Want to see 3,000 Mexican masks in one place? Head to the Museo Rafael Coronel in Zacatecas.
I spent a few days traveling around the colonial center of Mexico last week, on assignment to review some hotels in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas. The former has a great Museo de los Muertos (Museum of the Dead) and the latter has one of the most amazing museums I’ve ever seen, with some 3,000 masks from all over Mexico housed in a restored section of a 16th-century crumbling building that was a grand hacienda and convent. For less than two bucks you get to tour it all and since this city is off the radar of most tourists, I doubt it’s ever very crowded. When I visited I got a private tour: a guy was going ahead of me turning on all the lights.
I don’t usually shoot a lot of photos in museums, but I went nuts in this one. The masks are from one guy’s private collection, which blows my mind since what’s on display is only 30% of the whole amount he bequeathed to the museum. The others are in storage. All of them are grouped thematically, from a whole wall of devils to a whole wall of gringos with big noses. Cheetahs, kings, crocodiles, and monsters. Kick back with a cup of coffee and check out the slideshow below.
