- Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves and his family of 30 suffer from a disorder which covers their face and bodies in thick, black fur
- They live in Loreto, Mexico, where they are shunned by locals who call them 'satanic beasts' and murder their pets
- Filmmaker making documentary about them had 'never seen discrimination on the scale of what these people suffer'
- Chuy has travelled the world performing as the 'Wolf Man' since he was discovered by circus owner at 13-years-old
Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves woke up one morning to discover another one of his family's cats has been murdered.
Then
on his way to work at a Mexican building site, he was howled at by
strangers who jeered at him, calling him names like 'satanic beast',
before whipping out their cameras to take pictures of him.
This
is a normal day in the life of the 'Wolf Man' who became a world-famous
circus performer whose entire face is covered in thick, black hair.
His
entire family of 30 are all covered in the same dark fur as him - and
cruelly shunned in their home town of Loreto, north-west Mexico, because
of it.
But
Chuy, who has starred in several documentaries, TV reports and
attractions about his genetic disorder, has now told of how locals tell
them to 'go live in the woods', slay their pets to get them to leave and
'cross themselves' when they walk past - as if they were demons.
The
children of the 'hairiest family in the world' refuse to have more kids
for fear they will suffer the same cruelty if they do. Even Chuy's
daughter Karla admits it would be 'difficult to bring someone like me
into the world'.
Their suffering has been witnessed by filmmaker Eva Aridjis who spent months filming them for a new, heart-wrenching documentary about their 'cursed' lives.
'Chuy
comes and goes from the touring life,' said Eva, whose documentary
'Chuy: The Wolf Man' premieres in Mexico City on September 25.
Wolf pack: Former circus performer
Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves (left, with his nephews) was nicknamed the 'Wolf
Man' because of the think, dark hair that covers his entire face
Happy family: Chuy (left) has
travelled the world with the circus since he was 13 but when he heard
his wife Victoria (right) was having an affair and his daughters Karla
and Araceli (centre) missed him terribly, he packed it in
Public property: A new documentary
called 'Chuy: The Wolf Man' shows how people gawk and take pictures of
him (above) everywhere he goes and how he and his family are shunned in
their hometown of Loreto, north-west Mexico
Conflicted: During the filming of the
documentary, Chuy saw a real wolf at the zoo and told the camera:
'We're both covered in hair and we're both trapped'
Seen as 'satanic beasts' in their
hometown of Loreto in northern Mexico, Eva's feature-length documentary
will tell the story of the 'werewolf family', a tribe that suffers
terrible abuse at the hands of the local population.
Upon
hearing about problems at home, 'he decided then and there to give it
all up'. But since quitting showbusiness, the Wolf Man realised money is
harder to come by as a manual labourer.
At 12, Chuy was travelling from city to city working at fair grounds when a circus owner spotted the then-called Little Wolf.
His two cousins had just been born and the circus owner 'wanted all three', so offered good money to 'purchase' all of them.
The
Little Wolf agreed and the trio spent several years travelling around
Mexico, where they were 'locked up' and presented to paying crowds as
attractions.
After
almost three decades travelling the world, Chuy discovered his wife was
cheating on him with a 'regular man' and his daughter Araceli missed
him terribly.That was when he decided to give up the circus life and
returned home to scratch a living by working in a rubbish dump.
He
does not regret spending his life as circus performer but having left
home to join the circus at 13, Chuy doesn't have the qualifications to
do anything other than fruit picking, building site labouring or waste
disposal.
'He
can't get a decent job due to the huge discrimination he suffers,' said
Eva, 'He's currently working in a dumpsite where he spends his evenings
burning the town's garbage for a pittance.'
It's
not just Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves who suffers from 'werewolf syndrome', his
entire family have hair-covered faces and bodies due to a genetic
mutation which goes back generations.
Genetic:
Chuy's daughters Araceli (left) and Karla (right) inherited their
father's hairy characteristics and regularly shave their faces to avoid
bullying at school
Bloodline:
Since Chuy's great-grandmother first exhibited the gene, five
generations of his family - including his cousin Larry (left) and nephew
Abraham (right) - have been born with the so-called 'werewolf syndrome'
Passed down: Babies born into his
family - like his other nephew Abraham (pictured) - arrive with hair
already grown on their faces
Solidarity: The filmmaker who spent
months with the family - including Chuy's nephew Mario (pictured) -
said: 'They have had to stick together because all they really have is
each other'
Manual labour: Chuy left home to join
the circus at 13 so the only jobs he can get are on building sites
(pictured) and scrap yards
Targeted: The 30 members of the
werewolf family live in Mexico's Zacatecas state where locals tell them
to 'go and live in the forest' and they even poisoned Jeimy (right) and
Maily's (left) cat
The
family suffers terrible abuse at the hands of the local population
where old women 'cross themselves' and curse at them when they walk
past.
'One
of their neighbours, an old woman, has poisoned over twenty of their
cats,' said Eva, who had been shocked by the abuse the family suffered.
I've
never seen bullying or discrimination on the scale of what these people
suffer... One of their neighbours, an old woman, has poisoned over
twenty of their cats
Eva Aridjis, documentary-maker
'This
woman constantly shouts abuse at the family and kills their pets
whenever she gets the chance. They have to keep their cats inside the
house now.'
The
whole family is affected by a genetic mutation called Congenital
Hypertrichosis, informally known as 'Werewolf Syndrome', which causes an
abnormal amount of hair growth across the body.
The
phenomenon started with Chuy's great-grandmother, who was the first of
the family to exhibit the traits of hypertrichosis, which had never been
seen before in her family.
The
mutation is believed to be an atavism - an evolutionary throwback to
genetic ancestors whose characteristics lie dormant in all humans but
which come to the fore by chance in a new generation.
Now
a dominant gene in the bloodline, five subsequent generations of Chuy's
great-grandmother's offspring have been born with 'werewolf syndrome'.
Babies born into the family arrive with hair already grown on their
faces.
In
fact, of the 50 known individuals throughout human history affected by
the syndrome, the werewolf family from Mexico's Zacatecas state make up
30 cases.
Today
the family lives in two neighbouring houses donated 40 years ago by a
town mayor sympathetic to the plight of a group of social pariahs.
Famous: Chuy has toured the world on the back of the genetic mutation that earned him the nickname 'Wolf Man'
At peace: Having performed in front of thousands of people all over the world, Chuy (pictured) simply wants to be left alone
Pariahs: People stare at Chuy on his
way to work and call him horrible names like 'satanic beast' before they
whip out their phones to take photographs of him
Alone: At one point in the documentary
Chuy's daughter told him she was not going to have children because
'it's difficult to bring a new person like me into the world'
Origins: The 'werewolf' phenomenon
started with Chuy's great-grandmother (not pictured) who was the first
of the family to exhibit the hypertrichosis trait - and passed all the
way down to baby Derian (right)
So serious is the discrimination against the family that no one will rent or sell them a local property in which to live.
Eva said: 'I've never seen bullying or discrimination on the scale of what these people suffer.'
The
kids leave school early and without proper educations due to the
constant bullying. That means that they can't find work later in life
because they have no qualifications
Eva Aridjis, documentary-maker
While they put on a brave face, it's when they are interviewed alone that the cracks in their resolve start to show.
'I'm the opposite of invisible,' says Chuy at one point, 'But I just want to be left in peace.'
Chuy is married to Victoria, a woman from the local community who now lives with the family.
She told Eva that she is used to her husband's unusual features, and that 'it would be strange to be with a bald-faced man now'.
Chuy
has produced two daughters, Araceli and Karla, who inherited their
father's hairy characteristics and now regularly shave their faces to
combat the bullying at school, taught by their aunts who share the same
desire for normality.
The
youngest generation of the family say that they do not want to have
children given the discrimination they have experienced at school.
At one point in the documentary Karla tells Eva, 'It's difficult to bring a new person like me into the world.'
Rejected by society, the family have a difficult time finding work or holding down jobs.
The women of the family like Jeimy (pictured) regularly shave their faces but the men prefer to let it grow out
Lineage: Today the remaining family
members live in two neighbouring houses where previous 'werewolf family'
generations before them did, shunned by the local population, for over
40 years.
'The family has kept a sense of pride
in their uniqueness', says Eva, who got to know the family intimately
during her time filming them. 'They've had to stick together because no
one else will accept them'.
Innocent: Old women in Loreto, Mexico,
cross themselves to avert evil when they encounter Chuy's family
members, like nephew Abraham (pictured)
Discriminated: Children in the family
often leave school early because of constant bullying and do not get any
qualifications as a result
'The
kids leave school early and without proper educations due to the
constant bullying', says Eva, 'That means that they can't find work
later in life because they have no qualifications.
'There
are no health or mental problems in the family,' says Eva, who shot her
documentary during 2012 and 2013, 'It's purely a cosmetic problem and
they suffer hugely as a result.'
'At the beginning you're very aware of the problem these people have, and you don't want to be caught staring.
'But after a few days with them you barely even notice. They're just a normal family trying to live their lives.'
Chuy's particularly hairy brother Danny refers to his condition as 'a gift from God' and says: 'It's okay to be different.'
But
upon encountering a real wolf on a trip to the zoo in the opening
scene, Chuy saw the similarities between the caged animals and his own
family. 'We're both covered in hair and we're both trapped - them in the
zoo and me in this body,' he told the camera, 'At least the wolves
treat me the same as they treat other humans.'
'Other recorded historical forms of hypertrichosis, such as bearded ladies, have been down to hormone imbalances,' said Eva.
'But
in this family the syndrome is congenital, meaning its hardwired into
their genetics. Subsequent generations all share the characteristics.'
Content: Chuy's particularly hairy
cousin Danny says the hair which covers his face is 'a gift from God'
and that 'it's okay to be different'
'The
family has kept a sense of pride in their uniqueness,' says Eva, who
got to know the family intimately during her time filming them. 'They've
had to stick together because no one else will accept them.'
Despite
their tough talk the family have suffered greatly at the hands of the
local community, many of whom superstitiously see their unique features
as a curse.
Bullied: 'I've never seen bullying or
discrimination on the scale of what these people suffer,' said Eva
Aridjis, the documentary-maker who saw the family's suffering first-hand
The
women regularly shave their faces, the men prefer to let it grow out.
And while the women and children stay within the confines of their
shared home, nearly all the men of the family work in circuses and
freak-shows.
One of a large family,
Chuy
and both his male cousins work under the 'Wolf Man' moniker in their
travels across America, Asia and Europe. As a result they spend most of
their lives touring and away from the family.
'It's
very hard on the women,' says Eva, 'They can't work and they live in a
society where cosmetic beauty is very important. They all have very
serious problems with self-esteem.'
Chuy
has made numerous media appearances. He features in the Ripley's
Believe It Or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's
Hairiest Man.
He has toured the world with various circuses and freak shows, including the UK's Circus of Horrors.
In 2005 he featured in Channel 5's Hidden Lives documentary series in an episode titled It's not easy being a wolf boy.
'I
make films about marginalised communities,' says Eva, who has
previously made documentary films about the homeless children of Mexico
City and the worshippers of the Santa Muerte cult.
'Mexico
is an amazing country for that,' said the filmmaker, who grew up in
Mexico City before studying film at NYU, 'It's a place where the truth
is stranger than fiction.'
Eva hopes that her film will ultimately help the werewolf family attain a better life.
'More
than a film about Chuy, this documentary is really about family,' she
says, 'I really admire them and how strong they are. They're very
resilient and have retained a sense of pride.'
'These are people who have no friendships, no careers, stable love-lives or lasting relationships because of how they look.'
'They have had to stick together because all they really have is each other, so it's really a film about family.'
She has faith that her film will improve the family's situation.
'I'm
not really in a position to offer them work or money, but if someone
else sees the film and thinks they can help them then that makes it all
worthwhile.'
Home: Chuy's family lives in three neighbouring houses in Loreto, which were donated to them 50 years ago by the town's mayor
Isolated: Rejected by society, the
family have a difficult time finding work or holding down jobs because
of the discrimination they suffer
Resolute: 'They have
had to stick together because all they really have is each other, so
it's really a film about family,' said Eva about her documentary
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