Oaxaca

Almú: Alebrije Inspired

Surrounded by a vast garden, Almú sits just outside San Martín Tilcajete, a village about half an hour from Oaxaca City. The open-air restaurant is filled with secondhand furniture and smoke from the wood used for cooking. Almú is bordered on one side by abandoned fields and, on the other side, by a forest of copal trees. The wood from this tree, native to the Oaxacan Central Valleys region, is used to make alebrijes – brightly colored wooden sculptures of fantasy creatures, and a traditional craft for which San Martín is famous. The Mexican folk art was born back in 1936 when an artist from Mexico City, Pedro Linares, fell ill. In an unconscious state, he saw rare animals in his dreams which became inspiration for these handmade, dream-like animals.