Morbid Tales : And they live happily ever after ... as sociopaths.

We all read about fairy tales and we all saw the Disney films about them but what we did not know was that ... all of this stories adapted to the big screen are not 100% faithful to the original stories. Let me tell you about the original versions.

Little Snow-White

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Snow-White lay there in the coffin a long, long time, and she did not decay, but looked like she was asleep, for she was still as white as snow and as red as blood, and as black-haired as ebony wood.

Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the dwarfs' house, where he sought shelter for the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow-White in it, and he read what was written on it with golden letters.

Then he said to the dwarfs, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it."

But the dwarfs answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world."

Then he said, "Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see Snow-White. I will honor her and respect her as my most cherished one."As he thus spoke, the good dwarfs felt pity for him and gave him the coffin. 

The prince had his servants carry it away on their shoulders. But then it happened that one of them stumbled on some brush, and this dislodged from Snow-White's throat the piece of poisoned apple that she had bitten off. Not long afterward she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was alive again.

"Good heavens, where am I?" she cried out.

The prince said joyfully, "You are with me." He told her what had happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the world. Come with me to my father's castle. You shall become my wife." Snow-White loved him, and she went with him. Their wedding was planned with great splendor and majesty.

Wow, a prince who wanted a pretty dead body? I wonder what he wanted to do with her. I am relief to know that she still wanted her after she woke up.

…. About the evil queen:

The wicked woman uttered a curse, and she became so frightened, so frightened, that she did not know what to do. At first she did not want to go to the wedding, but she found no peace. She had to go and see the young queen. When she arrived she recognized Snow-White, and terrorized, she could only stand there without moving.

Then they put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals. They were brought forth with tongs and placed before her. She was forced to step into the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down dead.

Snow White wasen't so innocent and naive after all. Actually she planned her step mother death, she invited her only for everyone to see that she will kill if someone wants to hurt her. I think the people of her kindom got the message.

Sun, Moon, and Talia, By Giambattista Basile

(A.K.A Sleeping Beauty )

After Talia (Sleeping Beauty) ran a splinter of flax under her nail …

As soon as the wretched father heard of the disaster which had taken place, he had them, after having paid for this tub of sour wine with casks of tears, lay her out in one of his country mansions. There they seated her on a velvet throne under a canopy of brocade. Wanting to forget all and to drive from his memory his great misfortune, he closed the doors and abandoned forever the house where he had suffered this great loss.

A king not a prince found Talia sleeping :

At last he came to the salon, and when the king beheld Talia, who seemed to be enchanted, he believed that she was asleep, and he called her, but she remained unconscious. Crying aloud, he beheld her charms and felt his blood course hotly through his veins. He lifted her in his arms, and carried her to a bed, where he gathered the first fruits of love (this means rape, what else would you call having sex with unconscious body). Leaving her on the bed, he returned to his own kingdom, where, in the pressing business of his realm, he for a time thought no more about this incident.

You want to read more disturbing parts that were not included on the Disney movie?

-Talia got pregnant by the King and had 2 babies after 9 months.

-The king took Talia and the babies back to the castle and the queen try to kill them.

-The Queen was killed by the King and he and 
Talia lived….happily ever after.

 Le Petit Chaperon Rouge by Charles Perrault.

The story had as its subject an "attractive, well-bred young lady", a village girl of the country being deceived into giving a wolf she encountered the information he needed to find her grandmother's house successfully and eat the old woman while at the same time avoiding being noticed by woodcutters working in the nearby forest. Then he proceeded to lay a trap for the Red Riding Hood. Little Red simply strips naked , gets in bed, and then dies, eaten up by the big bad wolf, with no miraculous relief (in another version, she eats her own grandmother first, her flesh cooked up and her blood poured into a wine glass by our wolfish friend).

Hercules

Zeus was married to the goddess Hera but was well-known for his affairs with mortal women. He transformed himself to appear as Alcmene's husband, slept with her, and so conceived Hercules. Hera, who was always enraged by the dalliances of her husband, dedicated herself to making Hercules' life as miserable as she possibly could. 

After watching the Disney version of Heracles, who would have thought that Zeus was a cheater God and that the villain of the story was his step-mother but... who can blame her?

Heracles weds Megara and they had three sons (though some sources claim eight children): Therimachus, Deicoon, and Creontiades. The couple were happy with their family until Hercules was called away on some adventure and the kingdom was left defenseless.

When Hercules finally comes home, he defeats and kills Lycus and then gives thanks to the gods for his timely arrival and the safety of his family. As he is praying, however, he is struck by Hera with a madness in which he believes his sons are those of Lycus and that Megara is his adversary Hera, and he kills them all...OOOPS.

Beauty and the Beast

The original 18th century fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont is actually quite close to the Disneyfied version, with the exception of a few details — Belle’s father was once rich, but at the time of the story is in major debt, and the fact that Belle had two wicked sisters. The sisters were very jealous of Belle’s luxurious life with the Beast, and when she was allowed to travel home for a week, they tried to make her stay with them longer so that when Belle returned, the Beast would be so angry with her that he would eat her alive.

We usually hear about mean step-sisters but actual blood sisters that want the younger sister to get killed is just horrible to read. My guess is that they were jealous not only of her new life but of her beauty, her jeunesse and her happiness. 

Cinderella

Instead of just trying to shove their big feet into the golden slipper, the ugly stepsisters actually cut off parts of their feet. One of them cuts off her toes, and the other slices off her heel. Yuck! 

In the end Cinderella did NOT forgive and forget. At her wedding, she has her little birds fly down from Heaven and peck out her sisters’ eyes. That’s what I call revenge.

The Andean Rockefeller

Simón Iturri Patiño (Santiváñez, 1 June 1862 – Buenos Aires, 20 April 1947) was a Bolivian industrialist who was among the world's wealthiest people at the time of his death. With a fortune built from ownership its majority from the tin industry in Bolivia, Patiño was nicknamed "The Andean Rockefeller". During World War II, Patiño was believed to be one of the five wealthiest men in the world.

Patiño's biographers are not in agreement on the details of his early life. Many wrote that he was a cholo, with a mixed Quechua and Spanish heritage, and born to a poor mother, while his authorized biography holds that he was solely of European ancestry, and the son of a provincial leader. He was actually the illegitimate son of Eugénio Iturri, a Basque man and his mother was María Patiño, from Cochabamba. Before entering the mining industry, he managed a store in Oruro and a few years spent years in private schools.

Eventually, Patiño started in mining with Hunanchaca Compaby of Bolivia, a silver company, and then with Fricke y Compañía. Patiño was assigned to collections for the store, and in 1894, he agreed to accept a deed of land in compromise for a $250 debt owed by a prospector. The deed turned out to be the rocky side of a mountain and Patiño was fired from his job for settling an account in exchange for a worthless piece of property. Legend has it that Patiño was forced to pay back the store from his own funds, and was stuck with his own bad bargain.

The mountain, located near Llallagua, turned out to be richer in minerals than anyone had imagined. Although the first several years of work yielded a little, the turning point came in 1900 when Patiño located a very rich vein of tin, later called "La Salvadora" (The Savior). Over the next 10 years he built up the control of nearby mines and other important mines in Bolivia, including Catavi, Siglo XX, Uncia and Huanuni. By the 1920s he had also bought out Chilean interests in his mining company and went on to buy tin smelters in England and Germany. By the 1940s he controlled the international tin market and was one of the wealthiest men in the world, hence his "title" The Tin King (Rey del Estaño).

In his 2008 book "Outliers", Malcolm Gladwell estimated the total net worth of Simon I. Patiño around USD 81.2 billion in 2008 dollars. That amount placed him in number 26 of all time wealthiest individuals in human history, ahead of Bill Gates, Carlos Slim, Warren Buffet and J.P. Morgan.

Patiño had been living between Europe and Bolivia since around 1912. In 1924, following a heart attack, his doctors told him not to return to Bolivia and he moved abroad permanently, first to Paris, then to New York and finally to Buenos Aires where he died, close to the homeland he was so fond of and wanted so desperately to return to. 

Among the many gifts that Patiño did to his wife when he was alive was the Palacio Portales in Cochabamba (which was begun in 1912) is one of the most luxurious; however, the family never lived there. The entrepreneur's widow moved to Villa Albina.

The Portales Palace was designed by French architect Eugène Bliault. The construction has an eclectic style, mixing the French Arabic trend, and Italian in different rooms. One of the halls is a replica of the library at the Vatican, for example. Statues of Roman emperors, female figures simulating the four seasons, the zodiacal signs, plus cherubs and angels, are combined in the decoration of the rooms, giving the impression that one is inside a huge kaleidoscope.'

(For more photos of The Palace click THIS LINK )

The mirrors and gold multiply everywhere, and it seems that the salons have a dispute with each other over which one is more luxurious. In the main hall presentations, conferences, concerts, tributes, etc. are presented. This large room has a unique sound, so most piano recitals are held there.

The huge mansion, considered one of the most important cultural heritage of the country, which took six years to build, this place was never properly inhabited, although planned in detail by Patiño. He even instructed to built public showers for residents of the area, so they could use them and so ingratiate himself with them.

Shortly before his death, and already knowing he had a heart disease, Patiño decided to create the Foundation that bears his name to this day, especially to please her two daughters who were very attached to bolivian culture.

Patiño is without doubt the greatest industrialist Bolivia has ever had. His substantial wealth made him powerful in Bolivian politics and he was locally both admired and hated. Previous to a political shift away from his allies in the government, Patiño merged the company owning his Bolivian tin property with a British company active in Malaysia.

Patiño died in 1947 and was buried in the city of Cochabamba high in the bolivian mountains of his birth place in a white mausoleum. This mausoleum is in the property where a small cottage was builded for his wife, this property is called Villa Albina. 

-If you want to see pictures of Villa Albina visit THIS link
-If you want to see pictures of The Portales Palace visit THIS link

(Source: Wikipedia and Los Tiempos - 
Photography by { 7 Fotos }

Ash-Wednesday: " ...And to dust you shall return."

" Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris "

February 18 is Ash Wednesday, which kicks off the first day of Lent and it’s the sign that tells us that Easter approaches. The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21.

Ashes are ceremonially placed on the heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday, either by being sprinkled over their heads or, in English-speaking countries, more often by being marked on their foreheads as a visible cross.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes ....that comes from dead people...NOT! they are made from palm branches blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of participants to the accompaniment of the words "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Lent is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar of many Christian denominations that begins on Ash Wednesday and covers a period of approximately six weeks before Easter Sunday. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial.

" It is fast from the comfort of an easy life, low resistance, herd mentality, pleasure for pleasure. And above all, it is fast from power, and the glory complacency [... ] fast from selfishness, callousness and inhumanity. " It is the opposite of the Carnival season.

During Mardi Gras the world goes upside down. What do I mean? It’s simple really, some people wear masks to hide their identity and hiding means doing what you want without being judged by others, we wear different clothes even costumes and we become different people. The people, who wear more formal/serious clothes, will wear colors and relaxed outfits. Women will show alot of skin and Men will look at them without feeling guilty. We make fun of the church, politicians and public personalities in our society during this time because it is permitted.

In the early Middle Ages the Catholic Church proposed an etymology Carnival: the meat-levare in Vulgar Latin, meaning 'give up meat' (which was precisely the mandatory requirement for all people for all Fridays of Lent). Later another etymology which is currently handled in the popular area emerged: the Italian word carnevale, which meant the time during which you could eat. So Lent is the opposite of this, you don’t have to eat meat; you have to restrain yourself from eating and drinking with no control. Also it’s a time to control your body (sex -clothes) we get liberated during carnival and we satisfy our carnal body but during Lent, it is time to take care of our soul. 

The phrase from God to Adam: "Remember, man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." reminds him (and us) that we should not forget of our soul, our body is a temporary home/temple, we can do what ever we want with it but our soul is eternal and we should take care of it.

• Here are three things to know about the day.

It marks first day of the 40 days of Lent, a roughly six-week period (not including Sundays) dedicated to reflection, prayer and fasting in preparation for Easter. It ends on Holy Thursday, the fifth day of Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter) that marks the Last Supper. In addition to certain rules about foods and fasting, many Christians (and even non-Christians) abstain from additional foods, luxury or material goods or certain activities and habits.

The ashes, applied in the shape of a cross, are a symbol of penance, mourning and mortality.

Have a happy Lent !

The "last hurrah" - Carnival Season

Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That's why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of streetsweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.

What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons

Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning "farewell to the flesh." Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.

The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.

Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making 

-The 10 best carnivals around the world are these :

• Mardi Gras, New Orleans

• Carnevale, Venice, Italy

• Carnival, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Karneval, Cologne, Germany

• Carnival of Oruro, Bolivia

• Carnival, Martinique

• Fiesta de las Flores y las Frutas, Ecuador

• Patras Carnival, Greece

• Fasching, Germany

• Carnival, Sitges, Spain