Casa del Títere (House of Puppets)

A disused textile factory in downtown Puebla is today a cultural space housing a group of museums. One of them is Casa del Títere, the House of Puppets, a collection of hundreds of dolls and marionettes from Mexico’s most famous puppeteers.

The puppet museum displays 630 hand puppets from the Bellas Artes Golden Era collection, and more than 800 marionettes from the Rosete Aranda Collection. Rosete Aranda was Mexico’s most renowned family of puppeteers, who gained such acclaim in the 19th century they were invited by President Benito Juárez to perform at the Presidential Palace. Their puppets are now the most sought after among collectors.

The puppet museum is divided into scenes, which represent different eras of the history of Mexico. There are scenes of circus puppets, puppets from children’s tales, and historical figures. There’s a wedding, skeletons dancing, a bullfight, a baroque carriage, and the famous 1940s actress Maria Victoria, singing with her orchestra.

Underneath each of the showcases there are videos of the puppets’ past performances. But above, all the puppets stay quiet and still, waiting to move their strings again.