Neighbors.   Sometimes we often forget how close we are to someone and never quite know them.  When I brought a pile of extra materials to my house from friends moving back to the states, (file cabinets, plants, pots, more) and gave a lot of extras to them – boy did I also come across a discovery.  Meeting Roberto Shimizu, REALLY meeting him, after sharing an apartment floor with him for over 2 years was one of the largest educations I received in one day, and I was able to learn just from the observations of his collections at the Museo del Jugete Antiguo in Mexico City.  Mr. Shimizu found ME  on the first floor within minutes of entering the building and had this ease and proudness of a collection that I had yet to realize – but by the end of the day, I would be stunned into being unaware of this magical spot up to this point, as well as privileged to be able to discovery so much history of Mexico, the United States, and other countries ALL in one location.

In seeing a father and daughter in front of before even entering, I has one complimentary ticket and they obviously did not have the funds to enter, I slipped them a ticket and I think this made their experience possible  🙂  I felt that was a good deed needing done for the day. and this was an opportunity it felt was not to be missed!

The memories that hit you from floor to floor of toys of the past – they are just amazing, then you learn about the amazing history of so much, the original neon sign of what was the symbol of this first location of display, the huge (two story) Mardi Gras mask in the center of the museum (from a famous nightclub in Mexico in Doctores)  that still has moving eyes and yet, people scraped the real gold off the one tooth that you can still see, the amazing collection of Mexican historical pieces that define all levels of Mexican history, the largest display of Harry Potter in the WORLD (heck, I thought I just walked into Ollivander’s Shop on Diagonal Alley, of every wand possible on one wall alone, then there is a real snake, the collections of magazines of Harry Potter, figurines, spells, more than you can ever imagine, and you only get a TIP of the iceberg of what you will experience in the GEM of a museum.  Downstairs the food is amazing in Japanese style, and you continue to see pieces of collections that will truly just blow your mind.

The collector that brought this collection to Museo del Juguete Antiguo, is a real estate lawyer Menahem Asher Silva Vargas has been certified by Guinness Awards as the largest anywhere but there are so many secrets to discover on every floor.  In fact, you are not sure if the exhibits that are being held by some of the most creative cases are the art or if the exhibits themselves are the art (Sputnik relics, former movie theatre showcase lights, an old Dodge wooden wheel as a display case, these are nothing compared to some of the other showcases themselves allow you to take them in before you even get to the exhibit!

From Batman to Robin, to EVERY imaginable item you knew or didn’t know – overwhelming is just a small little way to describing the wonder of this amazing amazing museum backed by culture so thick, it is easy to get lost in the nostalgia and volumes of culture.

Add to that an amazing guide, Jonathan Sanchez that came over to guided us through some amazing aspects without us even asking.  He showed us a very unknown roof that houses illustrations from artists all over the world, and the like that you just have to take it all in, that your are not dreaming, while the background of Mexico surrounds you as you lose yourself in the art.

I have way too many pictures than I can show here, but perhaps one will show you just how amazing of things you will find here, (the details of every exhibit is what will amaze you as well) and this is a drop in an ocean of what you will see, and more importantly, feel!

You have until June 30th to see the Happy Potter exhibit, you will not be disappointed!