Legend of the Pascualita

The legend of the Pascualita is a fantastic or supernatural story typical of the city of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico, but very known throughout the country, and even outside of it, thanks to the spread of the legend through Internet.

The protagonist of this story is “la Pascualita” or “la Chonita”: an astonishingly realistic mannequin that since March 25 from 1930 is in the window of the wedding dress store "La Popular", located in the center of the city of Chihuahua

A mannequin that, according to those who have seen it, is strikingly similar to a living person, not only because of drawn from his features (which feature wrinkles, cracks in his hands, and a somewhat cadaverous pale color) but because many say that he has followed them with his eyes as they pass, or that they have seen his body move in a slight, almost imperceptible way. This has made many wonder if it is really a mannequin or if it is an embalmed corpse.

These suspicions stem from the mannequin's resemblance to the store's founder and former owner, Mrs. Pascuala Esparza Perales de Pérez. According to legend, Pascuala had a very beautiful daughter who,

shortly before her very happy nuptials, she was bitten by a scorpion or a black widow spider, which produced a withering death.

Desolate by the loss, Mrs. Perales would have hired the services of an expert embalmer, and she would have decided to dress her daughter "Pascualita" as her girlfriend, so that she could live forever the moment that she unfortunately had missed.

The years passed, Mrs. Pascuala died in 1967 and the store changed owners, and today there are no those who affirm or deny the legend. The official version of the mystery is that it is a very special mannequin made in France, but some former workers claim that the mannequin "did not appear to have a doll's body" and that only a few trusted employees are allowed to manipulate it.

People, on the other hand, have no doubts about the supernatural character of the mannequin. Many deposit offerings in front of the stained glass window, or light candles to ask Pascualita for favors, at whose feet miracles supposedly occur, or to bring them good luck in love. Others, on the other hand, avoid passing in front of the store's window.

What is a legend?

Legends are a kind of narration informal, that is, that it lacks an author and a known original version, that they are transmitted from generation to generation, especially orally, and that tell supernatural, fantastic or religious events, set in a very specific place and time in real history, which contributes to making them more credible.

It is one of the most common forms of traditional storytelling, especially in rural and popular culture, which somehow reflects the values and the traditions of the population in which it arises, since the legends are usually typical of a specific country, region or locality. Thus, we can speak of Latin American, Central American, Brazilian or northern Argentine legends, to cite one example.

Legends survive the passage of time by changing their content and adapting to new generations, who cover it and adapt it to their way of life, or on the contrary let it lose. In fact, the so-called “urban legends”Are not more than this type of stories, but adapted to a modern city context, instead of rural and ancestral.

San Pascualito

Although the legend of "Pascualita" attributes his name to that of the original owner of the wedding clothing store, his name also makes us think of San Pascualito, also known such as King San Pascual or San Pascualito Muerte, an unofficial saint venerated in Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, related to the Franciscan friar Pascual Baylón Yubero (1540-1592).

It is the modern version of some pre-Columbian deity, possibly Grandfather Keme of the Mayans, who represents the God of Death: a skeleton that wears a crown and scythe, sometimes a cape, and that is represented between riches, scepters and / or armor at his feet, or at the command of a cart. And this means that everyone, rich and powerful or poor and needy, is equally going to undertake the final journey with death.

Although the Catholic Church opposes its reverence, it is a fairly popular cult, bearing similarities to other Latin American popular saints such as San La Death, also known as San Esqueleto, Ayucaba, San Severo de la Muerte or Santa Muerte, or even with the skulls and catrinas with which the day of the dead is celebrated in Mexico.

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References:

• "Legend" in Wikipedia.
• "San Pascualito" in Wikipedia.
• "The legend of Pascualita" in Querétaro newspaper (Mexico).
• "The legend of‘ la Pascualita ’, the famous mannequin-corpse of a clothing store in Mexico" in Infobae (Argentina).
• "Legends of Mexico: The shocking story of‘ La Pascualita ’" in Televisa.