Lifestyles
Pedro Linares Lopez’s Biography (1906-1992)
There was a person named Pedro Linares López who was the perpetrator of the alebrijes. Pedro Linares López was a Mexican artist born in 1906 in Mexico City, who died in 1992.
The origin of the alebrijes
Pedro Linares Lopez, a craftsman devoted to cardboard, was able to create beautiful sculptures using this material. It would be impossible not to mention Frida Kahlo herself or her husband Diego Rivera among those whose art he created.
As Pedro Linares reaches 30 years of age, he becomes increasingly ill and becomes completely unconscious and bedridden. These experiences cause him to see strange animals from the clouds as a result of these visions. There was an entire world of fantastic beings standing before me: a rooster with a frog’s head, a donkey with wings, etc.
In addition to making noises and howling, most of these animals also shouted, “Alebrijes, Alebrijes!”. It did not mean anything, but it served as a name for the beings she had dreamed of back then.
Pedro Linares Lopez was fortunately able to regain consciousness after being unconscious for a few minutes. He regained all of the things he had dreamt of as soon as he recovered from his illness. It was he who shaped those strange animals and painted them just as he had envisioned them, utilizing his skill as a cartonero. As a result, he was able to make his loved ones aware of the alebrijes that he had compiled.
The fame of this man has not stopped growing since then. In addition to showing his creations all across Mexico, Pedro also traveled to various parts of the world such as Europe and the United States of America. He showcased his works.
His contribution to the arts and popular traditions category of the National Prize for Arts and Sciences was recognized in 1990, in recognition of his achievements.
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A family tradition of cardboard in the Linares family
The line of cartonero-born men running through Pedro’s family traces back to his grandfather. His parents and grandfathers were artists when Pedro was growing up. Additionally, his legacy died with Pedro and has been passed down through his descendants, who have continued tradition which is already known throughout the world.
I have recently finished filming a documentary about Pedro Linares Lopez’s alebrijes
Pedro Linares Lopez, a prominent figure in the world of film, was fascinated by the creations of Judith Bronowski. Having such a profound respect and admiration of Mexican artisans that she was able to direct and produce a documentary dedicated to them in 1975. I am convinced that this greatly contributed to spreading the work, which he had been carrying out most of his life, beyond the borders of his own country.
