Máximo and Bartola, also known as Maximo Valdez Nunez and Bartola Velasquez, were two Salvadoran siblings who had microcephaly and cognitive developmental disabilities. They were displayed in human zoos during the 19th century. Originally from near Usulután, El Salvador, their mother gave them to a merchant who promised to take them to Grenada for education and exhibition. They went through several guardians afterward. They were eventually presented as the “Aztec Children,” and an elaborate story was fabricated claiming they were discovered in the temple of a lost Mesoamerican city named Iximaya. They toured the United States and Europe, performing before various rulers and dignitaries.

The exhibitions of Maximo and Bartola began in the late 1840s. In 1850, they were described as approximately ten and eight years old, respectively, under the care of Mr. Knox. In the summer of 1852, a custody dispute emerged in Philadelphia. Raymondo Selva, a man from Grenada, claimed that their parents entrusted him with their education in exchange for exhibiting them in Grenada. This alleged exchange occurred near the village of Jacotal in the San Miguel Department of El Salvador. Selva was confined by authorities in Grenada, and custody was transferred to his brother-in-law, Selazar. Selazar partnered with an American named John S. Addison and an interpreter named Pedro Salva, and they took the siblings to the United States. Selva, who had been released by that time, claimed to have met the children’s parents again and promised to retrieve the children. Mr. J.M. Morris challenged parts of Selva’s account, asserting that he was the rightful guardian. The dispute was resolved in December 1852, granting custody to Morris but requiring him to pay Raymondo Selva $13,000.

In early 1853, they visited Washington, D.C., where they met President Millard Fillmore at the White House. By July 1853, they were under the guardianship of a man named Anderson and embarked on a tour of Europe to perform before Queen Victoria. In London, they underwent examination by biologist Richard Owen, who concluded that they were not Aztecs but rather the result of Spanish and Native American mixing. This sparked further curiosity about their true origins. Another version surfaced, claiming they were the children of a mixed-race woman from La Puerty near Usulután, El Salvador. Allegedly, years before, their mother exchanged them for gold with a Raimond Selva from Nicaragua. It was also suggested that they had another sibling with the same condition. Mr. Morris later became their guardian again and exhibited them throughout Europe.

By November 1860, Maximo and Bartola were featured alongside Chang and Eng Bunker at Barnum’s American Museum. On January 7, 1867, they got married in London as Maximo Valdez Nunez and Bartola Velasquez, still under the guardianship of J.M. Morris. In late 1867, it was reported that the male member of the Aztec children duo had passed away on November 11, 1867, in Charleston, South Carolina, while on tour with Dan Castello’s Circus. He was laid to rest in Magnolia Cemetery. Other sources indicate that Maximo and Bartola continued touring together as the Aztec children until the late 1800s.