“Las muñecas de Gennytzin,” a private collection of 101 Barbie dolls donning one-of-a-kind costumes, will be showcased in an exhibit opening Saturday, October 5, 5 p.m., at Chapala’s Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia (CCAP) gallery, Avenida Madero at Hidalgo.
The show features the handiwork of Genoveva de la Lanza Leal, an octogenarian from Zapopan who has spent decades crafting unique Barbie costumes. Her fashions, including hairdos and accessories, are inspired by favorite Mexican tunes, women of historical importance or simply personal flights of fantasy.
Her talent for crochet and needlework developed from a childhood fondness for making outfits for the dolls that were her favorite playthings. The hobby was rekindled soon after she became a mother, when neighbor gave her a box of gently used toys for her newborn daughter. Inside she found four Barbie dolls.
The discovery of the petite grown-up figures she had not known in her youth sparked the desire to appropriate the dolls and stitch a different garment for each one. She has been a passionate Barbie collector and dresser ever since, showing her creations under the artistic name Gennytzin.
Her personal collection of the iconic dolls will remain on display at CCAP for three weeks, open to the public daily, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.