Twenty fantastic, colorful beasts are brightening Elgin’s Gail Borden Public Library, just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month and Day of the Dead celebrations.
“The creatures are called alebrijes (pronounced ah-leh-bree-hehs) and stem from Mexican folklore,” library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said.
The sculptures are part of the larger “Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World” display that was exhibited on the grounds of Cantigny Park in Wheaton in 2022. In cooperation with the Mexican Cultural Center of DuPage, the carved and painted animal figures will be in Elgin through Jan. 7.
A public event to celebrate the new display will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, with Elgin Mayor David Kaptain, state Sen. Cristina Castro and state Rep. Anna Moeller, both from Elgin, in attendance.
The idea for the project was inspired in part by the popularity of Disney’s 2017 animated feature, “Coco,” said Fernando Ramirez, president/founder of the Mexican Cultural Center.
It seemed like the perfect concept when “Cantigny and the (Mexican) Cultural Center both were looking for something for people to do and see coming out of the pandemic,” Ramirez said.
Mexico City holds a “La Noche de los Alebrijes” parade and festival as part of its annual “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) celebrations, he said.
“I haven’t had a chance to go yet, but that would be incredible,” Ramirez said.
The Cultural Center was able to recruit six artists who have taken part in the Mexican event to create nearly 50 alebrijes sculptures for Cantigny.
Ramirez said the origins of alebrijes goes back to Mexico City artist Pedro Linares, who created them in the late 1930s based on vivid dream images he had when he fell ill.
The creatures feature parts of multiple animals. Two in the display are Goliath, a 16-foot-tall deer, giraffe and eagle, and Lacuarium, a seahorse-meets-dragon creation.
In Mexico City, alebrijes are typically made with cardboard and wire, but those in other parts of the country, such as Oaxaca, they are made of wood, Ramirez said.
The Cantigny exhibit proved popular, he said, and took on a life of its own afterward.
Earlier this year, North Riverside Park Mall put several the alebrijes on display while artists worked in public view to restore them from the wear and tear of being outside.
The exhibition was at the mall through early May, and some of the pieces are being stored there, Ramirez said, while others are now on display at the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Raleigh said five artists’ works will be on display at the library — Alejandro Camacho Barrera, Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano, Roberto Carlos Martinez Tecillo, Edgar Camargo Reyes and Alberto Moreno Fernández.
Fernández and Reyes are tentatively set to be present for brief residencies and may also appear at the Sept. 12 event.
“I think the people will be captivated to learn how these paper-based, layered colorful creatures are made and what inspires the artists,” Raleigh said.
Yaneth Medina, a Gail Borden Public Library Foundation board member and Elgin State Bank president, said the event will be a fun way for the library to offer a cultural experience and to promote literacy at the same time.
“These alebrijes are going to bring people to the library in droves. The colors and the fanciful animals are fuel for the imagination,” Medina said.
For more information, go to www.gailborden.info/alebrijes.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.