My great aunt María Paulina’s nickname, since she was a kid, was Muñeca (aka “Doll”). As if it were a calling, she ended up creating many handmade dolls for her nieces. She tried every material possible: she made them out of paper, cloth, leather, pipe cleaners, with bisque or dry apple heads. Her hands spoke many languages, and she is still alive on many handmade treasures that my godmother kept and later gave to me. I always felt a strong connection to her, an inexplicable one, even though she was gone long before I was born. As a child, I could stare at her photo for hours. One day, when I was 42, I started making dolls myself. Then, I finally understood. Sooner or later, we all get home, and home was already in us.
Ph: Muñeca with Juan, my father, and Ana María, my aunt and godmother, circa 1954.
