Arte Week 2-Arrazola!

This week marked the 2^nd week of Art class for those of us in the Arts and Sciences Track. We started out the week with regular scheduled classes at Solexico coupled with some field trips including a visit to the house of Oaxacan artist Rene Bustamante. We were all amazed by his vast (over 2,000!!!!) collection of painted masks that covered every available surface of his gorgeous house. These masks, like much of Oaxacan art, tell stories of traditional cultural practices including dances and other ceremonial uses.

As amazing as our visit with Rene was, the highlight of our week was our weekend-long field trip to the town of Arrazola to learn about “alebrijes” as a supplement to what we had been learning about in the classroom. Alebrijes are hand carved wooden figures (usually animals) made from the Copal tree and elaborately painted with various ornate and intricate designs. In order to enhance our learning experience, each member of the group stayed with different families to whom we gave various food items and paint supplies as a small gift for the immense hospitality they offered to us. After a short while, we realized that this small gift could never compare to what these families gave to us by welcoming us into their homes and of course, providing us with endless amounts of food and the overwhelming hospitality that we have found common here in Oaxaca.

Among the many things that we learned during our stay was how central the family is in the production of the alebrijes-while the father and sons carve the figures, the wives and daughters often collaborate in the painting process, making the final product a family creation. While we came into the town with the preconceived notion that what we were studying (the alebrijes) was a craft of mass production for tourists, we came out of the stay realizing how much time and careful artistic consideration goes into each and every piece. We met on Sunday morning to partake in making a breakfast of memelitas together with the community, each and every one of us sad at the prospect of saying good-bye, but comforted by the sincere requests of the families that we return soon and stay with them again. We all look forward to fulfilling this request.

Paz y amor from Oaxaca-Elena and Amber.

Russ, Caroline, Allie, Taylor, and Sarah