Mexico City sits directly in the center of the southern region of Mexico. The city was originally built on an island in middle of Lake Texcoco by the Aztec nation. In 1325, when the city was completed, the lake was massive and considered a good barrier to invaders. Unfortunately, a Tenochtitlan siege in 1521 destroyed the original city. Three years later it was rebuilt according to Spanish standards, but in the same place.
As the city grew and built up breakwaters and land spaces for buildings, canals were formed. Water was redirected away from populated areas, creating several small islands in the surrounding areas. The Mexico City of today is most definitely not the same as when it was built on a little island in Lake Texcoco.
Over the last several hundred years those silt-formed islands speckled amongst the canals have grown in size and sprouted vegetation. Until about 60 years ago the islands have gone untouched simply because of their instability and lack of size. But one island in particular grew large enough for a small cottage to be built amongst all the trees, and that is just what Don Julian Santana did. He left his wife on the mainland and decided to live on this little scrap of land for the next fifty years of his life.
Many people have come up with various possible reasons for his decision, but the one that seems to stick is that of the little girl he could not get out of his mind. Apparently Don Julian witnessed the drowning of a small girl in one of the surrounding canals and the ghost of the child had haunted him ever since.
Don Julian spent all of those fifty years collecting and locating dolls from anywhere he could, all in an effort to create a shrine for the girl's ghost. He traded fruits and vegetables for old dolls, rooted through garbage dumps, begged at people's homes, even asked for gifts of dolls. Don Julian would even collect doll parts, later piecing together odd parts to create a few Frankenstein-like dolls. Some he never found bodies for, so every once in a while a lone doll head is found perched on the end of a stick or branch.
Every other doll he collected was hung from a tree on his little island. With the effects of time, weather, the natural environment and various creatures, the dolls have taken on an eerie appearance of decay. Some no longer have heads or limbs. Others have had their eyes poked out by birds. Dolls made from cloth materials have deteriorated badly, but they maintain their child-like form - making them look even creepier. Adding to the overall sinister feel of the island is the fact that Don Julian hung dolls by the neck, making them look like they are hanging bodies of children.
La Isla de la Munecas is a popular tourism destination for those who appreciate spooky exhibits like these. The interesting element in this instance is the shrine was created out of a real feeling of anxiety, regret and remembrance. Every doll was collected and displayed for the purpose of pleasing a spirit, not for the purpose of drawing a crowd. The Island of the Dolls is more genuine than most pieces of art found in the best art museums of the world.
As the city grew and built up breakwaters and land spaces for buildings, canals were formed. Water was redirected away from populated areas, creating several small islands in the surrounding areas. The Mexico City of today is most definitely not the same as when it was built on a little island in Lake Texcoco.
Over the last several hundred years those silt-formed islands speckled amongst the canals have grown in size and sprouted vegetation. Until about 60 years ago the islands have gone untouched simply because of their instability and lack of size. But one island in particular grew large enough for a small cottage to be built amongst all the trees, and that is just what Don Julian Santana did. He left his wife on the mainland and decided to live on this little scrap of land for the next fifty years of his life.
Many people have come up with various possible reasons for his decision, but the one that seems to stick is that of the little girl he could not get out of his mind. Apparently Don Julian witnessed the drowning of a small girl in one of the surrounding canals and the ghost of the child had haunted him ever since.
Don Julian spent all of those fifty years collecting and locating dolls from anywhere he could, all in an effort to create a shrine for the girl's ghost. He traded fruits and vegetables for old dolls, rooted through garbage dumps, begged at people's homes, even asked for gifts of dolls. Don Julian would even collect doll parts, later piecing together odd parts to create a few Frankenstein-like dolls. Some he never found bodies for, so every once in a while a lone doll head is found perched on the end of a stick or branch.
Every other doll he collected was hung from a tree on his little island. With the effects of time, weather, the natural environment and various creatures, the dolls have taken on an eerie appearance of decay. Some no longer have heads or limbs. Others have had their eyes poked out by birds. Dolls made from cloth materials have deteriorated badly, but they maintain their child-like form - making them look even creepier. Adding to the overall sinister feel of the island is the fact that Don Julian hung dolls by the neck, making them look like they are hanging bodies of children.
La Isla de la Munecas is a popular tourism destination for those who appreciate spooky exhibits like these. The interesting element in this instance is the shrine was created out of a real feeling of anxiety, regret and remembrance. Every doll was collected and displayed for the purpose of pleasing a spirit, not for the purpose of drawing a crowd. The Island of the Dolls is more genuine than most pieces of art found in the best art museums of the world.
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