La Llorona

Due to the many backgrounds and cultures of Mexico, it is unsurprising that the folktales of the country are reminiscent of legends and myths from other countries. One of the most known and the most reminiscent is the story of the weeping woman, or, as she is commonly referred, La Llorona.
The Mexican folktale of La Llorona is over five hundred years old, dating back to around the time the Spanish conquistadors invaded the Aztec empire. (#9—the citations are ordered in alphanumeric order) There are many versions of the story, but the most common account, from my research, is as follows:
A breathtakingly beautiful woman, sometimes called Maria, fell in love with a man who was just as beautiful as she, but he was not a commoner; he was a nobleman, and he was not a native of Maria’s land; he was a Spanish foreigner.
The man cared deeply for Maria and Maria cared deeply for him, yet there social status made it so that their relationship had to be kept secret. Over time, their love produced three children. Soon after, Maria no longer desired her relationship with the love of her life to be shrouded in shadows, she wanted their relationship to be public. Yet, the Spanish gentleman began to retreat from Maria, showing less and less affection and barely visiting her. The gentleman, when he did visit, did so only to speak with his children, not with Maria.
The heartbroken Maria was furious at him and extremely envious of the three offspring. Maria, utterly humiliated, went insane and drowned her children in the nearby lake and then killed herself. At the gates of Heaven, St. Peter questions Maria about the whereabouts of her children, but, unable to confess to her involvement in their murder, she tells St. Peter that she does not know. From then after, the ghost of Maria was banished back to Earth to search for the souls of her children, all while knowing she would never find them.  
This is why Maria cries and that is how she was named, “La Llorona”. And if a child...