Mexican handicrafts distinguish characteristics of each region, for example, the Huichol community keeps in its crafts and typical costumes the symbols that highlight their beliefs. However, in Mexico, there are several figures, materials, and techniques that describe the essence of all Mexican culture.
A dream world
Alebrijes are one of the Mexican crafts that have most captivated many people throughout the world. Due to their extravagance and originality, these fantastic creations take us to an incredible place within our imagination. Its origin? A very peculiar dream.
A craftsman and expert in cardboard from Mexico City, named Pedro Linares had a difficult time in his life —around the year 1930, in which after a hard economic situation, he fell into an illness that left him in bed in a deep sleep.
At the time, he told his family that while he was ill, he has a dream about him and a large forest with a lion with an eagle’s head, a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with bull’s horns, and other colorful species that yelled at him: “Alebrijes, alebrijes, alebrijes!”
After he recovered his health, Pedro started to mold these very strange figures with cardboard and it was thus that little by little his work became known in various cultural exhibitions, not only in Mexico but throughout the world. For his great talent, he received the National Prize for Science and Arte in 1990 in Mexico, thus recognizing his career.
There is no doubt Pedro opened a great opportunity for Mexican cultural heritage since it is a way to express feelings and create your figure with a unique meaning.
The artisan process
Although these figures can be made of wood or clay, the original way to give life to such beautiful crafts is with the cardboard technique, this is the method also used to make piñatas. In the case of alebrijes, firstly a wire skeleton is assembled to support the entire figure, then it is shaped with paper and cardboard. Once it is well molded, it is painted with different colors, so the characteristic Mexican touch is given.
There is no official meaning for the world “alebrije”, but it is implicit in this concept that each creation has a different meaning, with infinite combinations of animals, and many colors as you can imagine.
Which alebrije would your dreams bring to life?