Ep. 7 - Mija, ¿Oíste Eso? La Llorona, El Spookies, and That UFO Your Tía Swears She Saw

Hey, hey, hey ya'll! We have another fun one for you this week! “Mija, Did You Hear That?”

A look at the spooky, the spiritual, and the stuff our tias swear happened at your cousin’s quince.

👻✨ Latinx Ghost Stories: More Than Just Scary

We all grew up with them—the whisper of La Llorona near a river, the El Cucuy threat when you misbehaved, the chill of a rocking chair creaking with no one in it at abuelita’s house. But here’s the truth we’ve started to reclaim:

These aren’t just bedtime stories. They’re cultural memory. They’re warnings. They’re echoes of trauma.

Our families didn’t have therapists. They had storytelling, prayer candles, and intuition. Ghost stories were how we passed down what couldn’t be spoken outright—colonial violence, loss, grief, abuse, displacement, and the power of resilience. That’s how our elders survived.

We will be exploring a combination of spooky themes from La Llorona to conspiracy theories and more. We will even touch on the idea that aliens built our monuments. or many Latinas and other people from colonized backgrounds, seeing our ancestors’ achievements dismissed or mystified is deeply personal. It denies us pride, continuity, and connection to a lineage of resilience and brilliance. When we say our ancestors built pyramids, we’re claiming our place in the story of humanity—not as victims, but as visionaries.

So no, they weren’t aliens. They were architects, engineers, astronomers, poets—and they were Indigenous.

🔮 So Why Do These Stories Stay With Us?

Because they’re layered:

• They’re entertainment, yes—but also education.
• They’re cautionary tales, but also coping mechanisms.
• They reflect what we couldn’t name out loud—mental health, abuse, colonialism, migration, loneliness.

As millennial Latinas, many of us are reclaiming these stories—not just to be scared, but to understand. To ask: What were our ancestors really trying to say?

Latinx ghost stories are more than spooky—they’re emotional time capsules. They hold grief, survival, and ancestral truth. Whether it’s La Llorona, El Cucuy, or a ghost in your abuela’s living room, these stories connect us to our past—and protect us in ways Western psychology still hasn’t caught up with.

🧿 TL;DR:

Latinx ghost stories are more than spooky—they’re emotional time capsules. They hold grief, survival, and ancestral truth. Whether it’s La Llorona, El Cucuy, or a ghost in your abuela’s living room, these stories connect us to our past—and protect us in ways Western psychology still hasn’t caught up with.

Hope you enjoy the episode! Share your own personal stories with us @listenmija_podcast on Instagram or send us a note on: http://www.listenmijapod.com

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Jen, Jennie and Stella