Puppet House Museum: Mexican Marionettes

<span>This space features 22 rooms distributed over 2 levels: <br>
<b>Ground floor</b><br>
<b>Teatrino:</b> the stage where performances of different types of puppets are held. In this space there are three display cases with puppets from the Rosete Aranda and Golden Age Guiñol collections.<br>
<b>The history of the puppet:</b> In this part of the museum the beginnings of puppetry across various civilizations are explained, each contributing its culture and worldview.<br>
<b>Types of puppets:</b> In the next room, next to a puppeteer, you can observe placards with information about the different types of puppets: Cachiporra puppet, glove puppets, string or marionettes, rod puppets or Javanese puppets and shadow puppets.<br>
<b>A day with the family:</b> Here there is a puppeteer with plush toys forming a family—mom, dad, grandpa, boy, girl, and a dog—to greet visitors.<br>
<b>The puppet in Mexico:</b> At this point the visitor finds the first stop on the cultural journey through puppets within national territory. Two screens depict works with Mexican puppets, created and staged by the Cueto family and Rosete Aranda.<br>
<b>Interactive Rooms / Temporary Room:</b> This room presents two sets of virtual puppets. Visitors are invited to stand on the floor’s footprints to move the limbs and see how the virtual puppets come to life thanks to movement. In the next interactive is Lolo, the museum mascot, which also follows your movements.<br>
<b>Upper floor</b><br>
<b>Carmen:</b> It is the name of one of the best-known operas by the French composer Georges Bizet (1838-1875), premiered in Paris in 1875. The story is set in Seville, Spain, around 1820, where the protagonist Carmen—a beautiful gypsy—lives, along with a Spanish Guardia official Don José and a bullfighter Escamillo. The three characters experience a love triangle with a dramatic ending.<br>
<b>Peter and the Wolf:</b> In this room the tale <i>Peter and the Wolf</i> by Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev is represented, one of the early musical tales created for educational purposes. Each character communicates through the sound of an instrument, and the story follows the boy Peter who lives with his grandfather and whose friends are a bird, a cat, and a duck, who are pursued by a fierce wolf.<br>
<b>Beautiful Mexico:</b> In this room with Rosete Aranda puppets and guignoles, the aim is to show that artisans also made their creations noticeable in their outfits—the vast and varied traditional costumes from different parts of the country.<br>
<b>Comedy:</b> The puppets from the Golden Age of Guiñol theatre, in the small display cases, depict the play <i>Apolonio y Bodoconio</i> by Veracruz-born Emilio Carballido, which reveals roles of Mexican society with great humor, and whose exaggerated features recall the traveling clowns of the 20th century.<br>
<b>Paths of Faith:</b> The main display case stages the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, a cornerstone of Christianity. In the smaller display cases we can observe puppets on the same theme.<br>
<b>Help, here come the pirates / In a distant kingdom:</b> The room portrays piracy and Spaniards who departed from ports loaded with gold, precious stones, and other riches.<br>
<b>Once upon a time (A Day with Family):</b> In this large room that marks the midpoint of the upper floor there are 57 puppets representing characters from tales, narratives, and stories that have been part of our lives since childhood. <br>
<b>Stories and Fables:</b> This room features children's storytelling themes; you can see characters such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears (folktale), Rapunzel (Rapunzel in German) from 1812, The Wandering Tadpole from 1867, and The Adventures of Pinocchio from 1882.<br>
<b>Russian Influence:</b> In this room we can observe Rosete Aranda puppets, as well as guignol figures, and note the well-crafted outfits that mimic traditional Russian attire, including a bear puppet in the main display case that was made under Russian influence.<br>
<b>The Written Word:</b> In this room the puppets in the main display case depict characters from Shakespeare's classic tragic love Romeo and Juliet, a story where feuds and family conflicts between the Montagues and Capulets prevent the lovers from fully expressing their love.<br>
<b>The Power of the Voice:</b> <i>Così fan tutte (Thus Do They All)</i> is a comic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that explores how love among women can change.<br>
<b>Music, Maestro:</b> The cabaret concept began in Mexico City in the early 20th century as tent-show, comedic theatre, where society and politics were critiqued. Figures like Germán Valdés <i>Tin Tán</i> and Mario Moreno <i>Cantinflas</i> later moved their acts to cinema. Cabarets peaked in the 1950s with lively nighttime performances. They were places to dance, drink, and enjoy live music, as well as a variety of dancers. Hence the room name <i>¡Música maestro!</i>, usually used to introduce the stars of a show.<br>
<b>The Mystery of the Orient:</b> Oriental influence was largely incorporated into Mexico in the early 20th century, seen in fashion, decoration, performances, and other artistic expressions. The room showcases the culture of the Orient and its striking outfits.<br>
<b>The Belle Époque:</b> The period from 1871 to 1914 (at the start of World War I) was called The Belle Époque in France. In this period, music, painting, and other arts flourished; political and social movements began, and cinematography and psychoanalysis emerged. In Mexico, due to French influence during the Porfirian era, there was a close artistic and aesthetic imitation of this trend and lifestyle. The puppets in this room represent characters from this era who live everyday and sometimes comic situations related to their surroundings, highlighting the craftsmanship of Rosete Aranda's child puppets, which are rarely seen in the exhibition, and a highly detailed canine puppet.

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