The small island is so popular that it is responsible for the birth of at least eight other copycat doll islands.
In addition to holding the title of the scariest place in all of Mexico City, Isla del las Muecas, which is Spanish for ‘Island of the Dolls’, is also hard to reach. It is located 18 miles south of Mexico City in Xochimilco, a suburb famous for its floating, man-made reed islands called chinampas that were built by the Aztecs.
The small island is so popular that it is responsible for the birth of at least eight other copycat doll islands. The captain of the fake, clever Tragenera boat is more than happy to persuade you to come.
Luckily for me, I have a local Mexican friend who manages to find a captain ready to take us to the real island, which is two hours from Embarcadero Cumenco, along the canals of Xochimilco. Dotted is one of nine boats.
floral tribute
In the indigenous Nahuatl language, the word ‘Xochimilco’ simply means ‘the place where the flowers grow’ and this is precisely why in the early 1950s, after a bad case of heartbreak, Don Julian Santana Barrera moved here and began to grow flowers on an abandoned chinampa.
Every day he carried a traginera filled with his marigolds or sempaschitl (flower of the dead), as it is known in Mexico, to sell at the Mercado de Xochimilco. While returning home from one such sale, he encountered a little girl who was drowning in the canal next to his island. His inability to save her would haunt him for months to come. And so, in order to appease his spirit that he believed was tormenting him, he established a small temple, consisting of a nearly life-sized doll that he had placed on the altar. It will be the only doll Don Julian will ever name among the thousands of dolls in all shapes and sizes—some dead, some missing limbs—that he will collect over the years.
It is said that some dolls mysteriously float to her island, others she barter for her flowers. In lieu of an entrance fee, visitors to the island will also bring with them vintage dolls, which they will happily add to their creepy collection.
whispering winds
Today, in addition to the bizarre garlands of dolls that can be found festooned with the branches of almost every dense tree, the island also houses a small ramshackle museum run by the caretaker, Anastasio Santana Velasco, who claims to be Don Julian’s nephew. .
Its beige corrugated metal walls are affixed with copies of local newspaper articles about the island and the portrait of its toothless builder. The rest of the room, including Don Julian’s bedroom, is filled with his precious dolls, which Anastasio claims are often whispered to him when he passes by.
Creeping supremely, we head to Tragenera that we pray will still be there to ferry us back. As a parting shot, Anastasio tells us that exactly 20 years ago, on April 7, 2001, Don Julian’s body was found floating in the exact spot where he saw the little girl drown.
The Mumbai-based writer and restaurant critic has a passion for food, travel and luxury, not necessarily in that order.
.