THE MEXICAN MUMMY AND THE CIRCUS AGENT: THE STORY OF A TRAVELLING MUMMY STARTING IN CUBA

Abstract

Lorenzo Cuppia, an Italian circus agent, exhibited a mummy in the Calle San Rafael in Havana, Cuba in 1868. The mummy, unearthed in Mexico City, was displayed as a victim of the Spanish Inquisition. The exhibit was recorded in a small booklet and quickly forgotten. In 2015 research into this event revealed a story with several strands revolving around the first mummy ever publicly exhibited in Cuba to entertain an interested public. In 2015, the Cuban Mummy Project was formed. Under the auspices of the CNPC (Consejo Nacional del Patrimonio Cubano, National Council for Cuban Heritage), and in cooperation with the IECIM (Instituto de Estudios Científicos en Momias, Institute for the Scientific Study of Mummies) in Madrid, Spain, with the aim to investigate all mummies that are in Cuba. Even though the Mexican mummy that Lorenzo Cuppia once exhibited may no longer be in Cuba, the story of where it came from and who that exhibitor was, led to research that unfolded the story of a circus agent who exhibited a mummy with a hair raising story to accompany it, that attracted and entertained the public for several years.