Pasqual Piñón (1889–1929), known as Pedro The Two-Headed Mexican, or Pascual Piñón, was a performer with the Sells-Floto Circus in the early 1900s. Piñón was born in 1889. He worked as a railroad worker from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Piñón was discovered by a sideshow promoter whose attention had been caught by a large benign

cyst A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct envelope and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that have grouped together to form a sac (like the manner in which water molecules group together to form a bubb ...

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

at the top of Piñón's head. The promoter drafted Piñón into his

freak show A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "Freak, freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual Human#Anatomy and physiology, humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, t ...

and had a fake face made of wax to place onto the growth, allowing the claim that Piñón had two heads. Some reports state that it was made of

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and surgically placed under the skin. After several years of touring, the circus manager paid to have the growth removed, and Piñón returned to Texas. While it is possible for a person to have two heads, the condition craniopagus parasiticus, a form of

conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' in utero''. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in south ...

, sees one head upside-down on top of the other. Piñón's second head was oriented like his actual head. Piñón died in 1929.

Legacy

The novels ''Downfall'' and ''The Book about Blanche and Marie'' by

Per Olov Enquist Per Olov Enquist, also known as P. O. Enquist, (23 September 1934 – 25 April 2020) was a Swedish author. He had worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist. Biography Enquist was born and raised in Hjoggböle, a village in present ...

feature Piñón, though they portray the story as factual and, in the former book, make the second head female. The short fictional story ''My Pet Trilobite'' by Kristin Harley, published in ''Ricky's Back Yard – Cult'' issue (vol. 1, no. 1), features Piñón, narrated by the other head who is in physical and political conflict with him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinon, Pasqual Sideshow performers 1889 births 1929 deaths

Legacy

See also

References