Trujillo Toy Museum

In downtown Trujillo, walking distance from the Plaza de Armas, up the street that runs beside the Cathedral and Archbishop's palace on the left, there is the neatest little museum: the Museo del Juguete toy museum.

 The museum was started in 1995 by artist Gerardo Chavez, who set out to gather those toys which he had so desired as a child but had been denied.   Today the museum houses some 4000 toys from all over the world, from pre-Columbian figurines to electric trains from the 1950s, many of them donations from friends and admirers of the collection.

  In seeing the Raggedy Ann doll, I remembered the matching Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy my mom sewed Danny and I from a kit when we were little kids.

Many of the toys also reminded me of the ones that had belonged to my brother Toño, which had been lovingly kept safe by his mom, Mama Alvina, and were brought out for me to play with when I visited Ayacucho during summer vacations.

It is well worth a visit, and the toys are sure to bring a smile to one's face if one should ever make it there -they sure did to mine.