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World's 'Ugliest Woman' Finally Buried

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  • World's 'Ugliest Woman' Finally Buried

    How things have changed:

    An indigenous woman exhibited in 19th-Century Europe as the "world's ugliest woman" has been buried in her native Mexico some 150 years after her death.

    Julia Pastrana, who suffered from a genetic condition that covered her face in hair, performed in circuses as a freak of nature.

    After she died in 1860, her American husband toured with her embalmed body, which ended up in Norway.

    Her remains were returned this week for a proper burial, after a long campaign.

    People flocked to the town of Sinaloa de Leyva on Tuesday where Julia Pastrana was laid to rest in a white coffin adorned with white roses.

    "Imagine the aggression and cruelty of humankind she had to face, and how she overcame it. It's a very dignified story," said Sinaloa Governor Mario Lopez.

    "A human being should not be the object of anyone," Father Jaime Reyes Retana told mourners.

    'Place in history'

    Julia Pastrana, who was born in 1834, suffered from hypertrichosis which covered her face in hair and had a jutting jaw.


    Campaigners wanted Pastrana to have the dignity denied her in life Because of her appearance she was called a "bear woman" or "ape woman".

    In the 1850s, she met and married US impresario Theodore Lent who took her round freak shows, where she would sing and dance.

    She died in 1860 in Moscow after giving birth to a son who had the same condition and lived for only a few days.

    But Julia Pastrana's story did not end there as Lent continued to tour with their embalmed bodies.

    The corpses finally ended up in Norway, where, in a further twist in 1976, they were stolen, dumped and recovered by the police.

    The remains ended up in storage at the University of Oslo.

    Mexican artist Laura Anderson Barbata began a campaign for Julia Pastrana's body to be returned home in 2005, with Mexican officials subsequently lending their weight to her request.

    "I felt she deserved the right to regain her dignity and her place in history, and in the world's memory," Ms Barbata told the New York Times.
    Julia Pastrana, an indigenous Mexican woman exhibited in life and death as a freak of nature in 19th-Century Europe, is laid to rest in her home state.


    She was essentially someone with both hypertrichosis (like the Dog-Faced Boy) and gingival hyperplasia- supernumerary teeth and gum tissue. This bodes well for the return of the bodies of others removed and exhibited without consent.

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    Vive la liberte. Noor Inayat Khan, Dachau.

    ...patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. Edith Cavell, 1915

  • #2
    There is the proof.

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    • #3
      Proof of what?
      “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
      "Capitalism ho!"

      Comment


      • #4
        Indians and buffalos

        Comment


        • #5
          DON'T!
          Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
          "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
          He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Docfeelgood View Post
            Indians and buffalos
            Tedious. If you mean bison, weren't any in Mexico last I heard.
            Vive la liberte. Noor Inayat Khan, Dachau.

            ...patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone. Edith Cavell, 1915

            Comment


            • #7
              Goodnight, Sweet Prince

              RIP Andre 3000


              urgh.NSFW

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