The Mummies of Guanajuato are a number of naturally mummified bodies interred during a cholera outbreak around Guanajuato, Mexico in 1833. The bodies were mummified due to the air and weather in the area.
Due to the ferocity of the epidemic, more cemeteries had to be opened in San Cayetano as well as Cañada de Marfil. Many of the bodies were buried immediately to control the spread of the disease; in some cases, the dying were buried alive by accident. As a result, some of the mummies have horrific expressions attesting to their death in the tombs, though most expressions became fixed postmortem.
The first mummy was put on display in 1965. It was the body of Dr. Remigio Leroy, currently on display at the Guanajuato Mummy Museum. This museum, containing at least 108 corpses, is located above the spot where the mummies were first discovered. Numerous mummies can be seen throughout the exhibition, of varying sizes. This museum is known to have the smallest mummy in the world, a fetus from a pregnant woman who fell victim to the disease, also mummified. Some of the mummies can be seen wearing parts of their clothing from when they were buried. The bodies were removed from the crypt when their family members stopped paying upkeep. However, the law was changed, and bodies are no longer removed from their resting-places for this reason.
