Julia Pastrana
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Julia Pastrana (August 1834 – 25 March 1860) was a performer and singer during the 19th century who had
hypertrichosis Hypertrichosis is an abnormal amount of hair growth over the body. The two distinct types of hypertrichosis are generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area. H ...
. Pastrana, an indigenous woman from Mexico, was born in 1834, somewhere in the state of
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
.Lerma Garay, Antonio. Érase una vez en Mazatlán. Comisión para la Celebración del Bicentenario de la Independencia y Centenario de la Revolución. Culiacán. 2010. She was born with a genetic condition, hypertrichosis terminalis (or generalized hypertrichosis lanuginosa); her face and body were covered with straight black hair. Her ears and nose were unusually large, and her teeth were irregular. The latter condition was caused by a rare disease, undiagnosed in her lifetime,
gingival hyperplasia Gingival enlargement is an increase in the size of the gingiva (gums). It is a common feature of gingival disease. Gingival enlargement can be caused by a number of factors, including inflammatory conditions and the side effects of certain medica ...
, which thickened her lips and gums.


Life and career

Multiple versions of Pastrana's early life exist. Literature produced by those who managed the
freak show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...
s she appeared in described her as belonging to a Native American tribe called "Root Diggers" whose members were similar to apes and lived in caves. In this version, it is said that a woman identified only as Mrs. Espinosa was kidnapped by the tribe and held in a cave and took Pastrana with her when she was able to escape. In another version, which is based on the words of indigenous villagers in Ocoroni,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, Pastrana was a local girl whom they referred to as "wolf woman." In this version, Pastrana lived with her mother until her mother passed away, after which, her uncle sold her to the circus. Both accounts claim that, at some point, she lived in the home of Pedro Sanchez, the then-governor of
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
, and left the home in 1854. According to Ireneo Paz, Francisco Sepúlveda, a customs official in
Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...
, purchased Pastrana and brought her to the United States. At first, Pastrana performed under the management of J.W. Beach, but in 1854, she eloped with Theodore Lent, marrying him in Baltimore, Maryland. Lent took over her management, and they toured throughout the US and Europe. Pastrana was advertised as a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
between an animal and a human and worked in sideshows and freak shows under the stage names the "Baboon Lady", the "Dog-faced Woman", the "Hairy Woman", the "Ape-faced Woman", the "Ape Woman", the "Bear Woman", and "The Nondescript". However, during her performances, she demonstrated her intelligence and talent: singing, dancing, and interacting with the audience. During a tour in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Pastrana gave birth to a son, with features similar to her own. The child survived only three days, and Pastrana died of postpartum complications five days later.


Medical examinations

During her life, Pastrana's management arranged to have her examined by doctors and scientists, using their evaluations in advertisements to attract a larger audience. One doctor, Alexander B. Mott, M.D., certified that she was specifically the result of the mating of a human and an " Orang hutan". Another, Dr. S. Brainerd of Cleveland, declared that she was of a "distinct species". Francis Buckland stated that she was "only a deformed Mexican Indian woman". Samuel Kneeland, Jr., a comparative anatomist of the
Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...
, declared that she was human and of Indian descent.
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
discussed her case after her death, describing her as follows: "Julia Pastrana, a Spanish dancer, was a remarkably fine woman, but she had a thick masculine beard and a hairy forehead; she was photographed, and her stuffed skin was exhibited as a show; but what concerns us is, that she had in both the upper and lower jaw an irregular double set of teeth, one row being placed within the other, of which Dr. Purland took a cast. From the redundancy of the teeth her mouth projected, and her face had a gorilla-like appearance".


After death

After Pastrana's death, Lent sold her body and their son's body to Professor Sukolov of Moscow University who permanently preserved them. Her body was taxidermically preserved. The process was a blend of taxidermy techniques and embalming chemicals. Although generically referred to as a "
mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...
" by some authors, her preserved body was technically not a mummy because it was not mummified. Her body was "stuffed", as noted by renowned naturalist and taxidermist Charles Darwin. After the bodies were preserved by Sukolov, Lent re-purchased them from him and began exhibiting them throughout Europe. Lent later found another woman with similar features, married her and changed her name from Marie Bartel to Zenora Pastrana, becoming wealthy from her exhibition. Some sources claim that he was eventually committed to a Russian mental institution in 1884 where he died. For over a hundred years, the bodies of Pastrana and her son were displayed around the world in museums, circuses and amusement parks. They appeared in Norway in 1921 and toured the US as late as 1972. Later that year, a tour of Sweden drew considerable public opposition, leading to the bodies being withdrawn from public view. Vandals broke into the storage facility in August 1976 and damaged the baby's body. The remains were consumed by mice. Julia's preserved body was stolen in 1979, but stored at the Oslo Forensic Institute after the body was reported to police but not identified. It was identified in 1990 and for many years rested in a sealed coffin at the Department of Anatomy, Oslo University. In 1994, the Norway Senate recommended burying her remains, but the Minister of Sciences decided to keep them, so scientists could perform research. A special permit was required to gain access to her remains. On 2 August 2012, it was reported in ''
Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...
'' that Pastrana would finally be buried in Mexico at an unspecified date. In February 2013, with the help of Sinaloa state governor Mario López Valdez, New York-based visual artist Laura Anderson Barbata, Norwegian authorities, and others, the body was turned over to the government of Sinaloa and her burial was planned. Hundreds of people attended her Catholic funeral, and her remains were buried in a cemetery in Sinaloa de Leyva, a town near her birthplace. Filmmaker
Eva Aridjis Eva Aridjis is a Mexican-American filmmaker. She attended the American School Foundation in Mexico City, Princeton University, and New York University. She has made many prize-winning short and feature-length films. Early life and education ...
filmed the burial for her feature documentary "Chuy, The Wolf Man", a portrait of a modern-day Mexican family with congenital hypertrichosis.


Theatre

A musical '' Pastrana'' by Australian writers Allan McFadden and Peter Northwood was performed by Melbourne's Church Theatre in 1989. The production was nominated for five Melbourne
Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...
. A play based on Pastrana's life, ''The True History of the Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, the Ugliest Woman in the World'' (1998) was written by
Shaun Prendergast Shaun Prendergast (born 1958) is an English actor and writer. Career He was born in North Shields and holds a BA Hons from Bretton Hall College. He was an actor and playwright in residence for Northumberland Theatre Company before joining the ...
. A 2003 Texas production of the play staged by Kathleen Anderson Culebro, sister of Laura Anderson Barbata, led to the campaign by Anderson Barbata to repatriate Pastrana's remains from Norway to Mexico.


Film

Marco Ferreri Marco Ferreri (11 May 1928 – 9 May 1997) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of t ...
's film ''
The Ape Woman ''The Ape Woman'' ( it, La donna scimmia, french: Le Mari de la femme à barbe) is a 1964 Italian-French drama film directed by Marco Ferreri. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. The film was inspired by the real-life story of Jul ...
'' (1964) is based on Pastrana's life story. On 14 October 2013 the in-development movie "Velvet" was announced, based on the life and experiences of Julia Pastrana, and from an original screenplay by Celso García and Francisco Payó González. "Velvet" is directed by Celso García and is an international production with the support of various personalities behind and in front of the camera. The announcement appeared in an article published in Mexican newspaper "Mural", member of the editorial group Reforma.


Music

The
Ass Ponys Ass Ponys was an indie rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their sound combines rock and country into an off-kilter blend of Americana music. They have gone on national tours with bands such as Pavement, Throwing Muses, and Possum Dixon. Amo ...
wrote and recorded the song ''Julia Pastrana'' about her life on their 1993 album ''Grim''. The musical
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...
Apparatjik released a single titled "Julia" on March 20, 2020, accompanied by a lyric video.


See also

* Bearded lady *
Alice Elizabeth Doherty Alice Elizabeth Doherty (March 14, 1887 – June 13, 1933) was an American woman born with the condition hypertrichosis lanuginosa. Biography Doherty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with approximately two-inch long blonde hair all over her ...
, "The Minnesota Woolly Girl" *
Annie Jones Ann Jones (or similar) may refer to: Writers *Ann Jones (author) (born 1937), American writer on women's issues *Anne Jones (writer) (born 1955), Australian editor and administrator * Anna Jones (food writer), columnist and cookbook author * Cat ...
, "The Bearded Woman" *
Krao Farini Krao Farini (1876 – 16 April 1926) was an American sideshow performer who was born with hypertrichosis and took part in 19th-century exhibition tours in North America and Europe. She was adopted by William Leonard Hunt, also known as Guillermo ...
, "The Missing Link" * Ferriman-Gallwey score *
Negro of Banyoles The Negro of Banyoles ( ca, negre de Banyoles, es, link=no, negro de Banyoles or ) was a controversial piece of taxidermy of a San individual, which used to be a major attraction in the Darder Museum of Banyoles (Catalonia, Spain). In 2000, the r ...
, example of a taxidermied human * Repatriation of human remains *
Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the n ...
*
Human Zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...


Notes


References

* Bartra, Roger. "El trágico viaje de una mujer salvaje mexicana al mundo civilizado". ''Istor'' 64 (2016): 179-198. México. * * *


External links


Julia Pastrana Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pastrana, Julia 1834 births 1860 deaths Deaths in childbirth Indigenous Mexicans Mummies People from Sinaloa People with hypertrichosis Sideshow performers Bearded women 19th-century circus performers Indigenous Mexican women Human taxidermy Ethnological show business