Island of the Dolls

Over fifty years ago, Don Julian Santana left his wife and child and moved onto an island on Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals. According to some, a young girl actually drowned in the lake, while most others, including his relatives, say Don Julian Santana merely imagined the drowned girl. Regardless, Don Julian Santana devoted his life to honoring this lost soul in a unique, fascinating, and—for some—unnerving way: he collected and hung up dolls by the hundreds. Eventually, Don Julian transformed the entire island into a kind of bizarre, (for some) horrifying, doll-infested wonderland. Don Julian Santana began collecting lost dolls from the canals and the trash near his island home. He is also said to have traded produce he grew to locals for more dolls. Santana did not clean up the dolls or attempt to fix them, but rather put them up with missing eyes and limbs, covered in dirt, and generally in whatever ramshackle state he found them in. Even when dolls arrived in good shape, the wind and weather turned them into cracked and distorted versions of themselves. Don Julian also kept his cabin filled with the dolls, which he dressed in headdresses, sunglasses, and other accoutrement. Despite the fact that most people found the isle frightening, Don Julian saw the dolls as beautiful protectors, and he welcomed visitors, whom he would show around, charging a small fee for taking photos. In 2001 Don Julian Santana was found drowned in the same area in which he believed the little girl had died. A native of Xochimilco, a borough of Mexico City, Don Julian left his wife and family sometime in the mid-20th century to sequester himself on an island on Teshuilo Lake. His reasons for doing so are hazy at best, but as soon became clear, Santana Barrera was not necessarily of sound mind. Not long after relocating, he made a chilling discovery on the shores of his island: the body of a young girl, drowned in the lake. A doll came floating down the canals shortly afterward, changing the course of Santana Barrera’s life and the shape of the island for years to come. Alone on the island, Barrera took the doll and hung it from a tree in order to appease the spirit of the deceased girl. But, at least in the eyes of the man who now considered himself the island’s caretaker, the one doll was not enough. For the next 50 years, Santana Barrera would scrounge dolls from the trash and from the canals, and hang them from the island’s many trees. Some he’d hang whole, others in various states of disrepair — headless, torso-less, or taken apart in other ways. These don’t sound like the actions of a person with a healthy grasp on reality, and indeed, there are many doubts surrounding this legend. The biggest question? The reality of the little girl who died. Many people, including Don Julian’s own family, didn’t believe that he ever found the girl, although whether they believe he made it up, imagined the experience, or was somehow mistaken is unclear. What is clear is that whether the girl existed or not, Don Julian devoted the rest of his life to her. And perhaps creepiest of all, even the end of his life had clear ties to the story of the drowned child. In 2001, Don Julian Santana Barrera passed away. His body was discovered — you guessed it — drowned in the canal, in the exact place he always said he’d seen the little girl. In response, tourists began flocking to the island to pay tribute. They brought dolls of their own, and to this day people honor both Santana Barrera and the girl (whether she was real or not) by hanging up dolls in tribute. You can do so too. Many ferries stop here, making it a macabre must-see on any tour of these ancient Aztec canals. La Isla de las Muñecas is currently in the care of Anastasio Santana Velasco — Barrera’s nephew.

In the last two decades, boat tours in Mexico City

have popped up to take visitors to the Island of the Dolls. Though Barrera saw his collection as an assortment of beautiful protectors, a fair amount of tourists find the island bizarre and terrifying.

The creepy atmosphere sets in during the boat ride, which is part of a four-hour round trip that costs $75. Though the excursion begins with a winding ride through lush greenery and chirping birds, the growing amount of lily pads slow the boat down as the island draws closer.

From pelicans and kingfishers to egrets and plenty of water snake species, the ride showcases the beauty at the heart of the jungle — until the island appears. For professional photographer Cindy Vasko, La Isla de las Muñecas was the “creepiest place” she ever visited. In the 1950s, Don Julián Santana Barrera decided to abandon his family and live alone on the arable sliver of uninhabited land on Teshuilo Lake. The island’s new caretaker occasionally ventured to the neighboring Barrio de la Asunción to sell his vegetables and enjoy the popular pulque — an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the agave plant.

However, his evergrowing superstitions led him to start preaching the Bible around town. Eventually, the sector expelled him, and he remained on his island.

One day, Barrera came upon the dead body of a drowned girl and her doll. Superstitious and deeply religious, he grew fearful that the dead girl’s spirit haunted the island. He decided to hang her doll up on a tree to appease her potentially vengeful soul and started a habit he wouldn’t break for the rest of his life. To keep the girl’s spirit content, Barrera retrieved dolls that had washed up in the lilies of the canal and saved them from the garbage wherever he went. These discarded dolls were hanged up across the island in whatever ramshackle state he found them in.

According to some stories, Barrera was increasingly haunted by a girl whispering, “I want my doll” and footsteps in the dead of night. While it’s unknown what exactly he experienced in his hut, in the thick of the jungle miles away from civilization, one thing is terrifyingly certain.

Barrera was found dead in 2001 — drowned in the same spot he reported finding the dead girl and her doll nearly 50 years before. The legend of Don Julian Santana Barrera’s dolls remains fairly disputed. His relatives believe that the story was merely an evocative backdrop to give his efforts an intriguing allure. Others believe a girl did drown there — and that she haunted him up until his death. Whether or not the frightening tales are true, the entire island still boasts dolls today in various states of decay. As evidenced by the dirt-covered surfaces and eroding materials, Barrera never cared to clean or fix the dolls. He welcomed them as they were and hung them up with missing eyes or torn limbs, and they’ve since endured years of weather and continuous wearand-tear. Barrera also maintained a cabin filled with dolls that he would dress up in headdresses and sunglasses to a whole roster of other accessories. As word of the mysterious island began to spread, curious visitors would make their way to Barrera’s little kingdom, where he welcomed them with open arms. Once he realized that visitors were willing to pay a small fee for a guided tour, this bizarre site grew popular. And after Barrera himself was found dead in 2001 in the same spot he claimed to have found a dead girl 50 years earlier, it grew into the commercial hotspot it is today.

In the last two decades, boat tours in Mexico City have popped up to take visitors to the island and a fair amount of tourists find the island bizarre and terrifying.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Located in the Xochimilco borough 17 miles south of the center of Mexico City. Best way to get there is to leave from Embarcadero Cuemanco. It’s four hours round trip and cost $1,400 MEX or roughly $75 US dollars. Keep an eye out for some of the wildlife during your boat trip. Commonly seen creatures include pelicans, king fishers, egrets, and several species of water snakes.

AIRFARES SO LOW IT’S FRIGHTENING!