image property of mrkathika on Flickr
Thanks to Ryan Wilson of the Main Street Gazette for this fantastic Guest Blog Post!
World Showcase has often been billed as a global exploration of culinary and cultural wares, and while the world’s fare is regularly sampled, often times the single richest examples of a country’s culture, their respective gallery, is overlooked. Of all the galleries in World Showcase, Mexico’s Animales Fantásticos is one of the easiest to view as it occupies the foyer that leads into the main complex of shopping, dining, and the Grand Fiesta Tour.
Animales Fantásticos features the handcrafted artwork of the Jiménez family from Oaxaca, Mexico. Manuel Jiménez took the local craft of woodcarving in Oaxaca and single-handedly transformed it into a sought after collectible art form. The gallery that occupies the entrance hall of World Showcase’s Mexico pavilion is filled with figurines carved by Manuel, as well as his sons
image property of Peter E. Lee on Flickr
Angelico and Isaias. It is the belief that this form of woodcarving does not create animal figures, but rather unleashes the spirit of the animals already existing within the piece of wood. Throughout the various displays the animals brought to life by the Jiménez family allow us to glean a great deal about daily life in Oaxaca, along with the history of the art form itself.
Let us pause for a few moments at each display and see just what a day in the life of the Oaxacans would consist of.
Friends – As is common the world over, the people we surround ourselves with is our own private community. In Oaxaca, this community will work, play, and share all the emotions of the human condition, traits that are masterfully translated into the carved figures.
The Land – Carving is the longstanding hobby of the farmer, both in Oaxaca and in the larger global community. In Oaxaca, where the art form took on the spirits of the animals around them and in the trees themselves, the artists often consider themselves farmers first and carvers second.
The Sea – Oaxaca exists, for the most part, as a landlocked valley. Still, carvers in the region use books, stories, and all manner of ways in which to acquire knowledge about creatures they know very little or nothing about. The artists then take this newfound awareness to create highly detailed figurines.
Folklore – Tales and myths have played an important role in the community of Oaxaca since the Pre-Columbian era. The coexistence of the hardships of real life and the fantastic creatures, such as the humans who morph into animals after midnight known as the Nahuals, has never been a problem for the Oaxacans.
Festivals – While festivals are not held in Oaxaca every day, they are a critical part of the life, religion, and holidays there. They are community functions that are not only celebrations, but the tool by which traditions are handed down through the generations.
Day of the Dead – Each year the “visitors from beyond the grave,” otherwise known as ancestors who have passed away, come to visit with their families and friends. While focusing on the deceased, the Day of the Dead is actually a celebration of life. Skeletons of every shape and size, and composed of papier-mâché, woodcarvings, and even candy, permeate the festival.
Angels and Saints – Over ninety percent of Mexico’s population are Catholic. So, it is not surprising to find altars within homes, and icons of saints and angels throughout the country. As part of the annual celebration of Patron Saints, young girls in San Martin will even dress as angels.
The Beginning – While woodcarving as a recognizable art form is relatively young, it has only been in existence for approximately fifty years, there has been much growth in the medium and techniques. Original coloring techniques were rare and often only used natural dyes; it would take some time before latex paints became the norm for covering the carvings.
Fantastic Animals – For as long as there have been stories, parents in Oaxaca have been telling their children tales of the mischievous, magical, and fantastic creatures that live in the woods nearby. These cautionary tales and legendary creatures have slowly crept out of the woodlands and into the gnarled sections of wood that are used to create the brightly-colored woodcarving masterpieces.
Photo courtesy of Ro
Spirits in Wood – Manuel Jiménez had held several different jobs in his life, including cane cutter, bandleader, and barber. Yet, in the late 1950s, he began down a path that would change his life, and the lives of the people in his community, forever. He began selling wooden figurines, carved out of the wood of the local copal trees, to tourists. The design of the figures came from the spirits he found within the pieces of wood, giving each a distinctive personality.
Until Next Time,
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