Mia von Loga
Jun 10, 20201 min
When I found out who I really am
In 1936 a young man fell ill with high fever and his severe state caused him to hallucinate. It is told that in those days and nights, he dreamt of being in a forest with clouds and rocks which turned into wild animals. Many of which looked multi-coloured and unnaturally, with some having wings, horns, tails, big eyes and fierce teeth.
The d!fferent Alebrije
Luckily, the young man recovered. He started to re-create the creatures with a technique cartonería, utilising cardboard and paper-mâche. In the same year the first the creatures became alive. The man named them Alebrijes, a non-sense word he had repeatedly heard from the crowd of voices in his fever dreams.
The name of the young man, the father of the Alebrijes, was Pedro Linares, an artisan who was an expert in making carnival mask, piñatas and figures.
His work was eventually discovered by a gallery owner from Cuernavaca, a city close to Mexico City, where he was born and lived and sold his work on markets.
How does that relate to me? The story of our Alebrijes at d!fferent
Find out here Find out here
Sources and recommendations to learn more about Alebrijes and Pedro Linares
Los Creadores Originales de los Alebrijes | La Última Generación de Artesanos
Los monstruosos pero hermosos alebrijes mexicanos
Judith Bronowski's 1975 documentary on Linares
More: