José Alfredo Jiménez is the most important songwriter in ranchera music and one of the half-dozen most beloved figures in modern Mexican culture. The museum is housed in the family home where he was born in 1926, and the collection covers his career through photographs, gold records, costumes, instruments, and personal letters. There are recorded performances playing through speakers in most rooms — the soundtrack is part of the visit.
The displays are warmer and more emotionally direct than a typical biographical museum, partly because Jiménez's family still runs it. Even visitors who arrive knowing nothing about ranchera music tend to leave with a few favourite songs and a sense of why the genre matters here. Open Tuesday to Sunday; small admission fee.