ALEBRIJES: ORIGIN AND TYPES OF THIS MEXICAN ART - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The alebrijes are a type of craft usually made in wire and cardboard, typical of Mexico. It is a strange creature that mixes the shape of different animals with others of the magical type.

Unlike other works or popular beliefs, alebrijes have a well-identified and recent origin, since they were born in 1936, at the head of the Mexican artist Pedro Linares López.

Source: Pixabay.com

Despite being born in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, his popularity spread throughout the country quickly, and today it is the state of Oaxaca that has the best artisans in the field.

Among the reasons that make it unique are the particular shape and color of its figures, and the beauty of each of the pieces, which enhances the quality of the applied workmanship.

It didn't take long for them to become a symbol of the Aztec country, like mariachis, rancheras, tacos or spicy food. So much so that films have been made with them as a hub, both locally and internationally, the last one being, and also one of the most renowned "Coco", by Disney Pixar, released in 2017.

The origin of the alebrijes

History indicates that in 1936 Pedro Linares López suffered a strange illness that put him in bed for several days, leaving him unconscious. Inactive for the rest who watched him in his bed, but what was going on inside the artist's head was a state of full happiness.

During that "deep sleep", Linares lived in a world of celestial skies, sun and clouds, meadows and a peace that he had never felt before. However, suddenly he began to observe some strange creatures. Neither was the same as the other, and their bodies were half of one animal, and half of another. Of course, all of them shouted “alebrijes” loudly.

Surprised and stunned, López began to walk down a stone path, where he met a man who was also walking along it, and who he asked what was happening.

The man observed him and told him that he should not be in that place, and to follow the path that at the end of it there was an exit. Linares ran and found a window that barely fit and managed to escape.

At that precise moment, he regained consciousness, leaping up from the coffin in the middle of a wake in his honor. From that moment, he decided that he would begin to represent those strange creatures that, somehow, accompanied him in the afterlife.

And he did put an effort on it. Every day of his life he dedicated 16 hours a day in his workshop in the Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City, to creating these particular animals for everyone to know.

The strangest thing of all is that he continued his work until the day before his death, at the age of 86, on January 26, 1992. In other words, the artist's health since his awakening was stronger than ever.

International fame of López and his alebrijes

The fruits of such hard work were not long in coming. As luck would have it, the owner of one of Cuernavaca's art galleries, in Morelos, was captivated by the alebrijes of Linares López.

So it was that he began to exhibit them in his gallery, and the famous artists Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo arrived, who were fascinated by these sculptures and ordered several of them.

Then, in 1975 another episode gave him the last leap to world fame, when the filmmaker Judith Bronowsky, a lover of telling the stories of Mexican folklore and its artisans, decided to make a documentary film about the life of López Linares and his strangers. creatures.

All that career that arose from a dream that woke him up from death had perhaps the highest recognition in 1990, when two years before his death he was awarded the National Prize for Science and Art, which motivated many artists from the rest of Mexico. to venture into the creation of these unique statuettes.

The different types of alebrijes

Like all popular works, alebrijes have different ways of being made, but there are two main ones that are the most frequent in Mexico: the traditional one born in the capital city and another originating in the state of Oaxaca.

The originals

These are the ones who respect the way in which Linares López began to do them. It should be noted that before this revealing "dream", the artist from Mexico City worked as a "cartonero", that is, he made cardboard crafts, following the legacy of his parents and grandparents.

That is why he used his experience with this material to bring his alebrijes to life. Although he also used wire, paper and cardboard, to later fill them with color with extravagant tones. One detail: no alebrije is the same as another, so they are 100% exclusive.

Alebrijes from Oaxaca

The artisans of the towns of San Martín Tilcajete and San Antonio Arrazola are true masters in creating these creatures, which unlike those of López Linares, are made of wood.

In this case, they use copal wood, abundant in the area. They carve it to give shape to the alebrije and with the copal resin itself, they polish the imperfections. Then they are submerged in gasoline for a day, in order to remove all the insects that may be lodged in the wood. After this, they are painted in different colors, using natural or commercial dyes.

They began to be produced in the 1980s, after Linares López gave a workshop in the United States, which was attended by artists Manuel Jiménez Ramírez and María Sabina, both from Oaxaca, and the main promoters of alebrijes in their community.

One last color fact: his influence on Oaxacan society was so strong since then that a football club was created in his honor: the Alebrijes FC, which currently plays in the Second Division of Mexican football and was founded on the December 21, 2012.

References

1. Alebrijes, origin and meaning. Recovered in: alebrijes.net
2. National Prize for Popular Arts and Traditions (2014). Secretariat of Education of Mexico. Recovered at: pnca.sep.gob.mx
3. Judith Borowsky (2016). Recovered from: afana.org
4. "Route of the Handicrafts of Oaxaca". (2016). Recovered from: sectur.oaxaca.gob.mx
5. Alebriges FC (2012). Recovered at: alebrijesfc.com