, and the townspeople thought no one lived in that room.

At the end of the street was an altarpiece with a saint over the wall. And when the music stopped, people could hear Luisa’s footsteps as she carefully left her house covered with a cloak. Slowly walking, she approached the altarpiece, where an attractive thirty-year-old man with blond hair and blue eyes was waiting for her and with whom she spent hours talking.

One morning, people realized that Luisa had disappeared. The doors of her house were wide open, but they didn’t think it had been a robbery, but rather that she had run away with some unknown lover. In Mexico, the news spread quickly, and everyone gave different versions of what could have happened until the gossip stopped. People gradually forgot about the beautiful Luisa, her suitors, the poems, and the serenades. Finally, that narrow alley became silent again and only remained the dim light of the saint’s lantern.

Six years have passed since the beautiful Luisa disappeared from her neighborhood, but soon the truth came to light. Luisa’s lover, that man with whom she had run away, was none other than Don Nuño de Montes Claros, that attractive young man with whom she spent hours talking. However, since he did not belong to the same social level, he considered his love a bastard, and for that reason, he hid Luisa in a secluded place where they formed the tender nest that the world was looking for in vain. Luisa had three blond children who grew up loved under her care, even though deep down in her soul, she felt a wound because that passionate love that Montes Claros had shown her had disappeared. Over time, her lover lost the habit of going to see her every day, and when he did, as soon as he arrived, he would go out again, leaving the humble Luisa anguished and plunged into deep tears.

One night, Luisa took one of her children in her arms and stood by the open window illuminated by the dim moonlight. From there, with her gaze lost on the horizon, she began to cry while her tears fell on the face of the child sleeping peacefully curled up in her arms. Suddenly, the sound of the cathedral bells announced eleven o’clock at night, so she quickly left the boy in his bed, put on her long cloak, and ran out into the street until she stopped at the Montes Claros mansion.

There, she saw that a thousand shadows crossed the balconies, and she heard the sound of music, lots of laughter, and prolonged applause. For a moment, she stood there, unable to believe what she was seeing and hearing, wondering why her beloved was so happy while she felt so lonely and sad. So, she bravely approached the door and asked one of the men standing outside: Can you tell me what they are celebrating? Your question surprises me! – the man replied – Nobody in town is unaware that today at nine o’clock in the morning in the church of the Tabernacle, the wedding of Don Nuño de Montes Claros took place. “Boy, you missed some news, woman!” The man left, and Luisa stayed there for a long time, motionless and unable to cry. Then, like a shadow, she entered the mansion, covering her face with her cloak so as not to draw attention.

Upon reaching the room, she saw Don Nuño standing next to his lady with their hands clasped and talking to her about love. At that moment, memories overwhelmed her because many years ago, in that neighborhood alley, she and that man had fallen in love, having only the image of the saint as a witness. Enraged, she left there, and with a broken heart, she ran until she reached her house. Upon entering, she went to the closet and, from a drawer, she took out a dagger that Don Nuño had forgotten. Deranged, she ran to the bed where her children slept, and with a poisoned soul, she tore the lives of all three. Thus, covered in blood, she went out into the street crying and yelling: “Ay, mis hijos!” “Ay, mis hijos!”

The people, outraged by the horrific crime, sentenced her to death, and at noon the scaffold was raised in the main square to exercise justice. Luisa walked through the crowd, accompanied by two friars who fervently prayed for her. When going up to the scaffold, Luisa raised her head in fright, and when she recognized her house in the distance, she raised her hands to the sky and, uttering a terrible scream, fell lifeless to the ground. That afternoon, a large funeral procession that sang songs of lamentation brought to the cemetery the remains of the famous Don Nuño de Montes Claros, who, unable to bear the terrible death of his beloved children, went mad and decided to put an end to his life.

People say that since then, they hear the cry of the Weeping Woman and that she is suffering without finding peace and rest for her soul as punishment for her guilt.

AUTHOR: LEGEND FROM MEXICO

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