Lucía Zárate

Lucia Zarate (January 2, 1864 – January 15, 1890) was a Mexican entertainer with dwarfism who performed in sideshows. Zarate is the first person to have been identified with Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II.[1] She was entered into the Guinness World Records as the "lightest recorded adult", weighing 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg) at the age of 17.[2]

Lucía Zárate
Photograph of Lucia Zarate
Born	January 2, 1864 Veracruz, Mexico
Died	January 15, 1890 (aged 26) Sierra Nevada, US
Cause of death	Hypothermia
Known for	"Lightest Recorded Adult"
Height	24 in (610 mm)

Early life

She was born in Veracruz, Mexico, and settled on the Agostadero, (later Cempoala), Veracruz. According to an 1894 article in Strand Magazine, Zarate achieved her full growth by the age of one year.[3] Her family home, Casa Grande (Big House) is open to the public as a museum.[4]

Career

At age twelve, Zarate moved from Mexico over to the United States, where she was exhibited for her small stature. She first worked as part of an act billed as the "Fairy Sisters", later partnering with Francis Joseph Flynn (billed under the stage name "General Mite") to exhibit internationally.[5] In 1889 she was billed in The Washington Post as the "marvelous Mexican midget" and described as "a tiny but all powerful magnet to draw the public."[6]

An 1876 book published by Oxford University discussed a visit to Zarate paid by several medical professionals, who could not certainly verify that she was twelve years old, but they could ascertain through her dental development that she was at least six years old.[7] At the time, her height was measured at 20 in (510 mm) tall, and her calf was measured as 4 in (100 mm) in circumference, 1 in (25 mm) more than the thumb of an average adult man.[7] She was with her parents at the time and found to be healthy and intelligent, able to speak some English along with her native Spanish.[7]

Death

After her circus train became stranded in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains, Zarate died of hypothermia in 1890.[1][3]

Notes

1. Hall, Judith G.; Flora, Christina; Scott, Charles I. Jr.; Pauli, Richard M.; Tanak, Kimi (2004). "Majewski Osteodysplastic Primordial Dwarfism Type II (MOPD II): Natural History and Clinical Findings" (PDF). American Journal of Medical Genetics. 130A (1): 55–72. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.30203. PMID 15368497. S2CID 24104332. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-02.
2. McFarlan, Donald; McWhirter, Norris, eds. (1988). 1989 Guinness Book of World Records. Bantam Books. p. 6. ISBN 0-553-27926-2.
3. Newnes, G. (July–December 1894). "Giants and Dwarfs". The Strand Magazine. 8.
4. "Museo Casa Grande" – via casagrande-museo.blogspot.com.
5. Sweet, Matthew (2001). Inventing the Victorians. Macmillan. pp. 149–150. ISBN 0-312-28326-1.
6. Staff (1889-02-25). "Uffner's royal American midgets". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
7. Mason, James (1876). The history of the year 1876, containing 'The Year book of facts' and 'The Annual summary'. Oxford University. pp. 4–5.

External links

• Sideshow world Article with a photo of Zarate