You've probably seen photos. Leathery skin, mouths frozen in silent screams, and clothes that haven't quite rotted away yet. It’s heavy stuff. If you walk into the Museo de las Momias in Guanajuato, Mexico, you aren't looking at carefully prepared Egyptian royalty wrapped in fine linen. These are just regular people. They were bakers, mothers, and even infants. They didn't ask to be famous, and they definitely didn't expect to be standing behind glass for millions of tourists to stare at.
Honestly, the whole thing started because of a tax.
The Weird History of the Mummies of Guanajuato
In 1865, the city of Guanajuato was dealing with a bit of a space problem in the Santa Paula Cemetery. Space was tight. The local government decided that if families didn't pay a "perpetual burial tax," the bodies of their loved ones had to be evicted. It sounds cold, right? Well, it was. When the workers started digging up the graves of people whose families couldn't pay, they expected to find bones. Instead, they found Remigio Leroy.
He was a French doctor who died in 1865. When they pulled him out, he was perfectly preserved. His skin was like parchment. He still had his clothes on. The soil in Guanajuato is rich in minerals, and the climate is incredibly dry, which basically turned the cemetery into a massive, accidental dehydrator.
Why they didn't just rebury them
Word got out. People are curious by nature—sorta morbid, if we're being real. The cemetery workers started storing these "naturally mummified" bodies in a warehouse. Soon, they realized they could charge people a few pesos to sneak a peek. By the early 1900s, it was a full-blown tourist attraction. Eventually, the government stepped in and made it an official museum.
📖 Related: Seminole Hard Rock Tampa: What Most People Get Wrong
It's one of those things where you feel a bit guilty for looking, but you can't help it. The facial expressions are what get most people. Because the skin tightens and the jaw drops during the dehydration process, many of the mummies of Guanajuato look like they were buried alive. It’s a common myth, actually. While there’s one specific mummy—Ignacia Aguilar—who people suspect was buried during a cholera outbreak while in a state of catalepsy, most of those "screams" are just the result of post-mortem muscle contraction.
The Controversy You Won't Hear in the Gift Shop
If you think displaying 100-plus bodies in glass cases feels a little "off," you're not alone. There is a massive, ongoing debate about the ethics of the museum.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico has been pretty vocal lately. In 2023, things got heated when some of the mummies were moved for a tourism fair in Mexico City. Experts noticed that one of the mummies—a female specimen—actually had fungal growths on her.
The risk of "The Fungus"
This isn't just bad for the mummy; it’s potentially bad for the people looking at them. If the glass cases aren't airtight, those spores can get out. INAH researchers, including experts like Maria del Carmen Lerma Gomez, have argued that the museum treats these human remains as "objects" rather than people. There’s a push to identify them, to find their descendants, and to give them a bit more dignity.
👉 See also: Sani Club Kassandra Halkidiki: Why This Resort Is Actually Different From the Rest
Think about it. These were people with lives, jobs, and favorite foods. Now they’re on a t-shirt.
What It’s Actually Like Inside the Museum
The museum is located right next to the cemetery, up on a hill overlooking the colorful, winding streets of Guanajuato. It’s small. It’s cramped. It’s strangely quiet.
- The Infants: There is a section for "Little Angels." In 19th-century Mexico, it was common to dress deceased children as saints or angels to celebrate their immediate "ascent to heaven." Seeing a baby in a tiny lace gown, perfectly preserved, is a gut punch.
- The Clothing: You’ll see fragments of boots, stockings, and suits. It grounds the experience. These aren't ancient relics; they are modern humans.
- The "World's Smallest Mummy": This is a fetus found with its mother, who died during a cholera epidemic. It’s about the size of a loaf of bread.
The lighting is dim. It’s designed to be dramatic, which some critics say leans too far into the "horror" aspect of the exhibit. But Guanajuato has a unique relationship with death. This is the heart of the land that inspired movies like Coco. Death isn't always something to be whispered about behind closed doors; here, it’s out in the open.
Practical Tips for the Morbidly Curious
If you’re planning to visit the mummies of Guanajuato, don't just wing it. It’s a popular spot and can get claustrophobic.
✨ Don't miss: Redondo Beach California Directions: How to Actually Get There Without Losing Your Mind
- Go Early: The line starts forming before the doors open at 9:00 AM. If you go at noon on a Saturday, you’ll be shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of people in a very tight hallway.
- Take the Bus: The walk up from the city center is steep. Really steep. Grab a "Momias" bus from the main road; it’s cheap and saves your calves for the actual museum walking.
- Mind the Ethics: Go with a sense of respect. It’s easy to joke about "zombies," but remember these were members of the local community.
- Check the New Location: There has been talk of moving the collection to a more modern facility in the "Guanajuato Centro" area to better preserve them. Check local listings before you head out to the old cemetery site.
Admission and Costs
Usually, it’s around 90 to 100 pesos for adults. They charge extra if you want to take photos with a professional camera, though most people just use their phones. Be prepared—the gift shop sells everything from sugar skulls to "mummy" candy. It’s a bit surreal.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Visit
Don't just look at the bodies. Look at the history of the city. Guanajuato was a silver mining powerhouse. The wealth (and the poverty) of that era is what built the cemetery and, by extension, the museum.
After you leave the museum, walk through the Santa Paula Cemetery itself. It’s a beautiful, tiered cemetery with "niches" stacked high against the walls. You can see where the mummies were originally housed. It gives you a much better perspective on why this happened in the first place. The dry air blowing through those stone corridors is the only "preservative" these bodies ever had.
If you want to dive deeper into the science, look up the work of Dr. Ronald Beckett and Gerald Conlogue. They did a series of studies on the Guanajuato mummies using X-rays and endoscopes. They found that many of these people suffered from common 19th-century ailments like tuberculosis and pneumonia. It’s a fascinating, if slightly grim, snapshot of public health in old Mexico.
Actionable Steps for Your Trip
To make this trip meaningful rather than just a "spooky" stop, follow these steps:
- Read up on the Cholera Outbreak of 1833: This context explains why so many bodies ended up in the cemetery at once.
- Pair the museum with a trip to the Alhóndiga de Granaditas: It’s the local history museum. It helps you understand the social structure of Guanajuato during the time these people lived.
- Support local conservation: If you’re moved by the state of the mummies, follow the INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia) updates. They often post about their efforts to preserve these remains and the scientific work being done to identify the individuals.
- Stay hydrated: The climb and the dry air can get to you. It's ironic, given the mummies' condition, but you’ll want plenty of water before you head up the hill.
The mummies of Guanajuato serve as a blunt reminder of our own mortality. They aren't just a tourist trap; they are a preserved piece of Mexican heritage that challenges how we think about the dead. Whether you find it fascinating or terrifying, you won't forget it.