Manuscripts for The Legend of La Llorona : A Short Novel

For his novel, The Legend of La Llorona : A Short Novel, Rudolfo Anaya produced three initial drafts, all of which are available here. The Rudolfo Anaya Papers collection also contains three typeset manuscripts (not provided online). The original manuscript documents are in the collections of the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico Libraries. The complete collection finding aid is available on the Rocky Mountain Online Archive (RMOA) Website.


Legend of La Llorona, First Draft, Edited. (MSS 321 BC / B02-F11)

This is the first draft of the short novel Legend of La Llorona. The manuscript is heavily edited and contains many structural and stylistic notes and corrections in Anaya’s handwriting.

Legend of La Llorona, First Draft, Revised. (MSS 321 BC / B02-F12)

In this version of the first draft of Legend of La Llorona, Anaya continues to rework the story in its early stages of development. The manuscript contains handwritten corrections and marginal notes in both black ink and in pencil.

Legend of La Llorona, Draft, "Malinche, La Llorona," Revised. (MSS 321 BC / B02-F13)

This is a draft of Legend of La Llorona that Anaya completed in August 1983, about a year after starting to write the story. The revised manuscript contains typed as well as handwritten edits, with a table of contents listing the 14 chapters added in the front.