Only in
Mexico... for over 50 years the
reclusive hermit Julian Santana lived alone on a small island in Teshuilo Lake sandwiched in the canal-lands between
Xochimilco and
Mexico City.
La Isla de las Muñecas as it has come to be known is a place rich in
myth and
legend. The story goes that three girls were visiting the island long ago and one drowned, leaving the island
haunted by her
spirit... when taking residence there, Santana put up a
doll as
protection. This gesture soon became habit, as he began to scour the city's rubbish heaps, and amassed a huge collection of
dolls that he would tie to trees, or place in a special shed with an
altar. Locals began to take their boats out to trade their old dolls for Santana's
home-grown vegetables and the collection blossomed.
La Isla de las Muñecas became home to over
a thousand dead dolls in various states of
decay, and following the
eccentric hermit's demise the city has planned to build a
museum on the site, to be curated by Santana's nephew.
Addendum: rootbeer277 notes that the literal translation of la Isla de las Muñecas is simply the Island of the Dolls - the "dead" part seems to come from western media, and I've always heard it referred to that way.