Although several variations exist, the most basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of Maria who drowns her children in the river out of rage because her husband left her for a younger woman. She soon comes to her senses and regrets her decision to kill her children, so she drowns herself in a river in Latin America. She then becomes stuck between the physical and spiritual world on an eternal search for her children, not permitted to enter heaven without them. Her incessant weeping throughout the night gives her the title "La Llorona" (The Weeping Woman). 