Stretching out its body, this cute cat adds a touch of Mexican folk art to any space. Jesus and Roxana Hernandez hand-carve the little alebrije from copal wood. It features intricate hand-painted designs in tones of green and blue. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

   Alebrijes are a fairly recent Mexican art form, attributed to Pedro Linares. Unconscious due to illness in 1936, he was presumed near death and yet his dreams were extremely vivid. He tells of a place where all was peaceful and quiet until all of a sudden there appeared a lion with an eagle's head, a rooster with bull's horns and a donkey with butterfly wings. They kept screeching "alebrije, alebrije!" and Pedro began running away. He encountered a man who told him it was not yet his time to be there are and he should continue running towards the exit. In this dream Pedro climbed out of a window and regained consciousness.
 

Product Features: 

• Dimension: 3.9" H x 5.25" W x 1.5" D
• Weight: 0.17
• Color: Multicolor
• Material: Copal wood
• Warning: Choking Hazard. Small parts -- not for children under 3 years.
• Hand-crafted item -- color, size and/or motif may vary slightly
• Signed by the artist
• Made in Mexico

Story Behind the art:
Jesus and Roxana Hernandez come from a Zapotec community in Oaxaca. In our village, most of the men and women are wood-carvers and we specialize in Mexico's traditional alebrije sculptures. These are colorful and fanciful figures carved from natural branches that depict all kinds of strange and wonderful animals and imaginary creatures, Jesus explains.

  When we set up our workshop, the panorama didn't look good but we had so many dreams. We wanted to craft only large alebrijes with special motifs. These, of course, are worth more. But the problem wasn't making them. The problem was selling them. Not many shoppers purchased them and we became discouraged. So the first two years were rough for us.

  But then we were invited to participate in a public event that the governor attended. We gave a demonstration of carving and painting and he came over to see what we were doing. He recognized the value of our work and congratulated us. And he also bought the biggest alebrije we had — a bull. We were thrilled! It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce ourselves, because we were mentioned in newspapers and magazines that covered the event.

  From then on, we approached the public institutions that promoted popular art contests. We began to participate and won prizes, which gained recognition for our workshop.

  We have four children, who bring us much joy. We spend all our free time with them, whether flying a kite or taking a walk in the countryside. We want them to learn our art and to preserve and spread it. But more, we want them to grow up happy and proud. We are teaching them our craft and also teach our cousins, nieces and nephews. 

The handmade touch of artisan skill creates variations in color, size and design. If buying two of the same item, slight differences should be expected. Note: Color discrepancies may occur between this product and your computer screen.

Imported