The Island of the Dolls a Place With a Legend
It is known as the Island of the Dolls to a small island located south of Mexico City, this island is characterized by having only one resident, who according to what is said, found a little girl who had drowned near the island in 1951 and with it he also found his doll, after this he began the collection of dolls that he was getting, they were generally discarded dolls, it is said that he did this in memory of the girl; there are those who assure that the dolls are possessed by the girl's soul. As you can see, the history of the Island of the Dolls is very interesting, learn more about this island here.
What is the Island of the Dolls?
The Island of the Dolls is considered one of the spookiest tourist destinations that Xochimilco, Mexico has; This place was made in order to pay tribute to the soul of a young woman who died very young.
This place is currently characterized by being the home of hundreds of dolls, most of which are mutilated and the image they represent is really terrifying, since they are dolls whose limbs are cut off or on the contrary they were beheaded, there are others that have empty eyes; the image becomes more terrifying when you see all these dolls hanging in the trees.
Regardless of the time the island is visited, it maintains a dark and very threatening aspect, although it must not be denied that in the dark the island becomes a very disturbing and not pleasant place to be.
The history of this island began in 1950, when Don Julián Santana Barrera became the only inhabitant and caretaker of the island, he found a girl drowned in a channel that mysteriously surrounded the island and no matter how hard he tried, the man could not save his life.
As the days went by, after the death of the young woman, Don Julián saw a doll floating near the canal, he imagined that the doll belonged to the girl so he decided to grab said doll and hang it on a tree to please the tortured soul of the girl.
After this event, it is said that the guilt of not having saved the girl's life greatly disturbed Julián, he came to feel that the island was haunted by the girl's spirit, so he thought that a single doll was not enough to please that girl, so she decided to look for more dolls so that in this way the girl would not feel alone; For almost half a century, this man managed to collect more than 1,500 dolls, or rather little horrors. At present, all the dolls are still there intact, it gives the impression that they were decomposing corpses, it is a rather terrifying image.
The legend of the Island of the Dolls begins when the only inhabitant of the island found the corpse of a girl floating in the channel, it is said that Don Julián felt very guilty, since according to him, no matter how hard he tried, he did not He was able to save the life of the little girl.
As the days went by, the feeling of guilt grew greater, since he discovered a doll floating in the same waters and very close to the place where he had found the girl, so he assumed that the doll belonged to the girl deceased.
Don Julián felt that he should take the doll and hang it on a tree, this he did as a sign of respect, but what seemed an innocent act soon turned into something creepy.
It is said that Don Julián began to hear whispers, footsteps and some terrible and anguished lamentations of a woman in the dark, he thought that it could not be anyone but the girl, since his cabin was hidden in the depths of the forests of Xochimilco and this was miles from civilization.
Full of great fear and thinking that he had to get something to calm the girl's spirit, he decided to look for more dolls and toys to hang in the trees and in this way try to appease her.
Don Julián spent the next 50 years like this, decorating the forest in a desperate attempt to appease her, this man hung many dolls and it is said that there are more than a thousand dolls there decorating the trees and the fences that surrounded his wooden hut.
Don Julián lived the life of a hermit in those forests until 2001, when his nephew found him dead, drowned in the same canal where he found the doll floating.
There are many stories that are given about Don Julián, there are also reports that mention that the dead girl could never have existed and was an invention of this man after years of isolation in the forest; those who were somehow close to him suggested that he was "driven by an invisible force that completely changed him."
At present, Don Julián's family are the ones who take care of the island and maintain it as a tourist attraction and they say that Don Julián always said that the island was haunted by the spirit of the dead girl he found in the canal.
After the death of Don Julián and with the help of his relatives, the area became a popular tourist attraction, where visitors bring more dolls and there are comments from many people who have visited the island who affirm that they are heard whispers.
When you get to the island, the first thing you see are the dolls that not only hang in the trees, but are grouped at the bases of said trees, attached to small structures and fences; dolls can also be seen hanging like on clotheslines.
In addition, it is seen that many of these dolls have been exposed to the elements such as the sun and rain, which have made them look more worn and deteriorated, in addition to the fact that many of them are wrapped in thick cobwebs, some are missing limbs and some others do not even have bodies and are just doll heads dangling from rusty cables in the trees.
It can also be seen that some dolls are home to large insects, which crawl through their mouths or eye sockets, in some cases lice are seen in the scarce hair of the aforementioned dolls.
There are places on the island where many dolls are seen together and coins and cards are also seen, in this case it is the visitors who leave certain objects as an offering sign, in addition there are some visitors who place offerings around the first doll that Don collected Julian, in exchange for miracles and blessings.
Apart from the many dolls that are on the island, there is a small museum where some articles from the local newspapers that refer to said island have been placed; There is also a store and three rooms, one of which seems to have been used as a bedroom. In this room the first doll that Don Julian collected is placed, as well as his favorite doll.
As you can see, the description of this place is not at all pleasant, on the contrary, there are many dark characteristics that surround the referred place, there are many people who when they arrive at the place say that any joy that can be felt becomes horror.
Currently, who lives on the island is a relative of Don Julian, he is in charge of directing the tourists who come to see the island, he himself says that "the spirit of the girl is still here" so he considers it important that the wrists are not removed.
He also says that at night it gives the impression that the dolls come to life, "they move their heads and whisper to each other"; it is really creepy to live on the island, but as he himself assures, with the passing of the days he has gotten used to it.
Visitors for their part mention that it is a horrible experience to walk through these mutilated dolls, broken limbs, disembodied heads and headless bodies, which are now covered in mold; There are those who claim that Don Julián's innocent sentiment turned this floating garden into a graveyard of dolls.
Where is the island?
The Island of the Dolls is located approximately 28 km south of the center of Mexico City, approximately an hour and a half from the Cuemanco pier. There are two possible ways to get to the island, one is by taking a ferry from Embarcedero Cuemanco or Embarcadero Fernando Celada; This is a trip that, adding the round trip, takes approximately four hours. It is important to note that not all boats stop at Isla de las Muñecas.
On the other hand, another way to get there is by traveling on the trajineras, in this case, most of the rowers are willing to transport people to the island, but there are always those who refuse due to superstitions. This trip takes about an hour and includes a tour of the Ecological Area, the Ajolote Museum, the Apatlaco Channel, the Teshuilo Lagoon and the Llorona Island.
Generally, the island is not very crowded on weekdays, but on weekends the canals can usually get crowded, the prices to get to the island on a boat trip are calculated at an hourly rate and are around 200 pesos, although of course, prices may vary.
It is important to highlight that the Island of the Dolls is in the channels of Xochimilco, these channels are part of the last great lake that remained in this area, it is known that the entire area that surrounds the lakes and the cities developed into islands.
Don Julián Santana Barrera
The caretaker of the island and the person responsible for the creation of this story is Don Julián Santana Barrera and the story tells that it was Don Julián who found the dead girl and was the one who tried to save her, but unfortunately he could not do nothing for her.
It was also Julián Santana Barrera who found the doll floating in the canals and picked it up to later hang it on a tree and was the one who was in charge of looking for all the dolls that today adorn the island.
There is not much information about this character before he became the caretaker of the Island of the Dolls, there are those who say that he was about to get married when his girlfriend left him and married another, it is said that this It is the reason why Don Julian decided to withdraw from civilization and went to live in a cabin alone on the island.
Others say that the drowned girl never existed and that Don Julián was in a very strong depression and this made him imagine each of the things to try to entertain himself in something; Although the relatives who visited him with some frequency assure that it was a kind of magic or an invisible force that moved him to do each of these things.
Don Julián had a favorite doll, she was known by the name of La Moneca, of all the huts he had, he always moved her from one to another, each hut was different, there was one that was full of mulitas that he made with corn husks and he had them hanging, he also had many crosses which he made himself with pieces of ahuejote wood, he also had on a wall cutouts and photographs of some political figures, such as delegates from Xochimilco and some artists
.
A little before Don Julián died, he had his sister and his nephew who took care of him, they brought him food daily, in addition to his nephew taking the opportunity to take what his uncle grew and sold in Xochimilco.
According to the story, the day of his death seemed to be an ordinary day and it is that as usual, that day his nephew tells that his uncle told him that a mermaid had been calling him, apparently because she wanted to take him away, Mr. Julián told him that he was going to sing to him so that he would not take it away, he also told him that this was not the first time.
The nephew did not pay much attention to him and told him that he was going to milk the cows, when the nephew returned he did not see his uncle, so he looked for him and found him in the same place where he said he had found the dead girl and in this case, Don Julián had already died.
When family members are asked how they feel about the loss of Don Julián, they answer that they feel a lot of sadness, but they also feel that he died where he wanted, next to his dolls and next to the mermaid of whom he always He spoke and there are many people who think the same as Don Julián and he has joined the other spirits of the island.
After the death of this caretaker, the island became a tourist attraction, where visitors bring more dolls and since the death of Don Julián, the island has become very famous and has even appeared in many newspaper articles such as on some television shows.
As a tourist attraction
The Island of the Dolls in Mexico has become a tourist attraction, somewhat different from those found in Mexico City and it can be said that it is possible that its appearance is what has been attracting thousands of tourists and photographers fascinated by the strange spectacle, although this tourist place is based on a somewhat tragic story and what makes the island more disturbing is that the origin of this tourist place is marked by the tragic death of an anonymous young woman more than 50 years ago.
There are those who say that a man named Don Julián Santana left his family one day and decided to move to an island in Lake Teshuilo, in the famous Xochimilco canals, to live his last years as a loner.
It is said that sometime in the 1950s, Julián Santana discovered the body of a girl who had drowned in a canal and later found her toy doll floating near the same place, moved by the discovery of the girl's body and According to some people, to appease her spirit, Santana set out to transform the entire island into a sanctuary dedicated to the girl's lost soul.
For many decades, this character was in charge of collecting dolls by the hundreds and decorated the island with their lifeless bodies, most of the dolls found on the island were rescued by Santana from the canals and garbage.
Julian lived in a small cabin, where his photos and some possessions are still displayed, surrounded by trees and some 1,500 decomposing dolls.
Apparently, as time went by, people became interested in visiting and learning about the history of this island, so Santana began to accept a small fee to show visitors his peculiar home.
One of the reasons that the Island of the Dolls attracts the attention of tourists, is that ghost stories are a part of the local tradition in the region, which gave way to spooky stories of dolls that come to life in the night, apparently consumed by the spirit of the dead girl.
The Island of the Dolls gains more popularity when in 2001 Santana's nephew found him dead in a canal, in the same place where Santana had discovered decades ago the corpse of the girl who inspired his life's work.
This caused interest in the popular island and its dark legend to grow significantly and despite the fact that Santana's relatives questioned whether the dead girl really existed and commented that this could have been a product of Santana's imagination, people continued to be interested in getting to know the island.
The difference in the legend, added to the peculiar characteristic that the island currently has, has caused the number of fans to increase for it.
At present, there are many interested in knowing the location of the island and finding the way to get there, although it is not very difficult, but the trip is a bit long, since visitors who want to know the island can take a ferry from Embarcedero Cuemanco or Embarcadero Fernando Celada, although it is important to ask beforehand if that ferry stops at Isla de las Muñecas, since some are very superstitious and prefer not to get too close.
The ferry makes a complete trip through the canal, which makes it take approximately 4 hours; Although the prehistoric lakes of Xochimilco are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a fairly popular tourist attraction, Isla de las Muñecas is not on the regular tourist route.
