Giant alebrijes fill Mexico City streets with art
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Artists and communities in Mexico City celebrated their cultural heritage on Saturday by parading nearly 300 giant alebrijes, brightly colored, fantastical creatures, through the city’s streets.
The Museo de Arte Popular (MAP) organised the eighteenth annual Desfile de Alebrijes Monumentales as part of the pre-Day of the Dead festivities, beginning in 2007.
Twenty-eight musical groups and dance troupes accompanied the large sculptures as they moved from the Centro Histórico along Paseo de la Reforma to the Fuente de la Diana Cazadora. The alebrijes originated with Pedro Linares López, a Mexico City artisan who dreamed of these creatures while ill in the mid-20th century. He then built them from papier-mâché, and the tradition spread, particularly to the state of Oaxaca, where artisans like Manuel Jiménez carved similar figures from wood.
This year, creators from eleven Mexican states participated in the parade, and three alebrijes came from workshops in the city’s penitentiaries. City officials designated the alebrijes of Pedro Linares as intangible cultural heritage in 2019, recognising their importance to local traditions. The sculptures will remain on display until November 8, and a contest will award prizes for the best creations on October 24.
