Chorrojumo

A carte-de-visite portrait of Mariano Fernández Santiago (1824-1906), one of the best known figures of Grenada in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Known as 'Chorrojumo,' his name derived from a contraction in the local speech patterns of the words for ‘stream of smoke.'

The self-styled ‘Prince of the Gypsies’ made his living by escorting tourists around the Alhambra, telling tales of his glorious past, and through sales of his photographic portraits.

A pencilled inscription verso in a period hand reads: 'Retrato de Mariano Fernandez, Principe de los Gitanos, sirvió de modelo al celebre pintor Mariano Fortuny' [English: 'Portrait of Mariano Fernandez, Prince of the Gypsies, served as model for the celebrated painter Mariano Fortuny'].

Photographer unidentified.