  Monte-Carlo simulations of optical and near-infrared colour-magnitude
diagrams in Baade's Window (l=1.0,b=-3.9) are compared with each other. The
morphological structure of the red horizontal branch in those CMDs is likely
due to a combination of extinction and age-metallicity of the stars from the
bulge/bar. In contrast with the optical (V,I) passbands, the simulations
indicate that it is feasible to separate metallicity from extinction with
near-infrared data.
