Oaxacan Alebrijes

I can't help myself. I love Mexican folk art. And among my favorites are alebrijes from Oaxaca. So I ended up buying more alebrijes from my favorite workshop and gallery, that of Jacobo y Maria Angeles. And to top it off, I got to meet the master artisans themselves, Jacobo and Maria. They just happened to be in the gallery.

When I went into the gallery, I met a wonderful young man named Daniel. He told me a lot about the history of alebrijes and the differences between alebrijes and las tonas, or spirit animals. Alebrijes are a somewhat recent creation by a man in Mexico City, Pedro Linares, who was a papier-mâché artist. He was sick and having hallucinations about fantastical animals that were combinations of two animals and chanting a nonsense word "alebrije." So he started making some of the alebrijes he saw in his dreams. The art captured the attention of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, who asked him to make some creations for them. Thus, they became popular.

In Zapotec culture there are "spirit animals" based on the date and year of your birth that guide you through life and determine some of your personality. Daniel told me they are called "las tonas." He told me that my spirit animals were the hummingbird and the dog. Sheri's are the eagle and the turtle. In Mayan, Toltec and Mixtec culture they are called "nahual." Although Daniel said alebrijes and las tonas were really different, the term alebrijes seems to be used for all wood carvings from Oaxaca. Oaxacans are master wood carvers, particularly from the pueblos of San Martin Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola. In November Sheri and I visited the workshop of Jacobo and Maria and were amazed at the process of carving and painting these beautiful creations. We bought some alebrijes then, but after visiting the gallery this past week, I bought a few more small carvings of our tonas.

I also came across a gallery run by a young man who was from Jalisco and half Huichol (Wixarika) and half Canadian. I was particularly impressed by some yarn paintings he had from an artist named Luis Castro. It was unique, yet very traditional. Beautiful. I just had to buy one. I also learned a lot from him about Huichol art and culture. Nice guy.

Also pictured below is a friend, Freddie, who was also taking Spanish lessons at Amigos del Sol. We enjoyed wondering around el Centro together after class.

Some links for more about alebrijes and Arte Huichol:

https://rutopia.com/en/blog/alebrijes-are-considered-mexican-spirit-animals/

https://mexicoinmypocket.com/blogs/blog/what-are-alebrijes-and-their-history-how-to-discover-your-mexican-spirit-animal

https://maxaturo.com/