#alebrijes
Day 5: Coti the alebrije
Meet one of the pseudolegendary pokemon of the Mexame region, Tadshow, Heeltrum and Luchatoad based on luchadores, bull frogs, red eyed tree frogs and alebrijes ✨
Working through this quarantine by making illustrations. This is my take on an #alebrije, a fantastical creature in Mexian lore that takes the shape of a #dragon or #spiritanimal.
Alebrijes appeared to famous Mexican artist, Perdro Linares (1906 - 1992), in a feverish dream. He then made these creatures out of papier-mâché and the folklore soon spread throughout Mexico. Today, alebrijes are made out of various materials and are especially popular as colorfully painted woodcarvings in Oaxaca, a state and city in southern Mexico.
The tradition of papier-mâché alebrijes are carried on by maestro, Joel Garcia, in Mexico City. He lived and studied under Linares for years in the barrio, starting at the age of 18. Almost 50 years later, his alebrijes live in public and private collections throughout the U.S. and Mexico. I had the great pleasure of closely working with Joel in 2014 and getting to know his work evolve over the years.
Magical :)
