Alebrijes

Have you ever seen a creature with the horns of a deer, the wings of a giant butterfly, and the long, slithery body of a snake? That’s me. My skin is covered in zig-zags, polka dots, and swirls of every color you can imagine, from sunny yellow to bright pink. I am not a real animal you would find in a zoo. I am a creature born from a dream, a wild and wonderful idea brought to life with paint and paper. Some people say I look like a dragon, and others think I look like a colorful monster, but I am something special. I am an Alebrije.

My story began in Mexico City with a kind artist named Pedro Linares López. In the year 1936, Pedro became very sick and had a powerful fever dream. In his dream, he didn’t see his bedroom. Instead, he walked through a magical forest filled with amazing creatures just like me. There were lions with eagle heads and donkeys with dragonfly wings. We were all so happy and colorful. And all of us were shouting a funny, musical word: 'Alebrijes. Alebrijes.'. When Pedro woke up and felt better, he couldn't forget about us. He was a master of cartonería, which is a clever way of making sculptures from paper and paste. He wanted to show everyone the wonderful things he had seen. So, he used his talented hands to recreate us, the magical creatures from his dream, piece by piece.

At first, all of my brothers and sisters were made of paper, which made us very light. It felt like we could fly if we really had wings. But soon, our story traveled to a beautiful part of Mexico called Oaxaca. There, other artists were inspired by us and wanted to make their own versions. A man named Manuel Jiménez Ramírez decided to try something new. Around the 1950s, he began carving fantastical creatures like me from the soft wood of the copal tree. These new wooden alebrijes were strong and smooth. The artists who made them painted us with even more detailed patterns. They used tiny dots and perfect lines to tell stories on our skin, making each one of us completely unique.

Today, my big, colorful family of paper and wooden creatures has traveled all over the world. We sit on shelves in people's homes and are displayed in museums for everyone to see. We are here to remind people of the power of imagination and how amazing dreams can be. I am proof that even a strange dream can become something beautiful that you can hold in your hands. So go ahead, close your eyes and dream up a creature of your own. What will it look like?