The siren of Laguna del Toro

Index

Chapter I: The Siren of Laguna del Toro Chapter II: The Song Under the Stars Chapter III: The Secret of the Young Women Chapter IV: The Danger for Men Chapter V: The Legacy

Chapter I:

The Siren of Laguna del Toro

Legend has it that in the quiet waters of the Laguna del Toro, in Xochimilco, a mysterious creature-half woman and half fishinhabited the area among the canals and reed beds.

Chapter II:

The Song Under the Stars

Every year, on the eve of the Night of St. John on June 24th, the mermaid emerged from the water. Beneath the light of the stars, she would tune her guitar, sing mesmerizing melodies, and untangle her long hair with a shiny golden comb.

Chapter III:

The Secret of the Young Women

Upon hearing the echo of her song, the young women of the town would walk toward the lagoon in the early morning to bathe in its waters and ask for a special favor: to find a good love or to get married.

Chapter IV:

The Danger for Men

However, for men, the lagoon represented a deadly danger. They were strictly forbidden from approaching or swimming in its waters. If any man, captivated by the melody, dared to pursue her, the mermaid's beautiful appearance would mutate into a threatening entity that dragged him into the depths, never to return again.

Chapter V:

The Legacy

To prevent this ancient oral tradition from being forgotten over time, sculptor Rubén Poblano Cordero created and installed the iconic La Sirena fountain in 1976 near the Fernando Celada pier, where it still immortalizes this mystical story today.

Sirena de Xochimilco. (2025, octubre 19). Multimexo. https://multimexo.com.mx/202 5/10/19/sirena-de-xochimilco/