The character
Ratón Pérez III, a mouse of distinction.
First name: Maxi. From a very young age he knew exactly what he wanted to be: Ratón Pérez. To get there he had to work hard and study a great deal.
Ratón Pérez
Learned, cultured and a lover of the arts.
He was appointed Ratón Pérez III in 1881, for an initial term of 220 years. A mouse-anthropologist with a degree in Exact Rodent Sciences, he is a mouse of distinction: learned and cultured, well-mannered and a lover of the arts, reading and music.
He always wears his straw hat and golden glasses and carries his red satchel, full of magic.
What he is like
Other traits that make Ratón Pérez who he is.
Endearing
Marketing studies by the Instituto de Empresa rate him as the most endearing character for children, ahead of Father Christmas and even the Three Wise Men.
Close
Children, half afraid and half hoping, let him into their bedroom, right up to their pillow, so he can rummage underneath it.
International
He has become known far and wide, and is recognised across half the world.
Respectful, genuine and learned
And a great lover of music.
Magical
He has certain powers and fills children with wonder.
The boy king Buby
Buby, as his mother called him.
He stands beside Ratón Pérez in the House-Museum. The king’s name is no accident: it is what the Queen Regent, Maria Christina of Habsburg, called her son, King Alfonso XIII, when he was a child.
It is an Austro-Bavarian word meaning “little boy”, a pet name he loved to hear from his mother.
The Pérez family
Katia, Adelaida, Elvira and Adolfito.
Mrs Pérez
Katalina, “Katia”
Russian by birth, she has been Ratón Pérez’s partner since they met at an international gathering of rodents in Moscow. A rodent-school teacher, discreet, elegant and even-tempered. She bakes excellent biscuits, which you can find at her House-Museum. She had the privilege of marrying the best-known mouse in the world: “Quite an honour for me”.
Adelaida
Eldest daughter
Studies Philosophy at rodent university. Outgoing and very sociable, she loves singing and music, her passion, and is an accomplished flute and piano player.
Elvira
Middle daughter
Studies Applied Arts at rodent university. Sweet-natured and reserved, a keen reader and a gifted harpist. She also enjoys singing and playing the piano.
Adolfo
Youngest son
Adolfito to the rest of the family, he studies Diplomacy at rodent university. Chatty, forward-looking and mad about sport, especially tennis. He has fun playing rodent chess and the bongos.
The family home
A biscuit tin in the basement of Arenal 8.
Pérez lives in a big Huntley biscuit tin in the basement of the building at Calle del Arenal 8, Madrid, the old Prast confectionery, with his wife Katalina and their children Adelaida, Elvira and Adolfito.
For years, where he lived was an open secret among the people of Madrid, and many came by to have a look and ask after the famous mouse. Then the House-Museum was born, where you can see what his home is like.
«A very special place, unique and one of a kind. A place as small as its owner. A place like a heart, that grows bigger with your wonder.»
Logistics
A worldwide network of baby teeth.
Ratón Pérez belongs to a worldwide organisation that collects and studies baby teeth. He shares the job with other important characters in different parts of the world: they are Pérez’s colleagues (not his helpers), with the same trade.
Each of them works in a particular area, usually defined by the language most widely spoken there.
A character for every place
Who collects the teeth around the world.
Ratón Pérez
Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico… the countries of Latin America.
Tooth Fairy
English-speaking countries: England, the United States and part of Canada.
La Petite Souris
Also called “Petisú”
French-speaking areas: France and the French-speaking parts of Africa.
Fatina Dentina
Italy.
Ratai-Chi
East Asia (China).
Correspondents
Traditions with a character, and without one.
In some countries there is no such tradition, such as Germany, Austria, Malaysia, Pakistan or Japan, among others. Others do have a custom linked to losing baby teeth, but no character to go with it: in Norway, for example, the tooth is left in a glass of water in exchange for money, and something similar happens among Sephardic Jews.
Many traditions live side by side in this museum, represented by the characters who keep them alive. Branch offices around the world keep Pérez up to date on what happens in each area: his team of correspondents sends him information from their headquarters whenever it is needed.
Come and see his home.
Calle del Arenal 8, Madrid. Buy your ticket and choose the day and time of your visit.