The Curse of La Llorona

According to Father Perez, La Llorona was once a beautiful woman who, in a fit of jealousy, drowned her own children. Overcome with grief afterward, she drowned herself, becoming forever cursed to roam the earth. Her jealousy stemmed from losing her husband's affection, and in her madness, she killed the very children she loved.

The 1673 flashback shows her drowning the youngest boy after he witnesses her kill his brother, establishing her pattern of killing children.

Anna learns from Rafael that La Llorona's own tears can be used against her. During the climactic confrontation, Anna throws a sacred cross (given to her by Rafael) at the spirit while using La Llorona's tears, ultimately destroying the vengeful entity.

Rafael earlier explains that La Llorona will pursue them relentlessly, setting up the need to find a way to fight her rather than simply escape.

La Llorona seeks to replace her lost children by preying on innocent children. She is drawn to families where she can steal children to fill the void left by her own deaths. The film establishes that she will relentlessly pursue any family, regardless of location, until she claims new children.

Patricia Alvarez's boys were the first targets, showing La Llorona's pattern of selecting children to abduct.

The Alvarez boys were abducted and drowned in the river by La Llorona, who replicated her original crime. Patricia had locked them in a closet to protect them, but La Llorona still reached them. Their bodies were recovered from the river, which is why Patricia blames Anna for the tragedy.

Carlos hears a woman weeping at night, and La Llorona appears to the boys before their death.

The final scene shows Anna noticing a mysterious puddle of tears on the sidewalk, suggesting La Llorona's curse may not be fully lifted. While the spirit appears destroyed, the ambiguous ending implies she could return, leaving a lingering sense of unease.

Rafael warns that La Llorona will pursue them regardless of location, hinting at her eternal nature.

La Llorona burns the children as a mark of her possession and to draw them closer to her. When she burns Chris, she whispers in Spanish about wanting him to join her in her anguish. The burns serve as both a terrifying attack and a supernatural connection that allows her to more easily drag them toward water.

The burn marks on the Alvarez boys' wrists are discovered at the hospital, revealing they were marked before drowning.

Patricia holds Anna responsible because Anna was the social worker assigned to check on her family. Patricia believes that if Anna had acted sooner or done more to protect her children, they might not have been taken. This reflects Patricia's desperate need to assign blame for her unbearable grief.

Anna advocates to make the visit to the Alvarez home, making her directly connected to the case.

The 1673 flashback shows the origin of La Llorona herself - the mother who drowned her two sons in a river. This establishes the pattern that repeats in 1973 when she targets other children. The pendant the boys give their mother appears to be a significant family artifact connecting both time periods.

The pendant given to Marisol Ramirez in 1673 may be the same one associated with La Llorona's spirit.

Rafael is a retired priest who initially hesitates to involve himself, but he agrees to help when Sam directly appeals to him. His compassion for the children and his sense of religious duty overcome his reluctance to confront the dangerous spirit.

Father Perez introduces Rafael as someone who can help, setting up the connection.

La Llorona targets families with children to replace her own lost children. Once she begins pursuing a family, she will hunt them relentlessly across any distance. Anna becomes a target simply because her children are innocent and available - there is no personal vendetta against Anna herself beyond being a mother whose children La Llorona wants.

The Alvarez family is targeted first, then La Llorona moves on to Anna's family when they become known to her.

La Llorona attempts to drag Sam underwater during a bath, representing her ultimate goal of drowning another child to add to her collection. Anna and Chris fight desperately to save Sam from being pulled into the water, demonstrating the climactic physical confrontation before the final showdown.

Earlier, La Llorona is shown near water sources (the river in 1673, the river where the Alvarez boys die).

La Llorona wants to replace her lost children by abducting and drowning other people's children. Her eternal curse drives her to seek new victims to fill the void of her own dead children. She wants them to join her in her eternal sorrow, essentially damning them to share her cursed existence.

The legend explains her motivation comes from grief and jealousy over losing her children.