For more than 30 years a mysterious woman wandered downtown Culiacan, the capital of the state of Sinaloa.
She rarely spoke. Wore makeup, glasses and even more peculiar, she wore a white Wedding Dress with veil.
She would wander the main streets and almost always would go stand at the door of Culiacan's cathedral. Sometimes she would mutter to herself, out of earshot. A dazed look in her hazel eyes.
The kids taunted her. Toddlers feared her. They cried at her appearance, a ghost, dressed in white, wandering the city, her skinny frame walking about. Her aged, sunken eyes, staring aimlessly, like a specter.
She was Guadalupe Leyva Flores "Lupita". The infamous "Bride of Culiacan".
Legend had it, that Lupita wandered the streets, in her wedding dress, a dress she never took off, due to the terrible tragedy that happened on her Wedding Day.
To understand the leyend of Lupita we must go back to the 1950's. Lupita was friends with Ernesto, whom she saw like a brother, and Jorge, the love of her life. One day Jorge proposed to her much to her joy.
Jorge chose his best friend Ernesto as Best Man. When Ernesto heard news of the impending wedding, he could not contain his feelings any longer.
He confronted Lupita. Confessed his undying love and devotion for her. Lupita told her she only saw him as a friend, a brother even. As one of their good friends, she still wanted him there on her Wedding day.
The big day came. The Cathedral was adorned with flowers and guests waited outside the big wooden doors.
Lupita came up in her white wedding dress and veil. Her future husband greeted her at the door and kissed her forehead. Then shots rang out.
Ernesto in a jealous rage shot Jorge in the head. He collapsed dead in Lupita's arms. Ernesto then ended his life. All on the steps of Culiacan's pink and white stone cathedral.
Since that day, Lupita went mad. She never took off her dress. She would bathe, do her make up, then put the dress on again. Then wander the streets. Always near the Cathedral, where the terrible scene unfolded.
People mocked her, felt compassion, befriended her, feared her. She became a legend in Culiacan. For 30 years she would wander the streets in her wedding dress and purse.
It was apparent she wasn't all there. She was clearly insane. Sometimes she would barge into the cathedral and demand to talk to the Bishop.
She had a mission. The Virgin of Guadalupe had spoken to her and told her she was the sole person on earth responsible for a treasure buried under the Cathedral. It belonged to the Divine Providence. She needed to talk to the Pope, right away.
The Bishop, understanding her mental state, ushered her away. Then Lupita, the Bride would once again wander Culiacan.
On May 12, 1980 the legend ended. The Bride of Culiacan passed away. She was 82 years old.
Her memory still remains in the minds of Culichis, who remember the Bride, her wanderings, rants and lost stare.
Some people say the Bride is still there.They've seen her. A woman in a wedding dress, wandering the streets of Culiacan late at night.
Guadalupe Leyva Flores, the famous Bride of Culiacan. It seems that, even in death, she has not found peace nor rest.
In 2008, La Novia de Culiacan, an independent short film retold the tale of Guadalupe Leyva Flores
