Oaxaca, Mexico is in the southwestern part of the country, surrounded by mountains. You can’t go a block in Oaxaca without finding something colorful or interesting to see. In this post, I don’t have a lot to say, just several photos to give you a sense of the place.
Street Art
The people of Oaxaca have a tradition of amazing street art — large, colorful murals that sometimes have political or cultural meaning. It is said that the graphic arts can give people an alternative version of the news.
Textiles
Weaving has been part of the indigenous culture in the area for hundreds of years, with plants and insects used to create the colorful dyes used in the tapestries.
Alebrijes
Alebrijes are fantasy animals carved from wood. They often combine parts of several animals, and are brightly painted.
Alebrijes originated when an artist named Pedro Linares got sick and became unconscious in 1936 in Mexico City. While unconscious, he hallucinated and saw a forest with strange animals. His visions included a rooster with bull horns, a donkey with wings, and a lion with an eagle head. All of them were shouting the meaningless word “¡Alebrijes!, ¡Alebrijes!”
In the Pixar film “Coco,” which describes the spirituality behind the Day of the Dead celebration, Alebrijes were shown as spirit animals that helped guide the spirits of the deceased back to their families. In the Zapotec tradition, everyone has a spirit animal from the moment of their birth. Each animal has a meaning. For instance, the jaguar and the eagle represent power, while the possum and the iguana symbolized learning. The cat means independence and freedom, while the dog means loyalty and protection. These fantasy creatures have developed into popular symbols of a connection to the spiritual beliefs of the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
