A romance of the Vienna waltz or passion of the Argentine tango? And what about dancing with death? It is possible only in Mexico, a country where people are not afraid of death. On the contrary, they respect it and organize holidays in its honor. 

The name of the collector and philanthropist Octavio Gil Bajonero is known throughout the world. He made death his life meaning. He did not look for a meeting with it but did not avoid it. He considered it a friend and dedicated his life to death. Owing to his efforts, the whole world got a chance to look at Mexican culture differently.

 Octavio Gil Bajonero was collecting items a long time before the opening of the museum. Initially, they were just objects for decorating houses during the celebration of the day of the dead “Dia de Los Muertos”. Later, the collection was enlarging with other valuable works. Here are the famous engravings of Manuel Manilla and Jose Guadalupe Posada. They were the first masters of the 19th century, depicting death grotesquely. You can also find works of Francisco Benjamín López Toledo, one of Mexico's famous contemporary artists. Some exhibits are works of the collector. 

In 2006, Octavio Gil Bajonero offered his treasures” to the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes. A year later, the National Museum of Death was opened. Its collection is more than 2000 exhibits of sacred art. It is a history of death from the pre-Hispanic period to the present, including pop culture.

Here are skulls and skeletons, scythes and sculptures, burial vessels and coffins, funeral carriage, and other items. Lithographs, paintings, and photos depict people looking death in the face. A separate room is dedicated to engravings of a local artist Jose Guadalupe Posada. He shows death as a skeleton of the richly clad lady Katrina. All the exhibits are so real that sometimes you feel terrible.