Abstract This testimonial features the origins of the short story: La Llorona Loca: The Other Side by writer/performer Monica Palacios. Monica’s story is published in the anthology: Chicana Lesbians - The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About. Monica’s obsession with the folklore figure, La Llorona, leads her on a journey to create a comedy routine about the ghost woman in her stand up comedy act. Monica struggles with making the comedy bit work on stage and puts the story on the back burner. Years later, in 1987 Monica is a new arrival in Los Angeles desperately in need of Latina lesbian consciousness. Palacios meets fierce mujeres from the group Lesbianas Unidas who invite Monica to do a comedy performance at their March 1989 International Women’s Day celebration. The group’s support inspires Monica to finally create her Llorona story about lesbiana visibility, resilience, resistance, revolution and raunch. The late 80s and early 90s are turbulent times for queer Latinx people due to AIDS, homophobia, oppression, and politics but despite these challenges, Palacios turns fear into fuel, creating unique material as one of the first Chicana lesbian comedians.

La Llorona (Latin American Spanish: [la ʝoˈɾona]; 'the Crying Woman, the Weeping Woman, the Wailer') is a vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children she drowned in the river. Whoever hears her crying is said to either suffer misfortune, death, or become extremely unsuccessful in life. The lore of La Llorona is well known in Mexico an La Llorona (Latin American Spanish: [la ʝoˈɾona]; 'the Crying Woman, the Weeping Woman, the Wailer') is a vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children she drowned in the river. Whoever hears her crying is said to either suffer misfortune, death, or become extremely unsuccessful in life. The lore of La Llorona is well known in Mexico and the southwestern United States. Her legend is traditionally told throughout Mexico, Central America and northern South America. La Llorona is sometimes conflated with La Malinche, the Nahua woman who served as Hernán Cortés's interpreter and also bore his son. La Malinche is considered both the mother of the modern Mexican people and a symbol of national treachery for her role in aiding the Spanish. The story of La Llorona first appeared on film in 1933's La Llorona, filmed in Mexico. René Cardona's 1960 film La Llorona was also shot in Mexico, as was the 1963 horror film The Curse of the Crying Woman, directed by Rafael Baledón. In a pivotal scene in the 2001 film Mulholland Drive, Rebekah Del Rio plays La Llorona de Los Angeles, a mysterious singer who performs Llorando, a Spanish language version of "Crying" by Roy Orbison. In keeping with the legend, the characters who witness this performance suffer severe consequences. The 2008 Mexican horror film Kilometer 31 is inspired by the legend of La Llorona. Additionally the early 2000s saw a spate of low-budget movies based on La Llorona, including:

Generation of folklore scholars focusing on Mexican American folklore. The first folklore scholar of Hispanic … Mexico and Its Folklore Nicaragua and Its Folklore Panama and Its Folklore Peru and Its Folklore Puerto Rico … Mexico folklore (i.e., folklore of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands). Please also note that the folklore of Mexico

self-determination, and a need to validate Mexican history, mythology, and folklore. The discourse of Chicano nationalism … the traitor of the Mexican people since she delivered them to Cortés; and la llorona, the weeping woman … American family saga and the Mexican #/enovela, the short story, and Mexican American oral traditions. Through

and social dimensions of Mexican cultures. In modern times and several genres, she is compared with La Llorona (folklore story of the woman weeping Marina ([maˈɾina]) or Malintzin ([maˈlintsin]; c. 1500 – c. 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche ([la maˈlintʃe]), was a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an interpreter, advisor, and intermediary for the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. She was one of 20 enslaved women given to Mal…

The dynamism of the digital society increasingly requires university teachers to manage, apply, or adapt teaching resources for the comprehensive academic training of future professionals, without discarding traditional pedagogical tools that prove useful. Legends, as a form of oral literature, can be used to explain certain doubts or social behaviors within the community. As a teaching resource, university professors can develop critical thinking skills that enable students to analyze, evaluate, and compare aspects that affect their personal, academic, and professional lives. In this way, meaningful cultural learning is achieved that describes the behavior, values, traditions, or cultural beliefs of society. "La Llorona," a legend that has survived since 1521, has spread remarkably; it is best known in Mexico and the towns of Los Altos, Jalisco. The characteristics of this literary genre, as a teaching resource, promote enjoyable interaction in the classroom. It motivates students to develop oral and written expression skills while encouraging their creativity. It enriches their cultural heritage because they can identify and value their own roots. The versatility and richness of this resource lies in the plurality of stories derived from its oral transmission, which enhances the educational experience. This work proposes the use of “La Llorona" as a teaching tool for training university students to be analytical, critical, and empathetic to their cultural environment, thus contributing to the comprehensive academic training of competent, responsible, and empathetic professionals in an increasingly globalized world.