CDHM The Miniature Way
May 2011, Issue 16
Dollhouse Tourism, Mexico
Page 83

Michoacán; an allegorical carriage and a carved wooden rooster adorned with chile peppers from Oaxaca. One wall is dedicated to hand-painted masks of varying shapes and

colors, each representing a different animal. Don one of these Michoacán-made masks, visitors are told, and you adopt the personality of the animal.

Martínez says attendance has been improving steadily following a slow start. Excursions sponsored by the cruise lines are now bringing in a brisk business of several hundred people, mostly organized groups.

"It can be difficult to sell, especially for those people who have a short time here and want to snorkel or go to the beach. Some people's first impression is that they don't want to go to a museum, and then when you say 'miniatures' they think it's really small. But our scale models are not that small, and we're more than a museum. Plus, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the water," said Martinez.

Next stop: Guatemala.