Lupita dolls

Since the 1990s, there have been efforts to revitalize the crafts by artists such as María Eugenia Chellet and Carolina Esparragoza sponsored by the government to maintain traditional techniques but update the designs and shapes.

[2] The dolls are usually created with the help of molds, one for the head and torso and others for the arms and legs, with the strips of paper and paste layered on thickly.

[1] The hard papier-mâché has its origins in the late colonial to early Independence period, created by poorer families to imitate more expensive porcelain dolls from Spain.

One of these is that a wife who feels that her husband is cheating on her would buy one of these dolls and write the name of his supposed mistress to let him know that she knew.

They are no longer made in Mexico City and are only available from certain artisans in Celaya, sold not as toys but as collectors’ items.

[2][6] These artisans include Lupita Hernández and Luis Alberto Canchola who makes the dolls in various sizes.

This was followed in 2010 by the Miss Lupita project headed by Caroline Esparragoza in Mexico City, with support from Chellet and the Fondo Nacional para las Artes y Cultura.

Dolls were created by ordinary people with help from artisans and artists and the results were exhibited in Mexico, Japan and Portugal.