AT WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK, there is a story that could have long been dead—yet it lives on the evening breeze and in the brilliant sands. It is La Pavura Blanca, or Pavla Blanca, as many refer to it, the tale of a grieving night specter who is said to follow a river of lost souls among the dunes. 

“The Legend of La Pavura Blanca tells the haunting story of a Spanish maiden in a flowing white wedding gown,” says Brian Powers, White Sands program manager of interpretation, visitor services and outreach, and public information. “[Her] ghost is said to search the dunes for her lost conquistador love, who, as legend has it, died in the ever-shifting white sands after a battle with a local Indigenous tribe.”  

There is great sorrow in the story of Manuela de Godoy. Her betrothed, Hernando de Luna, is said to have accompanied Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Manuela had wanted to follow her fiancé on the expedition, but only a few wives were permitted to join the group, forcing her to wait behind. Upon Coronado’s departure from Mexico City, Hernando proclaimed his love for Manuela, and she, in turn, vowed to follow him to the ends of the Earth.  

The expedition eventually reached the natural wonder, where white gypsum runoff had accumulated into a huge basin for millennia, creating undulating dunes measuring up to 60 feet high. There, Coronado’s men were attacked and defeated by Apache warriors. “Survivors fled south to Mexico City, exhausted and beaten,” a White Sands National Park brochure declares. “It was reported that Hernando de Luna was mortally wounded and had perished somewhere on the ever-shifting White Sands.” 

Manuela was distraught when she got the news. But since no one had actually witnessed Hernando die, she still had hope. Despite pleas from the townspeople, she packed supplies, mounted a horse, and set out searching for him. 

Manuela rode for days until reaching the brilliant white sands. As she searched, a dark figure appeared just over the next dune. Manuela swore she heard Hernando’s voice calling to her, urging her closer. But she could never quite reach the shadowy form. Amid this mystical place, she became lost herself.  

White Sands at sunset. Photograph by Richard Larsson.

“It is believed that the ghost of Manuela still haunts the dunes of the great White Sands, just after sunset, in her flowing white wedding gown, to seek her love,” offers another national parks brochure. “Some people claim that her ghost is merely a gentle wind, whipping up wraithlike eddies of sand over the hushed and lonely desert.” 

Although the oral origins of the legend remain murky, it likely first appeared in print in 1940, when former White Sands custodian Tom Charles briefly described the “White Wraith” in Region III Quarterly; the following year, George A. Grant published a more elaborate version of the tale in the New York Times. The story has since been retold in books, museum exhibits, and even a ballet.  

Rosalía Pacheco, a storyteller and professor of education at the University of New Mexico, has brought her popular one-woman performance of La Llorona to visitors at White Sands. The legends share some similarities: the wailing La Llorona searches for her children, while Manuela hopes to find her lost love. One is dressed in black mourning garments; one is in a white wedding gown. 

After one performance, Pacheco says, a person in the audience approached her with a tale of a family member who had seen La Pavura Blanca in the distance. “She was not wearing the white wedding gown but was dressed in black,” they noted. “Could it have been La Llorona instead?” 

Either way, Pacheco adds, such legends persevere for a reason. “These tales are timeless,” she says. “Today, storytelling is a much-needed break from all the technology that is part of our everyday lives. It brings us back to community in conversation, shared experiences, traditions, and a history of where we came from.”  

For anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of La Pavura Blanca themselves, White Sands National Park hosts ranger-led Sunset Strolls on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout the year. Around the full moon, rangers lead Moonlight Hikes from March through November, including on October 26 at 6 p.m., while Full Moon parties include music, ranger programs, and guest presentations. 

“Getting outside in nature, sharing cuentos with music and dance, unites us and connects us to our collective human story,” Pacheco says.