{"id":4666,"date":"2024-09-20T18:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T18:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopchicagodev.wpenginepowered.com\/behind-the-creation-of-la-llorona\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T19:35:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:35:47","slug":"behind-the-creation-of-la-llorona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/behind-the-creation-of-la-llorona\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Creation of La Llorona: A Journey into Storytelling and Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 MIN READ — Growing up, my Papa shared the story of La Llorona<\/a> with me\u2014a tale many children in Mexico hear. Maria, in a fit of rage, drowns her children after being abandoned by her husband, and her haunting wails warn children: “Don\u2019t wander alone, or La Llorona will find you.” For years, I viewed Maria as a symbol of fear. But as a mother, I began to ask: What if there\u2019s more to Maria\u2019s story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey of creating Ballet 5:8<\/a>\u2019s La Llorona began with this question. Could Maria represent the silent struggles so many women endure\u2014postpartum depression, societal pressures, and expectations of perfection? Approximately 15% of women experience postpartum depression (PPD), and rates are even higher for Black and Latina women.

After the births of my second and third children, I faced the depths of PPD firsthand. I was leading Ballet 5:8, yet inside, I was grappling with thoughts that made me feel disconnected from the world. I realized that many Black and Latina women experience this, but the stories of our struggles go untold, hidden behind the facade of strength. The pressure of living up to Marianisma\u2014the ideal of being the perfect, self-sacrificing woman\u2014only deepened the weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2 MIN READ — Growing up, my Papa shared the story of La Llorona with me\u2014a tale many children in Mexico hear. Maria, in a fit of rage, drowns her children after being abandoned by her husband, and her haunting wails warn children: “Don\u2019t wander alone, or La Llorona will find you.” For years, I viewed Maria as a symbol of fear. But as a mother, I began to ask: What if there\u2019s more to Maria\u2019s story?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[65,15,55,63,20,57],"class_list":["post-4666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loop-news","tag-events","tag-family-friendly","tag-get-around","tag-guest-blog","tag-live-entertainment","tag-things-to-do"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Creation of La Llorona: A Journey into Storytelling and Mental Health - Loop Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/behind-the-creation-of-la-llorona\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Creation of La Llorona: A Journey into Storytelling and Mental Health - Loop Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2 MIN READ -- Growing up, my Papa shared the story of La Llorona with me\u2014a tale many children in Mexico hear. 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