WEBVTT - La Pascualita: Bridal Mannequin or Embalmed Corpse?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum here dressed in a shop's best fashions. Mannequins are

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<v Speaker 1>common in storefront windows as a way to attract potential customers,

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<v Speaker 1>But what about when the mannequin becomes the main attraction.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the case for a family owned bridle shop La

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<v Speaker 1>popular dress shop in Chillavla, Mexico, where there's plenty of

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<v Speaker 1>lore and legend about whether the female figure standing in

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<v Speaker 1>the window is actually a mannequin. Lapascualita is an eerily

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<v Speaker 1>lifelike mannequin, and the speculation is that she's the actual

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<v Speaker 1>dead body of the daughter of a former owner. The

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<v Speaker 1>Tale of the Mannequin La Pascualita is a popular regional

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<v Speaker 1>story in northern Mexico and near the border with Texas

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<v Speaker 1>and New Mexico, but this famous mannequin and the store

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<v Speaker 1>window she stands in have gained more of a reputation

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<v Speaker 1>as a tourist attraction. For the article, this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on hastuff Work spoke with Thomas Prower, a Latino

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<v Speaker 1>licensed mortuary professional and author of the book Morbid Magic, Death,

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<v Speaker 1>Spirituality and Culture from around the world, he said. As

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<v Speaker 1>with any urban legend, there's no official story, but the

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<v Speaker 1>common narrative is that a woman named Pascuala Esparza began

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<v Speaker 1>displaying a new mannequin in the window of her bridle

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<v Speaker 1>shop in the nineteen thirties. The story goes that this

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<v Speaker 1>new manniquin appeared not only uncannily lifelike, but also closely

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<v Speaker 1>resembled Esparza's deceased daughter, who died young before her wedding day.

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<v Speaker 1>So was the mannikin, a nicknamed La Pascualita, actually the

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<v Speaker 1>mummified body of the shop owner's daughter. The legend goes

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<v Speaker 1>that the mother had her daughter embalmed so that she

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<v Speaker 1>could keep her daughter near and dear to her. Prower said,

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<v Speaker 1>there are various supposed causes of death of Pasquala's daughter,

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<v Speaker 1>most of them related to bites and stings from venomous bugs,

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<v Speaker 1>or suicide due to her mother not approving of the

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<v Speaker 1>impending marriage. A storyteller's point to supposed signs such as

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<v Speaker 1>the unusual features of her mask like face and incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>detailed hands, including fingernails, palm lines, and veins. It's especially

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<v Speaker 1>startling to find in a small local shop. Some stories

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<v Speaker 1>go so far as to say that Lapascualita is not

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<v Speaker 1>just the daughter's body mummified, but a ghost who comes

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<v Speaker 1>alive in the bridal store at night. It's easy to

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<v Speaker 1>see how the story that this is not just a

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<v Speaker 1>bridal mannequin but a corpse bride has taken off and

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<v Speaker 1>created a life of its own. There's no denying that

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<v Speaker 1>the figure has eerie, realistic features that make her look

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<v Speaker 1>like more than just a mannequin. Prower said, Lapasqualita's realism

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<v Speaker 1>is what makes her stand out from the mannekins of

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<v Speaker 1>the day, with the hands and veins being super detailed,

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<v Speaker 1>and supposedly her eyes are rumored to be the kind

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<v Speaker 1>that follow you and seem to be looking at you

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<v Speaker 1>if you move around the room. However, although the legend

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<v Speaker 1>is fun, it's far fetched to think that this is

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<v Speaker 1>an actual embalmed corpse. A Preserving such a thing for

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<v Speaker 1>almost a century would take constant work and require special

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<v Speaker 1>conditions to avoid deterioration. A storefront window exposed to the

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<v Speaker 1>intense heat of the sun is far from an ideal

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<v Speaker 1>condition for maintaining an embalmed corpse for starters, and Prower

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<v Speaker 1>would know, since he is a licensed mortuary professional. He explained,

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<v Speaker 1>there are techniques to embalm a person standing up, but

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<v Speaker 1>embalming doesn't preserve a corpse forever. To have an embalmed

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<v Speaker 1>corpse on display in the window of a small family

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<v Speaker 1>owned business, day in and day out, exposed to the

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<v Speaker 1>hot desert sun and human interaction would take a toll

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<v Speaker 1>on the corpse and it definitely wouldn't stay so fresh

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<v Speaker 1>after being on display for over ninety some years now.

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<v Speaker 1>If doubts about La Pascualita are lingering in anyone's mind,

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<v Speaker 1>Prower put the nail in the coffin of this shop

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<v Speaker 1>window legend. Quote. As a licensed mortuary professional who has

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<v Speaker 1>seen and worked with many corpses, I can guarantee that

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<v Speaker 1>there is no way that mannequin is a corpse. Like

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<v Speaker 1>lots of good folk and urban legends, this one has

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<v Speaker 1>the key ingredients of a lack of verifiable historical information

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<v Speaker 1>and a fantastic explanation that's more tantalizing than the mundane one. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>there's another likely reason that the story of the real

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<v Speaker 1>life corpse bride in the shop window continues. It's an

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<v Speaker 1>excellent marketing tool for this local dress shop. Researcher Teresa Cordova,

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<v Speaker 1>now the director of a community arts and culture space

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<v Speaker 1>in New Mexico called Las Pistoles, wrote about La Pascualita

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<v Speaker 1>in her twenty twelve University of New Mexico dissertation thesis.

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<v Speaker 1>She visited the shop where the bri al mannequin stands,

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<v Speaker 1>explained her research objectives, and was granted an appointment to

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<v Speaker 1>talk with the manager. But when she came back for

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<v Speaker 1>the scheduled meeting a few days later, she realized she

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<v Speaker 1>had been stood up. A store clerk eventually told her

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<v Speaker 1>that there would not be an interview because the owners

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<v Speaker 1>claimed it would bring bad luck. She wrote in her thesis,

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<v Speaker 1>I left the store and realized how the story of

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<v Speaker 1>Pascualita was the dress shop's marketing tool in a city

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<v Speaker 1>with multiple wedding dress shops. The owner and public relations

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<v Speaker 1>director viewed my study as negative publicity. Determined to find

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<v Speaker 1>more information about La Pascualita and prove her existence, Cordova

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<v Speaker 1>sought out archives at the city church and was told

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<v Speaker 1>the story was only a legend. She wrote, I could

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<v Speaker 1>not find any record of her life in the archives

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<v Speaker 1>because she did not in fact exist. I was unable

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<v Speaker 1>to rely on any historical archives, written obituaries, or church

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<v Speaker 1>documents in order to reconstruct the life and death of

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<v Speaker 1>La Pascualita. Denying interviews about the corpse in the shop

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<v Speaker 1>window seems to be a good marketing strategy and one

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<v Speaker 1>that maintains the intrigue and mystery of lapask Kalita. Prower said.

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<v Speaker 1>It keeps the legend alive, keeps their business in business,

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<v Speaker 1>and keeps a little more magic here in our mundane world.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article LAPAs Kalita Bridal

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<v Speaker 1>shop mannequin or Embalmed Corpse on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by Lauren David. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it

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<v Speaker 1>is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.