The Santori Public Library in downtown Aurora is offering visitors a chance to relive their childhood as well as celebrate Mexican art and culture with the “Behind Every Toy, There is a Story” exhibit in the library’s atrium through May 30.
The exhibit consists of a paper mache tree showcasing Mexican toys, culled painstakingly by Chicago resident Maria Valenzuela, 54, who, according to a press release from the library, “traveled all over Mexico in search of these toys, going to different markets and asking family to keep an eye out for rare or vintage toys.”
To date, she has collected more than 140, an effort that she said “began during COVID up through now.”
“I travel and go to the little towns there in Mexico and make connections with other artisans and I’m just going back and looking,” Valenzuela said. “All of these are handmade. I myself come from an artistic family. My grandma worked with different materials, my father, my mother.”
The toys themselves boast a wide range of materials including cardboard, plastic and aluminum as well as clay, fabric and wood.
Valenzuela said it took her eight months to make the paper mache tree which measures seven feet high and four feet wide. A total of 90 toys were used in decorating it.
Library Events and Program Coordinator Ali Lanthrum said that Valenzuela, who is also a child care worker, brought the exhibit to the library thanks to the efforts of another staff member, Kathy Mendoza.
“Kathy designs much of our Spanish language programming and they connected in a variety of ways including an annual Dia de los Muertos altar exhibit,” Lanthrum said. “This artist created an altar and then reached out to us regarding this additional piece she had created celebrating Mexican history and specifically Mexican toys and asked if she could bring it in.”
Mendoza said that “of all our exhibits, this has been one of our more unique pieces because of the collection of vintage and modern pieces. I’ve never seen toys displayed in such a unique and fun way.”
Mendoza said that during a Spanish book discussion session at the library, a student talked about one of the dolls featured on the tree.
“She talked about how these dolls were so nostalgic and how people couldn’t afford a real doll and she mentioned how she had it and I mentioned we happened to have one of these dolls on display,” Mendoza said. “She said it sounded fantastic and she had to go and check it out. There’s been a sense of connection.”
Lanthrum said getting the tree was also a celebration of a Mexican children’s holiday known as Dia de los Ninos celebrated on April 30 and that “this was the perfect way to celebrate children and Mexican heritage in a joyful, creative way.”
She said the reaction to the exhibit, which which went up April 26, has been noticeable.
“I’ve seen people stop dead in their tracks looking at this exhibit. It’s colorful, it’s vibrant, it’s a wonderful combination of new and old,” she said. “There are some really special traditional kids’ toys as well as some new ones from the Disney Pixar movie “Coco.” It’s a joy to host.”
Library officials expect more than 3,000 people to view the tree before the end of the month.
Lanthrum said the tree speaks to “the joy of childhood.”
“The variety of toys – people will enjoy a sense of nostalgia from their own childhood and it will evoke curiosity about some of the toys and maybe somebody else’s childhood and it’s just a celebration of all that is fun and joyful about childhood,” she said.
Valenzuela said the exhibit is designed to make a connection with those viewing it at the library.
“People have said, ‘Oh I have this kind of toy’ or they remember seeing something like it,” Valenzuela said. “It’s about creating memories. … That’s my intention.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
