Jesús Aceves, known as Chuy, the werewolf, generates a mixture of surprise and scare each time he goes for a walk, whom tired with society’s bullying and discrimination, decided to leave complexes and show himself to the world.
Happens in Mexico, where several generations ago, Aceves family suffer hypertrichosis, more known as Ambras syndrome. At least thirty members of the family have had or have this illness, being “Chuy” one of them. Why did God make like this?, Why am I not like everyone else?, he used to asked himself that when he was a boy. When he was in school, this 41 year old Mexican, was bullied and beaten by his classmates and they even used to pull his hair. Always making fun of how he howled under the moonlight.
Since he was little, he got used to prying eyes and insults. A really estrange illness leaves his face covered with hair and a “werewolf” aspect that almost anybody can’t deal with. School dropout. When he was 13 years old, he got into drinking and stared to work in the circus with his two cousins, who also suffer from the same illness.
Only 50 cases in all history have been documented, 13 of them, belong to Aceves family.
This family from Loreto (Zacatecas), inherited from their great grandmother this weird genetic mutation, that has no other symptom as excessive hair growth all over the body. People who suffer this illness, use to have hair in parts of the body that regularly have a lack of it, a consistency and an abnormal length.
Chuy explains that he used to walk crestfallen on the street, covering his face to avoid bad moments, he says that he doesn’t really understand why are they so discriminated, he considers that unfair, because even shopping, getting a job, making friends or having a couple, can be a real big problem for those with hypertrichosis. People don’t give them a chance just because they are different.
He seems not to react each time a person stops to look at him closely. He relates episodes of his hard childhood, about the fact that he worked for the “Horror Circus” in London, where without school and with a weird aspect, saw no other option than making his life showing himself in circus for audience’s morbid, a not so good experience that highly affected his self-esteem.
For man, hypertrichosis’ abnormal hair growth is an stigma, but even more for women, who usually tend to be abandoned by their couples once they get pregnant. “I’ve had luck and we are fine. It gets hard sometimes but I think being an honest person with good feelings allows you to have a good family”, Chuy says, who had been able to take advantage from his condition and has become in an activist for children who suffer bullying because of their disabilities or their physical conditions, out from the beauty standard, this man is a role model for his overcoming capacity.
ALFA