Wikipedia Trail: From Beauty and the Beast to Julia Pastrana

My trail starts with the tale of the Beauty and the Beast, some of the reading options were a form of that tale so I wanted to see what else I could learn about it. The plot is similar to the other tales that I have read. But the original does have some aspects that were never included or mentioned in the other tales. For example, the back story on the Beast and how an evil fairy was the one who cursed him after he denied her seduction attempt. The tale was simplified by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont who was the person to publish it. It is said that this tale was meant to help young women prepare for arranged marriage. Something I found interesting in this article was about a possible inspiration behind the a design in the adaptation.
My second part in this trail was about Petrus Gonsalvus, before his name was modified, it was Pedro Gonzalez. I remember once watching a documentary about this man's life and how his condition affected it. He was born in the 16th century and was known for his condition. He was a nobleman and was married to lady Catherine, they had seven children and four of them had the condition. They were seen as fully human because of their condition. And I slightly remember from the documentary, that him and his children were often paraded around in noble homes and they would pose for paintings with other nobles. I became more curious about his condition, which is what I decided to read up on next.

(Petrus Gonsalvus, Source: Wikimedia Commons)

My third page on this trail was reading more about hypertrichosis, the condition that causes abnormal growth of hair. It is also known as Ambras syndrome, they can either be born with it or acquire it later on. There are different types of hypertrichosis possible, according to Wikipedia. The first known case was actually the case of Petrus Gosalvus, which I found to be really interesting. Most of the people who have this condition were placed in freak shows and worked in a circus type thing. Overall, it's a genetic disorder but it can also be caused by some medications. 

My final stop on this trail is Julia Pastrana, she was performer and singer. She was born in 19th century Mexico, and she was born with hypertrichosis and gingival hyperplasia. She was advertised as a hybrid between a human and an ape. One doctor declared that she was of a 'distinct species', and another stated that she was just a 'deformed Mexican Indian woman'. After her death, she and her infant son were mummified at the request of her former husband. Some issues arose with the mummies, but she was finally buried properly in 2013. Her story got told in a play/musical about her life, titled Pastrana.

I can't say that I was expecting to read and learn about hypertrichosis, but it was definitely interesting and intriguing.