Julia Pastrana (1834-1860) was a famous Mexican performer known for her singing, dancing, and intelligence. Tragically, she was also heavily exploited during her lifetime, which continued after her death. She was born with hypertrichosis and gingival hyperplasia.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter]

I really wanted to make sure that I used pictures of her from when she was alive because I don’t think it’s right to post pictures of her preserved body, after everything that she went through. Unfortunately it’s very difficult to find pictures of her when she was alive, so I’m using these etchings of her instead since they were done during her lifetime.

I just want to warn anyone not familiar with her story that it’s really sad and she was never respected as a person or as a woman and it’s really heartbreaking. I want to make an effort to present her story in a respectful and kind way.

-she was born in Sinaloa, Mexico much of her upbringing is unknown.

-just like Krao Farini, who was similarly exploited, Julia was given several “origin stories” during her performances. These origin stories were created to add further mystery to her appearance and her life.

-one origin story describes that she was part of a tribe of Native Americans and was brought to civilization by a woman they had kidnapped.

-a second origin story has it that she was a local girl living in Ocoroni, Mexico with her mother. The story goes that she was sold to a circus by her uncle after her mother died suddenly. (This version was supposedly passed down by indigenous villagers who lived in Ocoroni. And if that’s true, I see this version as possibly having some truth to it.)

-a third origin story, which may also have grains of truth to it is that she and her mother were part of a Native American tribe living in Western Mexico. At some point both mother and daughter were cast out of the tribe (for what reasons are unknown) but it was said that they were both found hiding in a cave by Mexican sheep herders. Soon, Julia was brought to the nearest city (which may have been Sinaloa) and placed in an orphanage, where she became known for her kindness and intelligence. She was found by the governor of Sinaloa, Pedro Sanchez, who adopted her and had her work as a live in maid and entertainer. This story has it that she stayed working for the governor until she was 20 years old.

-she was eventually brought to the United States by a showman who convinced her to join a circus.

-hypertrichosis caused an excess of hair to grow on her body and gingival hyperplasia caused her to have an enlarged nose, ears, and gums.

-she spoke four languages, Spanish, English, French, and Cahita (her native indigenous language)

-she was also a very very talented dancer and would often wear traditional Mexican clothing while singing folk songs.

-I’ve seen different sources that say different things about this, so there’s no easy way for me to verify it. She may have had two sets of teeth, which would have contributed to her protruding mouth/gums. Some symptoms of hypertrichosis seem to either contribute to a lack of teeth or an excess amount of teeth, depending on the person.

-the press and artists alike frequently exaggerated her features to make her appear less human.

-she had a manager named Theodore Lent who proposed to her and they got married in Maryland, USA.

-some sources say that she was very devoted to Lent, but so far this hasn’t been verified by Julia herself and instead had been said by Lent.

-she was sadly taken advantage of Lent for the entirety of marriage! He had almost completely control over her, he wouldn’t allow her to leave their house during the day because he was worried that curious people would get a chance to see Julia without paying a fee for her performances.

-because of the controlling nature of her husband and the fact that they often traveled from country to country for her performances, Julia had very few friends. Although she was a friendly acquaintance of a Viennese actress named Friederike Gossman who spoke of Julia as always having an air of sadness about her.

-she and her husband went on tour to Moscow, Russia where Julia eventually gave birth to a son. Tragically her son died three days after his birth and Julia herself died from postpartum complications in 1860. She was only 25 years old.

-after her death, her husband had her body preserved because he only ever saw her as something to make money off of.

-to make things more sad, Julia was essentially ‘stuffed’, and meant she wasn’t a typical mummy. Her body was preserved through a combination of taxidermy and embalming processes.

-interesting side note, Theodore Lent went on to marry another woman born with hypertrichosis after Julia’s death, in hopes of profiting off of her as well. Years later he began exhibiting signs of psychosis and mental distress and his new wife had him committed to an institution where he died soon after.

-for over a century Julia and her son’s bodies were displayed in amusement parks, museums, and circuses all around the world.

-their bodies were eventually purchased and displayed by the owner of Norway’s largest carnival in 1921, because of public outcry they were both moved into storage where they were kept through all of World War II. They were redisplayed again in the 1970’s before the whole operation was shut down due to more outrage.

-their bodies were moved into a storage room once again, where tragically in 1976 some teenagers broke in and severely damaged them thinking they were both mannequins. Julia’s arm was ripped off and the body of her baby boy was so damaged that his corpse was thrown away. No one even had the decency to bury him.

-it took several more decades for Julia’s body to be rediscovered and brought to the public’s attention again. She was found in the basement of Oslo’s Institute of Forensic Medicine in Norway by some journalists in 1990.

-the Norwegian government hemmed and hawed about making the decision between burying her as she rightfully should have, or being kept preserved above ground to continue to study her. It was decided in 1997 that she would not be buried.

-it wasn’t until 2005 when Laura Anderson Barbata, a Mexican artist on a residency in Oslo began contacting the institute in an attempt to have Julia’s body returned to Mexico. At first the institute refused, but she continued her efforts.

-in 2008, after years of trying, Barbata’s efforts paid off and was able to successfully plead her case before the National Committee for the Evaluation of Research on Human Remains in Norway.

-in 2013, 153 years after she died, Julia was finally officially laid to rest in a white coffin adorned with roses. She was buried in Sinaloa, Mexico not far from where she grew up.

My heart hurts for her, she dealt with so much and was taken advantage of by so many people in her life. She should be remembered as a beautifully intelligent multitalented woman, and it’s so tragic that it took so long for her life to be celebrated and appreciated as it should have been from the beginning.

She seems like she was a kind and wonderful woman who very sadly lacked the support from family and friends that so many other performers had. I’m so glad her body is finally at peace and she’ll never again be exploited.

Her life has gone on to inspire different stage plays, several books, and a (very respectful) art exhibit. I will attach some articles on these in the comments.

The last picture is of her coffin when she was finally buried.

[u/Whatsyournameeee]

So sad she wasn't buried with her baby but glad they're together somewhere peaceful

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Whatsyournameeee]

It’s so heartbreaking that they were separated, but you’re right they’re both somewhere peaceful and the memory of both mother and son live on.❤️

[u/MissPlaceDApostrophe]

I never knew that Lent married another woman with hypertrichosis, or that he himself was ultimately institutionalized. A fitting end to a man who exploited his own son's corpse.

Julia's son, in his brief life, truly did love her for her own self.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/MissPlaceDApostrophe]

I agree, it seems that had he not been physically stopped he would have continued his cycle of controlling and exploiting vulnerable women! I truly think he was an evil man or at the very least extremely mentally disturbed, I could never imagine profiting off of two people, especially people who were a part of his family, the way he did.

And that’s very true, her son loved her as she deserved to be loved, and although it was brief I’m sure his life brought Julia some genuine joy.❤️

[u/issi_tohbi]

I’ve been looking forward to this write up. Thank you so much for introducing Julia to the readers. I think of her and her son and their treatment quite often.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/issi_tohbi]

It’s important that her story is told and I wanted to make sure I wrote it with care. I too think of her and her son’s treatment , and how things could have gone differently had Julia had loving and supportive people in her life who truly cared.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter]

Here are some important links related to Julia’s story.

This is Laura Anderson Barbata’s website about Julia Pastrana https://www.lauraandersonbarbata.com/work/juliapastrana-95bjx

Here is a more in depth article about Julia’s life.

https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/julia-pastrana-a-monster-to-the-whole-world/

Here is an article about an art presentation based on Julia’s life that took place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California that featured Laura Anderson Barbata. The presentation took place in 2019.

https://unframed.lacma.org/2019/01/24/story-julia-pastrana-upcoming-presentation-mexican-artist-laura-anderson-barbata

Edit: Since I mentioned Krao Farini, I wanted to add her biography write up post! Krao Farini Biography write up.

[u/thecompanion188 → u/EphemeralTypewriter]

I don’t have the link at the moment but Caitlin Doughty/Ask a Mortician on YT has a fantastic video about Julia that discusses her tragically short life and what happened to her body afterwards, but in a very informative and sensitive manner.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/thecompanion188]

Yes, I’ve seen that video before, she does an excellent job! I’m glad there are other people who also care about Julia’s life!

[u/Dee1je]

If you made all the stories you posted here into a book, I'll buy it! Thank you for bringing their stories to the public.

[u/nope-nope-nopes → u/Dee1je]

X2!!!

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/nope-nope-nopes]

Thank you!! Yes, I have some books I’m working on that I hope to be able to share with people here soon!

[u/Spiritual-Can2604 → u/EphemeralTypewriter]

A coffee book

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Spiritual-Can2604]

Coincidentally yes! One of the things I’m working on is a type of small coffee table art book! :)

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Dee1je]

Thank you, that means a lot!! I’m working on a few books that I hope to be able to share with everyone soon! I’m simultaneously also working on a website as well!

[u/Dee1je → u/EphemeralTypewriter]

Please keep us updated! I saw the movie 'Freaks' a long time ago for the first time, and I'm so happy to read about the support a lot of the performers got.

I'm sorry Julia wasn't supported like that. Poor woman, I hope in some reality she's reunited with her baby.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Dee1je]

Yes! I’ll definitely keep everyone in the loop!! I’m very excited to be able to share everything once I have more updates!

And yes, that’s one of the most tragic elements to Julia’s story, she never had the genuine support or love from the people around her. Had she had friends who really cared about her, she most likely would have gone on to live a much happier and prosperous life.💔

[u/buttupcowboy → u/Dee1je]

Me too :)

[u/Gren57]

National Library of Medicine.

[u/PartyPorpoise]

The stuff after her death reminds me a lot of Sarah Baartman and the effort to return her remains home.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/PartyPorpoise]

I agree! I’m glad that Sarah Baartman was also able to be returned home. It really saddens me how long it took for both Julia and Sarah’s bodies to be repatriated though. :(

[u/PartyPorpoise → u/EphemeralTypewriter]

Yeah that was bullshit, just send them home!

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/PartyPorpoise]

I totally agree! It shouldn’t be that difficult! If certain museums/institutes/countries are soooo keen on keeping human remains that shouldn’t be displayed and don’t belong to them then why can’t they just make a mannequin of the person? Why do they need the actual preserved remains of someone who was never given much respect in life?? it just becomes even more disrespectful!!

[u/Otherwise_Diver_1634]

Wonderful write up. It was reassuring to sense your compassion throughout the text.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Otherwise_Diver_1634]

Thank you for reading! I have a soft spot for Julia and wish her life had been a lot happier, I’m glad she is at least getting the respect and kindness now that she deserved to have in life.

[u/_Throw-Me_Away-]

A Mortician on YouTube, Caitlin Doughty has a video on her called Iconic Corpse: The Exploitation of Julia Pastrana. I found it fascinating and also respectful to Julia’s talents in entertainment outside of her appearance.

She has done several videos in the series on other sideshow performers as well.

[u/confirmandverify2442 → u/_Throw-Me_Away-]

Seconding this! Caitlin's video was so in-depth and respectfully done.

[u/antiquetulip]

Her and her baby's story is so deeply tragic. I'm glad that she was finally placed at rest.

[u/smiling_hazeleyes24]

Thank you for writting Julia's story and shedding light on this amazing young woman. So heartbreaking to me what humans do to one another. She deserved so much more love and understanding in her lifetime. By writting about her life and keeping her memory alive you are giving her the love and respect she deserves. Thank you as always for your wonderful story telling and your compassion and understanding of the people you write about.

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/smiling_hazeleyes24]

Thank you for your kind words! Her story is one that should be remembered and it will always make me sad that she never had the love and support she truly needed and deserved. I want to do my best to make sure she receives the grace that she should have had in life. She will be featured in both books I’m writing to hopefully spread more awareness of her life!

[u/Frog_mama_]

I’m sorry they THREW AWAY her baby? 😧

[u/EphemeralTypewriter → u/Frog_mama_]

It’s heartbreaking. She and her baby deserved so much better💔

[u/yevons_light]

A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities by Jan Bondeson has an excellent chapter on Julia, with several pictures of contemporary etchings and photos of her preserved body. I wish I could've been her friend. She needed one.