Alebrijes – Curious wood handicrafts
The alebrijes from Oaxaca (not the football team!) are beautifully strange, curious things that are born of the imagination of Artisans from Arrazola, and their bodily form carved into copal wood. These Oaxacan wood carvings are first carved then covered in a base coat before being decorated with other colours. Some Alebrijes are decorated with tiny dots for which the artisans use hypodermic needles to apply the paint. Although Arrazola is famous for creating alebrijes they are for sale everywhere in the centre of Oaxaca and some are also available to buy in the coastal towns, so a trip to the village is not essential if you want to buy some of this strange art without taking half a day out of your trip to visit the village. Many of the people selling in the centre are resellers however so you might be able to get a better price in Arrazola itself, also if you do take a trip to the village you will be able to see the artisans at work making the alebrijes.
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The Things to do in Oaxaca Team ☺
Some photos of alebrijes from Oaxaca
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Efrain Fuentes Alebrijes
We are a family workshop that has preserved the tradition of hand carving for more than three generations, making every dream of each of the workshops artisans a reality, and leaving a part of us in each and every piece of work we create by hand. We capture a large part of our culture and indigenous traditions, using a wide spectrum of acrylic colours with which each carving is transformed in to a unique piece.
Find out more about Efrain Fuentes Alebrijes.