墨西哥瓦哈卡彩木雕：梦境中的奇幻生物
In the dusty workshop of a family in San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca, a block of copal wood slowly becomes a dragon with butterfly wings. This is the birthplace of alebrijes, fantastical wooden creatures that have become one of Mexico’s most recognizable folk arts. Originally dreamed up by paper-mâché artist Pedro Linares in the 1930s, the tradition found a new home in Oaxaca’s carving villages, where artisans adapted it to local materials and techniques.
The process begins with selecting the right copal branch — a soft, fragrant wood that is easy to carve but strong enough to hold intricate details. Using simple hand tools, the carver removes everything that does not look like the creature. The animal might have the body of an iguana, the head of a rabbit, or the tail of a scorpion, all blended into something that could only exist in a dream. No two alebrijes are identical.
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