Slice of wonderland

Seven d ecad es of passion – and hoar d ing – filled up this m useum .

EVEN as a child, Roberto Shimizu loved collecting things.

So when his Japanese immigrant father opened a stationery and toy store in Mexico City in 1940, Shimizu began a lifelong quest to save and collect toys.

More than seven decades later, that youthful fascination lives on in the Antique Toy Museum, a four-storey building packed with objects that transport visitors back to a nostalgic past.

Tucked in the middle of the capital’s historic but seedy Doctores neighbourhood, it is stuffed with Legos, superhe- ro action figures, robots, model airplanes, trains and Hello Kitty.

There are also “lucha libre” wrestling masks and old traditional Mexican toys and other playthings that are reminders of the country’s once-robust toy industry that has all but disappeared following the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Shimizu still helps out occasionally, but the museum is now run by his son, Roberto Y. Shimizu Kinoshita, who is struggling after a congressional decision to stop allocating cultural funds for the collection.

The museum has had to cut staff by half and most of its cultural events and workshops have been suspended, says the son, who hopes to raise money for the museum through a Kickstarter campaign.

“It is very sad that once again the budgets destined for culture are the ones most punished,” the younger Shimizu said at the opening of a recent Barbie doll exhibit.

“Through our toy museum, our intention has always been to share our collection so that people enjoy and relive their childhood memories, to enter that tunnel of time to relive all those past Christmases and Three Kings’ Days when you got your new toys – and even the toys you never got.”

— Photos:AP The Antique Toy Museum, tucked in the middle of Mexico City’s histor ic but seedy Doctor es neighbour hood, is stuffed with super her o action figur es, r obots, model air planes, tr ains and ‘lucha libr e’ wr estling masks as well as old tr aditional...

— EPA Set up in 2006 by Shimizu, the museum not only pr eser ves Mexican toys, but also has toys fr om other par ts of the wor ld.

‘Thr ough our toy museum, our intention has always been to shar e our collection so that people enjoy and r elive their childhood memor ies,’ says Shimizu.

The museum’s founder (left) and his son ar r anging items pr ior to the opening of a tempor ar y Bar bie Doll exhibit.

When his Japanese immigr ant father opened a stationer y and toy stor e in Mexico City in 1940, Shimizu began a lifelong quest to save and collect toys.

Ar chie and Jughead dolls on display.