How to say "llorona" in English
Llorona in the sense of the traditional Mexican legend and song.
I used "Crybaby" in this translation, that can't be right.
so, how exactly does one translate "llorona" into English?
LA LLORONA
Salías del templo un día “llorona” You came out of the temple one day crybaby
Cuando al pasar yo te vi, When I came by, I saw you
Hermoso “huipil” llevabas “llorona” A beautiful dress you were wearing
Que la Virgen te creo I mistook you for the Virgen ¡Ay de mí! “llorona” Por me! Crybaby
“llorona” de azul celeste, Crybaby of sky blue
Aunque la vida me cuesta “llorona” Even if it costs me my life, Crybaby
No dejare de quererte. I will never stop loving you Dicen que no tengo duelo “llorona” They say I do not mourn Crybaby
Por que no me ven llorar, Becasue they dont see me cry
Hay muertos que no hacen ruido “llorona” There are dead who don't make sound Crybaby
Y es mas hondo su penar, and is is deep their pain
¡Ay, ay, ay! “llorona”, ¡Ay, ay, ay! Crybaby
“llorona” llévame al rió, Crybaby take me to the river
Tápame con tu reboso “llorona” Cover me with your shawl Crybaby
Que no se apartan de mí, Don´t ever go apart from me
El ultimo de mi madre “llorona” The last of my mother Crybaby
Y el primero que te di. And the first that I gave you.
10 Answers
The legend of La Llorona de Guanajuato is about a mother who killed her children upon discovering her husband being unfaithful. This is not a whiner or a crybaby. I would use KiwiGirl´s suggestion of "weeping woman" or even "wailing woman", which is even louder. In the legend, la llorona can heard all through the town.
Crybaby can be a good translation for llorona but for that song perhaps 'weeping woman' would work better 
Maybe "Whiner". Not for the song but in general. Whiner/Crybaby.
Another suggestion for ''llorona'' could be ' lamenting', but I think Julian's ' wailing' is the best, in this instance.
The last four lines;
Tápame con tu reboso “llorona''
Que no se aparta de mí,
El último de mi madre “llorona”
Y el primero que te di.
I looked up ' reboso' it apears to be more than a shawl, it appears to be a garment, a sort of wrap, that is part of a woman's identity.
Therefore, if we assume that it should be ' aparta' rather than ' apartan' and refers back to the reboso, it means, Wrap me tight in your reboso, wailing woman,
so that it doesn't come off/ stays with me
It's the last ( thing ) that remains of my mother,
and the first ( thing) that I gave you.
Here is a link to Wikipedia, it has a long article about 'rebozos' with good pictures. rebozo
thanks to all! here is the new translation to english the last to lines are rather mysterious to me what do you think they mean?
You came out of the temple one day weeping woman
When I came by, I saw you
A beautiful dress you were wearing, weeping woman
I mistook you for the Virgen
Poor me! weeping woman
weeping woman of sky blue
Even if it costs me my life, weeping woman
I will never stop loving you
They say I do not mourn, weeping woman
Because they dont see me cry
There are dead who don't make sound weeping woman
And their pain is still so deep.
¡Ay, ay, ay! weeping woman
weeping woman take me to the river
Cover me with your shawl weeping woman
Don´t ever go apart from me
The last of my mother weeping woman
And the first that I gave you.
Thanks all.Whiner/Crybaby
also translates as "Chillona"
El ultimo de mi madre “llorona”
The last of my mother, weeping woman
Y el primero que te di.
And the first that I gave you.
Yes indeed, a rebozo is the shawl mexican village women wear
Once every woman a rebozo over her head and shoulders
They use the rebozo to hide their faces sometimes
The rebozo is useful for nurturing babies and
Women in Mexico still use them sometimes for church
Modern woman wears the rebozo on the street but NOT on her head
Rebozos are still worn and used in the traditional way by millions of Mexicanas.
These women live in many many rural areas throughout South and West of the country .
the veses that puzzle me are (translated)
It's the last ( thing ) that remains of my mother,
and the first ( thing) that I gave you.
what sense do you make of this?
thanks to all, here is the new translation to english
You came out of the temple one day weeping woman
When I came by, I saw you
A beautiful dress you were wearing, weeping woman
I mistook you for the Virgen
Poor me! weeping woman
weeping woman of sky blue
Even if it costs me my life, weeping woman
I will never stop loving you
They say I do not mourn, weeping woman
Because they dont see me cry
There are dead who don't make sound weeping woman
And is still deep their pain
¡Ay, ay, ay! weeping woman
weeping woman take me to the river
Cover me with your shawl weeping woman
Don´t ever go apart from me
The last of my mother weeping woman
And the first that I gave you.
Just last Saturday,
a taxi driver in Iguala
told me that "La Llorona"
can be heard
late at night in his barrio.
