The myths and legends of Mexico they show that these kinds of stories are deeply rooted in society. These stories have existed forever and become an important part of the folklore of the people..
Myths and legends always function as a way to try to explain the world we live in or in order to send moralizing messages. However, beyond the foundations of myths and legends, from our earliest childhood we have been fascinated by stories. This is why children in their training and education processes feel a great affinity with stories..
Rescuing the traditions is precious, because they are literary treasures of the orality of the peoples. Thinking about this, today we want to share with you some of the myths and legends of Mexico.
La Llorona is one of the most popular myths in Mexico and Latin America in general. Each country may have its own version of La Llorona, but the Mexican is undoubtedly one of the most popular, so much that they have made films and even episodes in television series.
This legend maintains that a woman for revenge on the father of her children, an inveterate drunkard, decides to kill her own children by drowning them in a river. His remorse is such that after that he commits suicide. Tradition assures that since then La Llorona roams the streets of the towns shouting "Ay, my children" "Ay, my children".
They also say that his favorite places are the banks of rivers and streams, and he appears especially to people in a drunken state, or to children who play alone in these places after sunset..
This may sound a bit ridiculous, but to this day there are people who live near different places with water, and they assure that they can hear on stormy nights, the heartbreaking screams of this woman.
This legend is typical of the city of Guanajuato, but widespread throughout Mexico. They say that Doña Carmen was the only daughter of a completely jealous and uncompromising father.
He wanted to marry her to a Spanish millionaire and make his daughter a lady of high society. However, love had other plans, and she was madly in love with Don Luis, a heartthrob who courted her and had her heart on fire.
Her father, who wanted to oppose the romance at all costs, and denying the idea of the convent, locked her in an isolated room in a colonial house, which was only accessible through a small corridor. Don Luis, blinded by love for Doña Carmen, found a window through which he could sneak in to see his beloved.
However, when they were in the small alley in an idyll of kisses, Doña Carmén's father arrived and out of the rage he felt he stabbed a dagger in his chest, which caused him a sudden death..
This is where the tradition is born that in every narrow corridor lovers should kiss to preserve their love..
This myth comes from the Mayan culture and continues to this day. They say that the gods when they created the earth assigned each animal a specific task to help human beings.
After finishing, they discovered that they had run out of someone to convey ideas, thoughts and inspiration. So, they took a jade stone that they had on hand and carved a small arrow that immediately flew out..
They called this multicolored animal x'ts'unu'um, which means hummingbird. It is said that when a hummingbird comes into our lives, the thoughts that come from then on are messages from our gods and ancestors.
Another particular fact is that it is the only animal created from a precious stone, since the others are made of clay and corn. This makes it a animal deeply connected with the higher planes, That is why if you are lucky enough to find many hummingbirds on your way, you can consider yourself a darling of the gods, because they are the most direct bridge with the invisible..
La Mulata de Córdoba is one of the myths and legends of Mexico more traditional.
In all the towns of Mexico, they tell the story of a woman who had unequaled powers. She was capable of achieving the impossible, and that is why she was sought out by many people for money, love and unimaginable miracles. They also say that any man who saw her, went mad with love for her and her love that was transformed into an irrepressible anxiety, did not cease until the day of her death.
Given her great power, the Holy Inquisition took notice of her and captured her to sentence her to death, under the crime of not knowing where she came from. So, they took her to a dungeon while it was time for the execution. As a last will, she asked for a piece of coal that was taken to the cell.
They say that after a few minutes the guards entered and only found the coal lying on the floor, a drawn ship and an intense smell of sulfur, but the woman had escaped.
Since then it has been said that if you capture a witch and she asks you for coal, you can never give it to her, because in this way they can escape.
Mexico is a country with a strong Catholic influence, that is why the nuns are part of its daily life and its tradition..
The legend of the nun's ghost tells that in a convent, there was a patio with a crystal-clear water fountain that had a peach planted next to it..
For many years when the novices had to cross this patio at night, they could not bear the temptation to look at their reflection in the transparent waters of the fountain and immediately afterwards they saw a woman hanging from the peach with her tongue out and her eyes out of orbit, in addition to feel an icy wind that left them petrified.
When they began to shout for help and their superiors arrived, they never found evidence of what the novices were narrating..
However a priest, knew the reason for the strange apparitions. The ghost was about Maria, a woman who fell deeply in love with a mulatto who was not very wealthy. His brothers totally opposed the relationship and made the man leave town.
Disconsolate Maria roamed the house like a shadow. His brothers felt guilty and invented that their lover had died, it was better to find a convent. She accepted without much conviction and on the same day of her arrival with a rope she hanged herself from the peach..
Legend has it that for centuries it appears in the reflection of those who look at themselves in the fountains, that is why women are forbidden to look at themselves in a fountain after sunset.
Legend has it that in the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, a man was in charge of lighting the oil lamps in all the houses at night. It happened that while he was working he was killed in strange circumstances when a single lamp was missing to light.
As he was a good man and an excellent worker, his soul returned to turn on the missing light in the alley. The locals say that since then, the dead man comes every night to check that all the lamps are lit. Those who have run into him say that he always appears after 9 at night, which was the exact time he died.
This is one of the myths and legends of Mexico that go back to the time of pre-Hispanic cultures. In the tradition of the original Mexican peoples it is said that there was a proliferation of sensitive people connected with the energies of the gods.
Initially, the gods manifested by incarnating in some animals to carry strong messages and collaborate with the communities. This ability was bequeathed to witches and shamans who had the ability to do the same to alert and send messages from the gods.
It is said that the naguales or nahuales, were witches capable of becoming coyotes, birds or other animals. This myth is related to the fact that each person has a nagual who becomes their protective animal throughout life. That is why legend has it that if you have a strong connection with ancestral spirits, the naguals will constantly appear to you in different animal forms..
This is not just a myth, but it is also a spooky place that actually exists. The small island is located in the channels of Xochimilco and is called "The island of the dolls.".
Legend has it that there was a man named Julián Santana who collected abandoned dolls all over Mexico, to hang them in these jars and drive away the spirits that lived in the lake.
This was born particularly due to the spirit of a girl who had drowned in this lake and appeared to Julian to tell him that she wanted to play with him. This is why he started getting dolls and since he saw it worked, he decided to collect more and more to keep all the spirits busy..
The legend in our days says that after Don Julián dies, he comes every night to see how his dolls are. Real or not, the truth is that the little island full of dolls looks terrifying.
Another of the most recognized myths and legends of Mexico is the one that talks about the devil's ribs. This story has passed from generation to generation, and today there are still people who assure that it is true.
They say that on one occasion, the devil was going to take a stone home. He tied her up with ropes and tried to yank her out of the volcanic lava ground, but the ground did not give way, and so it was, until her ribs were marked in the rock and the first rooster crowed..
When this happened the devil disappeared, but they say that the devil still wants to move the big stone and take it home, so if someone is able to remove it from its place the devil will reward him with everything he wants in life.
This legend is typical of the Tepotzotlán region, where the stone desired by the devil is also located..
The vampire tree is one of the most popular legends of Guadalajara. The story goes that in postcolonial times a man from Europe came to a population. He was a very strange, quiet and thoughtful person who spent whole days without talking to someone.
Although the foreigner generated a lot of curiosity in the locals, everything was normal until some people and many animals began to disappear from the town.
Considering the strange behavior of the man, people did not hesitate to suspect him. That same night they decided to look for him and found him outside the town while he was biting a woman who was already bled..
Such was the impression of the people that they buried a wooden stake in his chest and then covered the corpse of the newly discovered vampire with stones..
The most curious thing of all, is that the ancients say that a tree sprouted from the stake of the European that grew until it became immense in less time than normal, and that if someone dared to cut any of its branches, they could see the blood of all the victims the European vampire had killed.
As you see, the myths and legends of Mexico They are quite interesting and put us in front of a large part of the culture of their peoples. It is curious to see that many of these legends are also part of the tradition of several Latin American countries, although each one is handled according to the particular characteristics of each region..
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