SPECTRALWhat happened here
The island belonged to Don Julián Santana Barrera, who lived there alone for about half a century, growing vegetables and flowers on his chinampa. According to his family, he began hanging dolls after finding a girl who had drowned in the canal nearby, to protect the island and to please her spirit.
For decades he gathered dolls from rubbish heaps and canals, and later from visitors, who began bringing them as offerings. In 2001 Don Julián was found drowned, reportedly at the same spot where he had found the girl. His relatives still look after the island.
The legends
Visitors and boatmen say the dolls whisper to one another, turn their heads and open their eyes, and some claim they are possessed by the drowned girl's spirit.
People still bring new dolls as gifts, and some tie messages or sweets to them. The island has become a destination for ghost hunters and a set for television investigations.
Fact or legend?
No record confirms the drowned girl, and some think Don Julián's story grew in the telling. What is certain is his decades of devotion and his death in the canal. The dolls don't move; the sun, rain and humidity do the rest.
Visiting
The island is reached by trajinera, the flat-bottomed boats of Xochimilco, usually from the Cuemanco landing. The trip takes several hours there and back; agree the price and route with the boatman before setting off. There is a small entry fee.
