It was the summer of 2022 when I first bumped into Karla Chichil, better known as Karla Museos’, account. The world was still figuring out a “new normal” after the Covid-19 pandemic, and I was eager to discover more of Mexico City through its seemingly endless supply of museums. The Instagram algorithm must’ve known this because one day, it suggested Karla’s account, a page dedicated to Mexican museums and Mexican culture. Her content immediately drew me.
Back then, Karla had a few thousand followers on Instagram. Now, she’s amassed over 265,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok combined. “When I hit the first 1,000 followers, I couldn’t believe it,” she told me recently over a Zoom chat. “I thought that number wouldn’t increase because I couldn’t fathom that many people were interested in museums.”
Now, visiting museums in Mexico City is trendy. “It became popular about five years ago,” she told me. When I suggested she had something to do with it, she was too shy to admit it. “I want to believe so!” she said.
From a student account to a professional career
Karla launched her Instagram account a decade ago while studying advertising.
“I was advised I needed an Instagram account to find a job in the industry. But back then people posted selfies, and I wasn’t into selfies, so I began to share pictures of the museums I visited because I was already spending so much time in them” she said.
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Karla found museums to be an “oasis in the city” where she could unwind and decompress. However, after spending so much time in them, she realized that museums were missing something vital: people to visit them.
“There were all these beautiful museums with beautiful collections, and many times, I would be the only one there. That’s when I noticed museums didn’t have a marketing strategy in place to attract visitors.”
After graduating, she began to work at a travel agency. Worried about the lack of visitors to museums, she would offer recommendations to clients on which museums to visit in Mexico City. Word of mouth soon flooded her WhatsApp with messages, and she became known as Karla la de los museos (Karla, the museum’s lady).
“Sometimes, it was 10 p.m. on a Friday night, and I found myself answering WhatsApp messages from people asking for recommendations. I began to add information about the museum’s opening hours and exhibitions at the captions of my Instagram posts, and directed these people to my account,” she said.
Fast-forward to today, Karla has helped many people – like me – discover museums in Mexico’s capital. Most importantly, she’s helped museums not only to remain operational, but to thrive. Following the pandemic, her ability to attract visitors to Casa Rivas Mercado, the former residence of Mexican architect Antonio Rivas Mercado, contributed to the owners raising enough funds to repair its roof. She also helped Pedro Ramírez Vázquez’s family to turn the architect’s study into a museum.
“I was overwhelmed with work, but I couldn’t say no to the family of the man who designed the National Museum of Anthropology and History!” she told me excitedly.
Her work has also given her some rewarding moments. Recently, the Frida Kahlo Museum, which needs to be booked at least three months in advance, opened on a Monday only for Karla and her team to create content for her page. “I just couldn’t believe we had the whole museum for ourselves,” she told me incredulously.
For her, having the recognition of the museum’s directors is her biggest accomplishment.
Karla’s 5 favorite museums in Mexico City
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Home to over 180 museums, Mexico City is the world’s second with the greatest number of museums. “There’s always something new happening. New expositions and new propositions,” she said with excitement.
Although she loves discovering new experiences and attractions, Karla’s favorite museums remain unchanged. Her top five favorite museums are:
Museo Anahuacalli in Coyoacán, known for housing Diego Rivera’s pre-Hispanic collection.
Museo Casa Rivas Mercado in the Guerrero neighborhood, showcasing the legacy of architect Antonio Rivas Mercado and his daughter, Antonieta, a prominent cultural patron.
Museo Foro Valparaíso in the Historic Center of Mexico City, dedicated to innovation and culture.
Museo Nacional de Arte de México in the Historic Center of Mexico City, housing a representative collection of Mexican art, from the viceregal era to the first half of the 20th century.
Museo Nacional de San Carlos in the Tabacalera neighborhood, housing a collection of European art from the 14th to the 20th century, as well as artworks by the Academy of San Carlos’ teachers and students.
Karla offers guided tours to Mexico City’s museums, in both Spanish and English. To take a tour with her you can WhatsApp her at +52 56 1740 3911 or contact her via her Instagram account @karlamuseos.
Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.
