Los alebrijes de Oaxaca Una tradicin centenaria de tallado en madera, combinada con un imaginativo sentido de la forma y el don mexicano

de idear juegos de colores brillantes y sorprendentes. todo se combina en los alebrijes o figuras de animales tradicionales de Oaxaca. Hace mucho tiempo, monjes dominicos ensearon a los oaxaqueos a tallar el copal, un tipo de madera local. Las leyendas cuentan que un oaxaqueo comenz a soar con extraos animales que hablaban. Decidi tallarlos, y se hicieron muy populares. Visitamos algunos talleres y aprendimos que los hombres tallan las figuras y las mujeres las pintan. Vimos representaciones fantsticas de conejos, venados, armadillos, animales con cara de persona, y mucho ms. Hicimos varias compras y nos sentimos contentos de conocer a los modestos pero talentosos artistas.

Los alebrijes de Oaxaca Una tradicin centenaria de tallado en madera, combinada con un imaginativo sentido de la forma y el don mexicano de idear juegos de colores brillantes y sorprendentes. todo se combina en los alebrijes o figuras de animales tradicionales de Oaxaca. Exhibidas en museos y galeras de Estados Unidos y el resto del mundo, estas obras se consideran la expresin mxima del arte folklrico mexicano. La calidad y popularidad de los alebrijes es un raro ejemplo de la unin perfecta entre el arte y el comercio. No obstante, tom cientos de aos desarrollar los tallados que tanto admiramos hoy.

Quizs la leyenda ms interesante es la que cuenta de un oaxaqueo que tuvo un sueo en el que vio extraas criaturas compuestas de los rasgos de varios animales. Emitan sonidos que l no comprenda, con la excepcin de la palabra "alebrije". Es as como recibieron su nombre. Se sabe que monjes dominicos ensearon a los indgenas a tallar figuras decorativas en los altares utilizando el copal, una madera autctona. Es tambin probable que en tiempos ms recientes los escultores hayan imitado los diseos de las figuras en papier mach de Ciudad Mxico, tambin conocidas como alebrijes. Sin embargo, la experiencia de visitar el taller de un artista resta importancia a los orgenes de las obras. Visitamos varios talleres en Arrazola, uno de tres o cuatro pueblos especializados en el arte de los alebrijes. Aprendimos que la creacin de las figuras es a menudo asunto de familia. Los hombres casi siempre tallan las figuras y las mujeres generalmente las pintan. El tallado se realiza con machetes y cuchillos, sin herramientas elctricas. La pintura se logra con una variedad de pinceles y esmaltes comerciales. Estos sencillos mtodos de trabajo hacen que la sorprendente gama de fantsticas figuras pintadas sea an ms impresionante. Las figuras que vimos representaban dragones, venados, conejos, armadillos, sirenas, diablos, ngeles, animales con caras de otros animales o seres humanos, personas con caras de animales, criaturas parecidas a reptiles, y mucho ms. Todas estaban pintadas de colores inusuales y hasta chocantes. Entre nuestras mltiples compras seleccionamos una maravillosa pieza que representa una serpiente enrollada en un cacto, con un colibr tomando el nctar de su flor. Fue un placer enorme conocer a estos artistas modestos pero talentosos y, a nuestro modo, participar en la tradicin de los alebrijes. Comprensin 1. Segn la leyenda, cmo recibieron su nombre los alebrijes? 2. Cmo se llama la madera local de la que estn tallados los alebrijes? 3. Qu herramientas se utilizan para tallar los alebrijes? 4. Mencione algunas de las figuras que representan los tallados. The Animal Carvings of Oaxaca Combine a centuries old tradition of wood carving with a fanciful sense of form, add the Mexican flair for bright, surprising color schemes, and you get the famous "alebrijes" - or animal carvings of Oaxaca. Long ago, Dominican monks taught the natives to carve copal, the local wood. Legend tells of a native Oaxacan that dreamed of strange talking animals. He began carving them, and they became popular. We visited a few workshops and learned that the men carve the figures, and the women paint them. We saw fantastic figures of rabbits, deer, armadillos, animals with people's faces, and much more. We made several purchases, and were happy to to meet the unassuming, but talented artists. The Animal Carvings of Oaxaca Combine a centuries old tradition of wood carving with a fanciful sense of form and add the Mexican flair for bright, surprising color schemes and you get the famous "alebrijes," or animal carvings of Oaxaca. Found in museums and galleries throughout the United States and other countries, these works are recognized as a supreme expression of the best of Mexican folk art. The quality and widespread popularity of the work is a rare example of the perfect marriage of art and commerce. But these carvings we so admire today were hundreds of years in the making. Perhaps the most appealing legend tells of a native Oaxacan who had a dream in which he saw strange animals that looked like composites of several animals. They were making sounds he could not understand, except for the word "alebrije." This is how they got their name. We do know that Dominican monks taught the natives to carve decorative forms on church altars, using copal, one of the local woods. It is also probable that in more recent times the carvers borrowed design concepts from the fanciful paper mache figures of Mexico City, which are also known as alebrijes. But the experience of visiting an artist's workshop overwhelms any thoughts of how they came to be. We visited several workshops in Arrazola, one of three or so towns that specialize in the art of the alebrijes. We learned that the creation of the figures is often a family affair. Men usually carve the figures, and women usually paint them. The carving is done with machetes and knifes, with no fancy power tools. The painting is accomplished using a variety of brushes and off the shelf enamel paint. These simple methods make the dizzying array of fantastic, stunningly painted figures all the more impressive. The figures ranged from dragons, deer, rabbits, armadillos, mermaids, devils, angels, animals with the faces of other animal or human faces, humans with animal faces, reptilian like creatures, and much more. All were painted in unusual, even startling color combinations. Among our numerous purchases, we choose a splendid piece that depicts a snake coiled around a cactus with a hummingbird imbibing nectar from its flower. It was a great pleasure to meet these unassuming, but immensely talented artists, and in our own small way become a part of the tradition of the alebrijes.