Espiridiona Cenda

Alize Espiridiona Cenda del Castillo (14 December 1869 – 11 December 1945), known on stage as Chiquita, was a Cuban dwarf singer and performer.[1]

Cenda as sketched by Marguerite Martyn for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, published January 5, 1910

At 26 inches tall, she had built for her by C. Francis Jenkins what was in 1901 then the smallest automobile ever built.[2][3]

Cenda was married and had one child, which weighed no more than two pounds and died at an early age.[4]

Cenda spoke Spanish, Italian and English.[4]

Cuban author Antonio Orlando Rodríguez won the Premio Alfaguara for his 2008 novel Chiquita, based on the life of Espiridiona Cenda.

References
  1. "The Cuban Lady Who Dances" (PDF). The New York Times. July 24, 1896.
  2. The Motor Way Volumes 4-5 - Page 15 1901 The smallest automobile yet built is that made by the Jenkins Automobile Company, of Washington, D. C, for Chiquita, the little 26-inch atom of humanity, who is now using it at the Pan-American Exposition. It is a little electric Victoria, complete with top, electric lights and gong, fenders and wheel steering gear. It is. in fact, so exact a miniature duplicate of a full grown..."
  3. Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark, Henry Austin, Jr. (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. p. 783. ISBN 0873414284. With a 24-inch tread and 24-inch wheelbase, this 'littlest automobile ever built,' as Jenkins claimed, was a victoria specially made for a Cuban midget named Chiquita who was 26 inches tall. Chiquita drove the car as personal transport and in…
  4. Marguerite Martyn, "Actress Who Is 28 Inches Tells Miss Martyn She Would Like to Keep House," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 5, 1910


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