All Dolled Up

Hands down, without a doubt, if you were to be asked, ‘What is the most popular doll in the world,” your answer would probably be “BARBIE.” Duh! Sort of a no-brainer on that one. For 59 years, Barbie has been queen of the doll world. A fresh new Barbie doll is bought about every three seconds worldwide. Now that is popular, with a capital P!

But if I were to ask you, “What is the most popular doll in Mexico?” Would you know? I sure didn’t until we visited the city of Queretaro, Mexico.  Bet you’ve never heard of the Otomi “Maria” dolls, also called muñecas de trapo (rag dolls). These wonderful dolls aren’t quite as old as Barbie, but they have a lot going for them. They are all handmade, promoted by a famous artist’s daughter and have become the national symbol of Mexico. Eat your heart out Barbie!