61-year old Filipina Gina Gil Lacuna, has been awarded by the Guinness World Records as a person with the Largest Collection of Jigsaw Puzzles in any Size, Shape or Form on November 29, 2012. She beat the reigning Brazilian named Luiza Figueiredo with a collection of 500 puzzles. All of Lacuna's collections are housed at The Puzzle Mansion located at Cuadra Street, Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay and now a tourist attraction to many travelers who are visiting the city.
The Queen of Puzzles
Gina Gil-Lacuna is a native of Rizal province but was born in Tondo, Manila, a businesswoman and a puzzle hobbyist. Before she became enthusiastic with puzzle collection, Lacuna was busy running a garment and RTW business. She did not consider being a high school graduate only as a downfall, instead she continued chasing her dreams of becoming a successful person until her maternity wear business ruled 95 percent of the market in the country. She believes that to be successful, you have to focus on the things that you are good at, develop it and work hard for it. From rags to riches, Lacuna's story of success is truly an inspiration.
Up to now, she doesn't stop from working hard. This time, she works in helping other people, regardless of the wealthy living she is embracing today, she never forget to always put her feet on the ground. She said that this is what she learned from the years of doing puzzles - to have patience. And that patience will eventually expand to perseverance.
Gina Gil-Lacuna is a native of Rizal province but was born in Tondo, Manila, a businesswoman and a puzzle hobbyist. Before she became enthusiastic with puzzle collection, Lacuna was busy running a garment and RTW business. She did not consider being a high school graduate only as a downfall, instead she continued chasing her dreams of becoming a successful person until her maternity wear business ruled 95 percent of the market in the country. She believes that to be successful, you have to focus on the things that you are good at, develop it and work hard for it. From rags to riches, Lacuna's story of success is truly an inspiration.
Up to now, she doesn't stop from working hard. This time, she works in helping other people, regardless of the wealthy living she is embracing today, she never forget to always put her feet on the ground. She said that this is what she learned from the years of doing puzzles - to have patience. And that patience will eventually expand to perseverance.
And because of that perseverance, she is now the record holder of the largest collection of Jigsaw puzzle in the world with a total of 1,028 puzzles, recognized by the Guinness book of World Records. Her passion in puzzle collection started 26 years ago. She spends three to four hours each day to work on her puzzles. The jigsaw puzzles in her collection includes her travel mementos, reproductions of famous paitings, miniature replicas of cities, iconic photos, 3D and 4D images and many more.
Arts in The Puzzle Museum
She started collecting puzzles when she bought a 5000-piece Disney puzzle for her son with one of her travels in Hong Kong. Now, she has more than 1,028 jigsaw puzzles in her collection and mostly are pictures of places she had been to, including the museums she visited all over the world. No doubt why her vast jigsaw puzzle collection includes art-inspired masterpieces, classic and modern paintings, pop art, abstract and iconic photo puzzles. All of her collections are housed at The Puzzle Mansion located at Cuadra Street, Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay.
When you visit the museum, all you can see are walls filled with puzzles of paintings by the famous artists in the history including Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Renoir, Van Gogh, Velasquez, Monet, Picasso, Degas, Botticelli, Goya to name some of them. One of the main attractions in the museum is the Monalisa puzzle which is based from a controversial painting of Da Vinci.
She started collecting puzzles when she bought a 5000-piece Disney puzzle for her son with one of her travels in Hong Kong. Now, she has more than 1,028 jigsaw puzzles in her collection and mostly are pictures of places she had been to, including the museums she visited all over the world. No doubt why her vast jigsaw puzzle collection includes art-inspired masterpieces, classic and modern paintings, pop art, abstract and iconic photo puzzles. All of her collections are housed at The Puzzle Mansion located at Cuadra Street, Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay.
When you visit the museum, all you can see are walls filled with puzzles of paintings by the famous artists in the history including Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Renoir, Van Gogh, Velasquez, Monet, Picasso, Degas, Botticelli, Goya to name some of them. One of the main attractions in the museum is the Monalisa puzzle which is based from a controversial painting of Da Vinci.
Another notable puzzle in the museum is from the painting of an influential Spanish painter and a co-founder of a Cubist movement, Pablo Picasso's Guernica. It includes 2,000 pieces and a finished size of 144cm by 68 cm. Guernica was created in response to the bombing of Guernica. It depicts the tragedies and sufferings of the civilians during the war. According to Lacuna, it is one of the hardest puzzle she ever completed because of the monochromatic scheme of the puzzle.
She also has recently completed Las Hilanderas, a reproduction puzzle of a painting by the Spanish painter Diego Velasquez. The painting shows women working in a tapestry shop. However, some scholars suggest that Velázquez painted the women to represent figures from mythology. It has 10,000 pieces and a finished size of 214 by 156.8 cm. It is also qualified as the hardest puzzle in the world.
She also has recently completed Las Hilanderas, a reproduction puzzle of a painting by the Spanish painter Diego Velasquez. The painting shows women working in a tapestry shop. However, some scholars suggest that Velázquez painted the women to represent figures from mythology. It has 10,000 pieces and a finished size of 214 by 156.8 cm. It is also qualified as the hardest puzzle in the world.
World Record: From the Largest Collection to the Largest in Size
Ginal Gil-Lacuna is currently working with the "World's Largest Puzzle" with a title of Double Retrospect by Ravensburger that comes up with 32,256 pieces and a size of 17 by 6 feet when assembled. The puzzle was created by the great artist Keith Haring which is known for his traditional graffiti style arts. The puzzle consists 6 colors. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized this as the world’s largest puzzle which Lacuna started to work on last March 1, 2013 and hopes to complete it this July 31, 2013. She was very eager to finish this giant puzzle because she wants another title in the Guinness World record as the largest puzzle in the world completed by a single person.
Ginal Gil-Lacuna is currently working with the "World's Largest Puzzle" with a title of Double Retrospect by Ravensburger that comes up with 32,256 pieces and a size of 17 by 6 feet when assembled. The puzzle was created by the great artist Keith Haring which is known for his traditional graffiti style arts. The puzzle consists 6 colors. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized this as the world’s largest puzzle which Lacuna started to work on last March 1, 2013 and hopes to complete it this July 31, 2013. She was very eager to finish this giant puzzle because she wants another title in the Guinness World record as the largest puzzle in the world completed by a single person.
 The Puzzle Mansion Purok 4 Cuadra St. Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay City, Philippines Telephone: +632 661-0019 Email: puzzlemansion@gmail.com Website: http://thepuzzlemansion.com Operating Hours: Monday to Friday: 7 am to 7 pm Saturday and Sunday: 7 am to 8 pm Entrance Fee: P100 (including kids) |
