Chiquita in a White Dress

Sepia-toned full-body profile portrait photograph of the performer Chiquita with her head turned toward the camera. She is wearing a white dress and has her hair up in a white floral hair piece.

“Chiquita” was the stage name used by Alize Espiridiona Cenda del Castillo. Cenda was born in 1869 with a form of primordial dwarfism, and when full grown only measured 26 inches tall. In her act Chiquita would sing, dance, play instruments, and otherwise charm her audience. In 1901, Chiquita appeared at the Pan-American Fair in Buffalo as, “the Official Mascot of the Exposition,” and driving, “the smallest automobile ever constructed.” At the end of the fair, Cenda eloped with a young man who had been working for her show.

Her manager took her to court for breach of contract, but Chiquita and her husband eventually triumphed, and she was free of her contract. They continued to tour to give performances. It’s not known what became of Chiquita in later years, but it’s believed that the couple moved to Mexico where she may have passed away in 1945.