Mexico City's Island of the Dolls

One of the World’s Most Macabre Tourist Destinations in Mexico

Nov 16, 2009 Sarah Todd

An eerie collection of dolls stare out from the trees, silent residents of one of Mexico's strangest tourist attractions. Welcome to the aptly named Island of the Dolls.

The intricate maze of canals linking Mexico City’s southern urban districts with the agricultural region of Xochimilco (pronounced so-chee-meel-koh) is a historical place full of legend and superstition - none more so than the Island of the Dolls, which is one of the area's most famous places.

Mexico's Haunted Island

Local folklore tells the tragic story of three young girls, one of whom drowned while they were playing on the island. Over time the island gained a reputation for being haunted by the young girl’s spirit, and very few people dared venture there.

Sometime in the 1950s a loner named Don Julián Santana decided to move to the island. One day, shortly after taking up residence on the haunted island he saw a discarded doll floating down the canal. Don Julián retrieved the unwanted toy and placed it on a tree on the bank overlooking the water. He believed this would appease the dead girl’s spirit and protect him from evil.

Isla de Las Muñecas

It is not known whether his offering had the desired effect, but Don Julián began to collect unwanted dolls. He continued to fish the toys from the water and retrieved them from rubbish heaps whenever he ventured away from the island into Mexico City. Gradually the island became a shrine to the dead girl, and locals named it Isla de Las Muñecas - Island of the Dolls.

Don Julián grew his own vegetables, and in later years the local people would trade old dolls for his home-grown produce. His shrine to the dead girl grew, and by the year 2000 he’d accumulated more than a thousand dolls.

In 2001 Don Julián Santana was found dead by his nephew, drowned in the same canal that had claimed the life of the young girl so many years earlier. His death fuelled the island’s notoriety, and today some people claim Santana often spoke of hearing voices calling him into the water.

Each of the dolls is said to be infused with the spirit of the drowned girl, and are supposed to move and whisper at night, calling visitors to the island. Some locals believe Don Julián also haunts the island, guarding his home as faithfully as he did in life and warding off trespassers and unwanted visitors.

Over the years the dolls have naturally decomposed, adding to the eerie background of the island. The sun has blistered many of the dolls, giving their blotched and blistered plastic the appearance of wounds and scars on their skin. The rain and wind have worn away the surface paint so many of the faces are pale and expressionless. Their dull eyes stare out from lifeless faces, while the loss of their fake hair makes them look as though they’re suffering from an incurable, wasting disease.

Many are missing limbs, or have very obviously been given those of another doll. The macabre, mismatched arms and legs are reminiscent of Mary Shelly’s classic Frankenstein’s Monster. Headless dolls are pushed between tree branches or strung from washing lines. The exposed necks provide a welcome home for the many exotic insects and spiders common to Xochimilco.

Visiting the Island of the Dolls

Since Don Julián’s death, La Isla De Las Muñecas has become a popular tourist destination. Anyone visiting the island should bring an offering - usually a doll, candles or candy - to appease the young girl’s spirit. The island is now private property, under the curatorship of Don Julián’s nephew Anastasio Velasquez.

In recent years the Island of the Dolls has become a popular destination for international travellers. Xochimilco is about 28 kilometres (17 miles) south of Mexico City’s centre. The canals are all that remains of the ancient Lake Xochimilco, once home to the Aztec, Toltec and Teotihuacanos peoples.

The only way to reach the island is by trajinera, a brightly painted wooden boat guided by a long pole - similar to a Venetian gondola. It takes two hours to get to the island. Boats may be hired from the Cuemanco landing, close to the Parque Ecológico De Xochimilco. Because the trajineras also take tourists around the canals it is important vistors ensure they tell the boat driver they want to visit La Isla de las Muñecas. Each boat can carry up to ten passengers, and the hire charges are around $120 per boat.

La Isla De Las Muñecas is unique - there is no other place like it on earth. It is a surreal tribute created from superstition and fear, the decaying dolls slowly succumbing to the natural elements. Walking around the island surrounded by the mutilated toys is an intensely emotional experience; it seems the children’s abandoned dolls are doomed to haunt the island for all eternity.

But on leaving the island, sadness is replaced by the euphoria of exploring such a unique place, and getting a glimpse into the mind of a true outsider whose ghoulish beliefs will live forever.

The copyright of the article Mexico City's Island of the Dolls in Latin Am/Caribbean Travel is owned by Sarah Todd. Permission to republish Mexico City's Island of the Dolls in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

One of the Residents of Island of the Dolls

What do you think about this article?

---

NOTE: Because you are not a Suite101 member, your comment will be moderated before it is viewable.

post your comment

What is 0+3?