Alebrijes
are fantastic creatures created by Pedro Linares López , a scavenger born in 1906 in Mexico City . One day, Linares fell unconscious due to an illness and, during a long period of deep sleep , he claimed to have seen a series of mind-boggling creatures which he later tried to reproduce by painting small figures made of cardboard with all sorts of vibrant colors .
Alebrijes
are usually a blend of different animals : They may have a lion’s head and the body of a crocodile, or the body of a fish with dragon wings, to name a few. Though they were originally made of cardboard, artisans in Oaxaca make alebrijes carved out of copal wood , which are then painted with bright colors and all sorts of tiny patterns and details on their bodies.
In the vein of this tradition, the Mexico City Alebrije Parade , organized by the Mexico Museum of Popular Art , features monumental papier-mâché sculptures created by artisans, artist collectives, and craft workshops.
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