The dolls are made from a very hard form of papier-mâché called “cartonería” which is also used to create alebrijes and skeletal figures for Day of the Dead.

The resulting dolls have been displayed in Mexico City, Japan and Portugal and featured in a number of Mexican publications.

[1][3] The Miss Lupita project was initiated in Mexico City in 2010, with the aim being the revitalization of the craft of making dolls.

[6] The project was initially sponsored by the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA).

[3] The project has also included the collaboration of artist Maria Eugenia Chellet, artisan Carlos Derramadero and writer Ana Clavel.

[7][9] An exhibition of 20 dolls was held in Mexico City in September 2011 at the lobby of the Salón Digna Ochoa at the headquarters of the Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal.

[4] Participants in the workshops were originally to be giving Mexican traditional shopping bags as gifts, but instead it was decided that these would be sold for a nominal fee, with the proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross.

[7] There were almost sixty participants in the workshops ranging from 25 to 55 years of age and included artists, students and workers who made a total of 59 dolls.

[5] The exhibit of four traditional style Lupita dolls from Celaya and eighteen from the 2010 workshops were on display from late 2011 to early 2012.