1 00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: Vogelbaum here dressed in a shop's best fashions. Mannequins are 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: common in storefront windows as a way to attract potential customers, 4 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: But what about when the mannequin becomes the main attraction. 5 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: That's the case for a family owned bridle shop La 6 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: popular dress shop in Chillavla, Mexico, where there's plenty of 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: lore and legend about whether the female figure standing in 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: the window is actually a mannequin. Lapascualita is an eerily 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: lifelike mannequin, and the speculation is that she's the actual 10 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: dead body of the daughter of a former owner. The 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: Tale of the Mannequin La Pascualita is a popular regional 12 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: story in northern Mexico and near the border with Texas 13 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: and New Mexico, but this famous mannequin and the store 14 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: window she stands in have gained more of a reputation 15 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: as a tourist attraction. For the article, this episode is 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: based on hastuff Work spoke with Thomas Prower, a Latino 17 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: licensed mortuary professional and author of the book Morbid Magic, Death, 18 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: Spirituality and Culture from around the world, he said. As 19 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: with any urban legend, there's no official story, but the 20 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: common narrative is that a woman named Pascuala Esparza began 21 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: displaying a new mannequin in the window of her bridle 22 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: shop in the nineteen thirties. The story goes that this 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: new manniquin appeared not only uncannily lifelike, but also closely 24 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: resembled Esparza's deceased daughter, who died young before her wedding day. 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: So was the mannikin, a nicknamed La Pascualita, actually the 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: mummified body of the shop owner's daughter. The legend goes 27 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: that the mother had her daughter embalmed so that she 28 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: could keep her daughter near and dear to her. Prower said, 29 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: there are various supposed causes of death of Pasquala's daughter, 30 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: most of them related to bites and stings from venomous bugs, 31 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: or suicide due to her mother not approving of the 32 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: impending marriage. A storyteller's point to supposed signs such as 33 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: the unusual features of her mask like face and incredibly 34 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: detailed hands, including fingernails, palm lines, and veins. It's especially 35 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: startling to find in a small local shop. Some stories 36 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: go so far as to say that Lapascualita is not 37 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: just the daughter's body mummified, but a ghost who comes 38 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,919 Speaker 1: alive in the bridal store at night. It's easy to 39 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 1: see how the story that this is not just a 40 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: bridal mannequin but a corpse bride has taken off and 41 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: created a life of its own. There's no denying that 42 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: the figure has eerie, realistic features that make her look 43 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: like more than just a mannequin. Prower said, Lapasqualita's realism 44 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: is what makes her stand out from the mannekins of 45 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: the day, with the hands and veins being super detailed, 46 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: and supposedly her eyes are rumored to be the kind 47 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: that follow you and seem to be looking at you 48 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: if you move around the room. However, although the legend 49 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: is fun, it's far fetched to think that this is 50 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: an actual embalmed corpse. A Preserving such a thing for 51 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: almost a century would take constant work and require special 52 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: conditions to avoid deterioration. A storefront window exposed to the 53 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: intense heat of the sun is far from an ideal 54 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: condition for maintaining an embalmed corpse for starters, and Prower 55 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: would know, since he is a licensed mortuary professional. He explained, 56 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: there are techniques to embalm a person standing up, but 57 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: embalming doesn't preserve a corpse forever. To have an embalmed 58 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: corpse on display in the window of a small family 59 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: owned business, day in and day out, exposed to the 60 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: hot desert sun and human interaction would take a toll 61 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: on the corpse and it definitely wouldn't stay so fresh 62 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: after being on display for over ninety some years now. 63 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: If doubts about La Pascualita are lingering in anyone's mind, 64 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: Prower put the nail in the coffin of this shop 65 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: window legend. Quote. As a licensed mortuary professional who has 66 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: seen and worked with many corpses, I can guarantee that 67 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: there is no way that mannequin is a corpse. Like 68 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: lots of good folk and urban legends, this one has 69 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: the key ingredients of a lack of verifiable historical information 70 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: and a fantastic explanation that's more tantalizing than the mundane one. Plus, 71 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: there's another likely reason that the story of the real 72 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: life corpse bride in the shop window continues. It's an 73 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: excellent marketing tool for this local dress shop. Researcher Teresa Cordova, 74 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:50,679 Speaker 1: now the director of a community arts and culture space 75 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: in New Mexico called Las Pistoles, wrote about La Pascualita 76 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: in her twenty twelve University of New Mexico dissertation thesis. 77 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: She visited the shop where the bri al mannequin stands, 78 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: explained her research objectives, and was granted an appointment to 79 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: talk with the manager. But when she came back for 80 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 1: the scheduled meeting a few days later, she realized she 81 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: had been stood up. A store clerk eventually told her 82 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 1: that there would not be an interview because the owners 83 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: claimed it would bring bad luck. She wrote in her thesis, 84 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: I left the store and realized how the story of 85 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: Pascualita was the dress shop's marketing tool in a city 86 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: with multiple wedding dress shops. The owner and public relations 87 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: director viewed my study as negative publicity. Determined to find 88 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: more information about La Pascualita and prove her existence, Cordova 89 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: sought out archives at the city church and was told 90 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 1: the story was only a legend. She wrote, I could 91 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: not find any record of her life in the archives 92 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: because she did not in fact exist. I was unable 93 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: to rely on any historical archives, written obituaries, or church 94 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,159 Speaker 1: documents in order to reconstruct the life and death of 95 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:04,559 Speaker 1: La Pascualita. Denying interviews about the corpse in the shop 96 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: window seems to be a good marketing strategy and one 97 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: that maintains the intrigue and mystery of lapask Kalita. Prower said. 98 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: It keeps the legend alive, keeps their business in business, 99 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: and keeps a little more magic here in our mundane world. 100 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article LAPAs Kalita Bridal 101 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: shop mannequin or Embalmed Corpse on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written 102 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: by Lauren David. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart 103 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it 104 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my 105 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 106 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.