Figure 10.--HBC was unsure about the nationality of this image. It looks to have been taken about 1910. The boy's outfit looks rather French, but his hair is longer than most images I have noted for boys this age. We have since identified the image as Spanish and have learned that the boy was a child musical prodigy. His name is Pepito Arriola. Click on the image to see the back of the card.

HBC was unsure about the nationality of this image. It looks to have been taken about 1905-10, probably about 1909. The boy's outfit looks rather French. We have noted French boys wearing these bloomer knickers suits at various lengths. We have since identified the image as Spanish and have learned that the boy was a well-known child musical prodigy--Pepito Arriola.

Natioanlity

HBC was unsure about the nationality of this image. It looks to have been taken about 1905-10, probably about 1909. The boy's outfit looks rather French. We have noted French boys wearing these bloomer knickers suits at various lengths. This one appears to be a sailor suit and the knickers are bloused below the knee. He appaers to be wearing shoes of leather and white canvas with white socks. His hair is longer than most images I have noted for French boys this age. Italy and Spain are two other possibilities. The E-Bay seller believes that it is Italian or Portuguese. On further examination we find that it was Spanish.

Name

"Pepito Arriola" is a Spanish name. Pepito is the diminutive form of Pepe, which in turn is a form of Pedro, which means Peter. I believe that the family name Arriola is of Basque origin. A HBC reader tells us that Arriola was the author of the Gordo comic strip that he read when he was growing up. (It first appeared in November 1941.) This is not the same person, but thaere was a character named "Pepito" (Gordo's nephew) in the strip. At any rate, we believe that this image is definitely a Spanish image and that Pepito Arriola is the boy's name.

Child Prodigy

He have since learned that Pepito Arriola was a child musical prodigy. We find a web reference to "the precocious artist Pepito Arriola", but no details. Another brief note indicated that he was a child piano prodigy. One report indicated that at the International Congress of Psychology of Paris in 1900, a C.H. Richet, Academy of Medicine, presented to a general assembly, a 3 1/2 year old Spanish boy named Pepito Arriola who played and improvised piece of varied airs with very rich sonority on the piano. [Voir Revue Scientifique and Alcan]

Post Card

We have since acquired an image of the back of the card. The message is written in Spanish. It reads, "Amada mia, Hoy ví y saludé a tu papá y a Daniel. Me alegra mucho que tu bueno abuelito siga mejor. Te adoro, tu Bartolomé." This means "My love, Today I saw and greeted your daddy and Daniel. I am happy that your good granddaddy continues to feel better. Loving you, yours Bartolomé. It was sent September 10, 1910. Note that the word for grandfather is abuelo. But the Spanish love to use words like little granddad and little grandmother: abuelito and abuelita. Of course because the message is in Spanish does not mean the card was made in Spain. The card is printed with the term "Carte Postale". I think that is French for post card. In Spanish it would have been "Tarjeta Poatal" or now just " una postal " is used. Thus this card may have been printed in France even though it is fearures a Spanish boy.

Sources

Voir Revue Scientifique, October 6, 1900, p. 432

F. Alcan. "Compte-rendu officiel du Congrčs de Psychologie", 1900, p. 93.

Created: October 18, 2002
Last updated: October 18, 2002