Have you ever seen a bat’s wins, a wolf’s body, and a dragon’s head drawn together? If yes, you must also know that those crafts are alebrijes paintings. And for the unversed, sculptures of cartoneria or copal wood are alebrijes. Mexican artist Pedro Linares coined the term “alebrije.” The more you know about this art, the more it attracts you, as it is interesting and exciting. One tiny example of those interesting facts is that you will never see two similar alebrijes.
What Do Alebrijes Mean?
The word is fictitious, with no particular definition to provide. It’s a mixture of two or more creatures, with a portmanteau, a combination of two or more words.
Alebrije is a combination of three Spanish words. The word “Alegira” means joy, “Bruja” means witch, and “embije” means painting or dyeing. In its most straightforward meaning, an alebrije is painting a witch or a fantasy creature with joy.
How Do Alebrijes Look?
The Mexican handcraft represents creatures like chimeras from Greek mythology. The patterns of alebrijes are often very minute, and their colors are bright. It makes the sculptures equally charming and fearful.
Alebrijes Origin
The origin of this art dates back to 1936. The credit for the first-ever papercraft goes to Pedro Linares Lopez. The Mexican artist got recognition for making carnival masks, pinatas, and “Judas” figures to sell in La Merced, among other markets. Linares was an incredible artist.
It’s heard that Linares fell sick at thirty and lost consciousness. Then in his unconscious mind, he dreamt that he had recovered and was roaming around in a strange but peaceful forest.
In his dreams, the rocks, trees, and clouds in that forest changed to look like chimera-like creatures. He even heard them screaming, “alebrije!”
When Linares returned to good health, he began drawing those creatures. He drew them in the cartoneria tradition, one he had been practicing for so long.
Who was Pedro Linares?
Pedro Linares was born in 1906 in Mexico’s La Merced. He continued with the family tradition of becoming a cartoneria craftsman, who was called a cartonero. “Judas” figures, pinatas, and masks were his specializations.
It was in 1936 when Linares’s illness and dream changed his fortune. Pedro Linares alebrijes was a breakthrough in the world of art. However, everything was not so delightful initially, as the artwork caught attention only for being ugly.
Linares paid his complete devotion to refining the drawings. He made them more colorful. His hard work caught the first attention of reputed artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in an art gallery. The artists praised the exceptional Pedro Linares art and started to commission them. Gradually, Linares started gaining more popularity in Mexico as an artist.
Judith Bronowski’s documentary “Pedro Linares: Artesano Cartonero” brought global acclaim to the artist in 1975.
Linares started showing his work to the world and held workshops to teach the craft. Oaxacan artist Manuel Jimenez was one of the most notable students of Linares. Jimenez directed the concept of alebrijes patterns in his directions.
Linares received the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in 1990. He passed away after two years of receiving this award. However, his successors are still carrying the legacy of his craft.
Pedro Linares Alebrijes Evolution
Linares’ student Manuel Jimenez brought the alebrije concept to San Antonio Arrazola, his hometown in Mexico’s Oaxaca. While alebrijes were new to Jiminez, Mexcian folk art was not. He was a well-known woodcarver already. Those skills helped him carve alebrijes drawings out of copal wood. Moreover, he got detouched from the chimera-like creatures and chose Nagualism, the Mesoamerican folk religion, for carving animals.
The modification of Pedro Linares art enjoyed more popularity. Most significantly, the alebrijes by Jimenez brought more prosperity in trade. Now, three big towns of Oaxaca rely heavily on commercial handcrafts. Even some families earn their living by woodcraft production. Women care for the paintings, and men handle the harvesting and carving work in those families.
An exciting part of the alebrijes patterns is the signs on them. A prominent member of the family signs alone, even if every other member contributes to the art.
But, the depletion of copal trees is making it further challenging for the Oaxacan artesanos to continue with this woodcraft. Additionally, a copal tree takes a long time to grow, and illegal harvesting is also there to increase complexity.
The Coco Movie
“Coco,” the 2017 Disney movie, depicted the originality of alebrijes that belonged to Pedro Linares. The theme of the film matched broadly to the odd nature and bright color of alebrijes. The film was successful and made the Mexican culture prominent, including alebrijes.
Alebrijes for Sale
Oaxaca region is still rich with replicas of the Pedro Linares alebrijes. However, the original artwork is tough to be found for buy.
If you want it badly, you can approach a family in Mexico City who carries the legacy of original alebrije artwork.
Conclusion
Apart from the family of Pedro Linares, Argentine native Susana Buyo, a Mexican by birth, learned the original alebriges patterns. Although she learned it from a workshop held by Linares’ family, she includes a tender expression in the art, unlike Linares. Still, she deserves applause for carrying the legacy of the art invented by Linares.
