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All Mexico Valle de Bravo Museo de Arte Popular (Popular Art Museum)
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Museo de Arte Popular (Popular Art Museum)

This museum is dedicated to showcasing the collection of the Mama Viña y Oscar Foundation.

Valle de Bravo, Mexico

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A folk art map of Mexico made out of clay in the well-known Metepec style.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Kinetic sculptures by Josué Eleazar Castro.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
An artwork inspired by the stitched craft known as “tenangos”.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Most of this illustration is made with “arte plumario”, which uses bird feathers for color.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
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The Museum’s dedication.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
Crafts can even found on the utilitarian elements of the Museum.   linkogecko / Atlas Obscura User
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The term "popular art" in English often evokes images of boldly-colored paintings that depict celebrities, comic book imagery, or branded food items. In Mexican Spanish however, "arte popular" is used almost exclusively for the ethnic crafts and artworks that in English would be commonly known as "folk art" (the other artistic trend is instead known by the abbreviated "arte pop").

Arte popular is so, well... popular in the country, that other museums dedicated to it can be found in cities like Puebla, Mérida, and Mexico City, for example, and the museum in Valle de Bravo is likely the smallest and newest of these.

Owing to the town's proximity to the well-known pottery center of Metepec, this type of craft is probably the one best represented in the Museum. Its pottery collection does extend to examples from Tlaquepaque and Tonalá. Alongside wooden alebrijes from the state of Oaxaca, pieces by award-winning toymaker Josué Eleazar Castro, arte plumario (which uses feathers similarly to how tiles are used in a mosaic), and many other examples, this small museum showcases the diversity of Mexican folk art.

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Know Before You Go

Not to be confused with the other Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City. The museums can often be told apart by their acronyms in Spanish; Mexico City's is MAP, while Valle de Bravo's is MUAPO.

MUAPO is open Wednesday-Sunday (except holidays) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The museum can be visited for free but only via a guided tour, and groups need to be at least 4 people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is advised to contact the Museum via Whatsapp beforehand (+527122021449), in order to pre-arrange a visiting time.

Due to its location in a historic building without elevators, the upper floor is only accessible via stairs. Additionally, there are no toilet facilities in the museum.

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August 11, 2022

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Museo de Arte Popular (Popular Art Museum)
Calle Miguel Hidalgo 208
Centro
Valle de Bravo, 51200
Mexico
19.193513, -100.132978
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