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In the 1950’s, Don Julian Santana Barrera moved onto the small island located in Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals. By some accounts, he abandoned his wife and children, but it’s commonly believed he lived a reclusive life as a hermit. Over the course of his life, Barrera populated the island with over 1,000 dolls, hanging them from the trees and keeping some in his cabin. There are a variety of supernatural stories surrounding his behaviour, although his family claims Berrara’s mental illness is behind his bizarre activities.

The island began gaining notoriety in 1943, when Mexican filmmaker Emilio Fernández filmed María Candelaria there. Barrera accepted visitors to the island, charging them a small fee to take photos. In 1987, the Xochimilco canals were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That year, an unnamed eco-tourism mission to the island dealt with a the overgrowth of water lilies.

Barrera was a neighbor of the Barrio de la Asunción, where he used to go to drink pulque after selling his vegetables. He began preaching in the streets, which lead to him being banned from the area due to the common belief that unless one was a priest, speaking of God was blasphemous.

After his death in 2001, the island was bequeathed to his nephew Anastasio Barrera Velasco, and the family transformed it into a tourist attraction. Velasco lived on the island until he reportedly died in 2019. The island is now under the care of Barrera’s great-nephew, Rogelio Sanchez Santana. It remains uninhabited as he currently does not live on the grounds.

The island now maintains a bar and a small museum, displaying articles from local newspapers about Barrera and the island itself.

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In Legend

While widely reported on, the folk-lore around the Island of the Dolls is varied and often contradictory. According to some, Barrera came across a young girl drowning in the canal, tangled amongst the lilies. Barrera jumped in to save her, but was unsuccessful. https://www.thetravel.com/what-is-the-story-of-the-island-of-the-dolls/ Others, such as his great-nephew Santana, believe he merely found the body. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/spooky-story-behind-the-mexican-island-of-dolls/101594254 The stories claim that after the drowning Barrera found a doll floating in the canal; believing it belonged to the girl, he hung it in a tree. Legends diverge around his motivations, some say he acted out of respect for the girl, others that it was an act of appeasement to protect himself from her spirit, or conversely, to protect her spirit from demonic entities in the water. https://www.thetravel.com/what-is-the-story-of-the-island-of-the-dolls/ According to Santana, Barrera started seeing ghosts in the morning, and one day woke up to find his crops dead, hanging the dolls in an attempt to reverse his luck. https://nypost.com/2021/10/30/real-story-behind-haunted-island-of-the-dolls-in-mexico/  Many, including Barrera’s family, dispute the girl’s alleged drowning whole-cloth, and no records have been found to support the event. https://unusualplaces.org/la-isla-de-la-munecas-island-of-the-dolls/

Although he was the only occupant of the small island, Barrera reportedly heard footsteps, wails, and crying near his home. After the alleged drowning, Barrera began compulsively collecting dolls “as if moved by an unseen force”, leading some to theorize he was possessed by the spirit of the girl. Some versions of the legend assert that dolls started mysteriously appearing on the island after the girl’s death. Barrera procured most of the dolls by trading his vegetables for them, receiving gifts from visitors, or scouring the trash. He reportedly accepted any doll he found regardless of their state of disrepair, taking dolls with some having torn clothes, missing limbs, or no eyes. https://www.thetravel.com/what-is-the-story-of-the-island-of-the-dolls/ Some contradictory accounts report that Barrera’s paranoia and anger eventually lead to the dolls’s disfigurement.

Barrera was said to have a favourite doll, Agustinita, also known as La Moneca https://web.archive.org/web/20110722225234/http://www.xochimilco.df.gob.mx/turismo/isladelasmunecas.html. She’s the only known doll with a name, and is currently displayed with her shrine in the island’s museum, wearing glasses an a turquoise dress. Legend has it the doll received her name as Barrera found Augustinita on August 28th, the day of St. Augustine. He was said to have regularly carried Augustinita with him and slept with her at his bedside. Visitors now bring offerings for Augustinita, as she allegedly grants wishes in exchange for gifts, and some believe she is able to perform miraculous feats of healing. https://www.nationalturk.com/en/doll-island-in-mexico-one-of-the-scariest-places-on-earth/  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-30/spooky-story-behind-the-mexican-island-of-dolls/101594254

In 2001, Barrera was found dead by his nephew Anastasio. He allegedly drowned in the canal exactly where the girl had died 50 years prior. His nephew recounts that Barrera had previously told him of a mermaid who lived in the canal. Barrera relayed that the mermaid had been calling to take him away, and some theorize the mermaid to be the cause of his drowning. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722225234/ http://www.xochimilco.df.gob.mx/turismo/isladelasmunecas.html

Today, visitors often bring small tokens, gifts, or their own dolls, as a sign of respect for the little girl. Some claim that they’ve witnessed the dolls open their eyes and move their heads and limbs. Others say they’ve heard the dolls whispering to each other, and sometimes to the visitors, luring people to a watery death. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/10/the-haunting-story-of-the-man-who-built-the-island-of-dolls-723402