While dozens of artists will be making tour stops at the 35th San Jose Jazz Summerfest Aug. 8-10, there’s one group that’s sure to stand out—in no small part because its members are all 22 feet tall.
“Alebrijes En San José” is an art installation consisting of eight sculptures created by artisans from Oaxaca, Mexico, in the style of Pedro Linares, a Mexico City artist who popularized the Alebrije art form in the 20th century. The creatures, inspired by Zapotec legends, are crafted from fiberglass with a reinforced internal metal structure; each weighs over 1,200 pounds.
The installation opens at Summerfest on Aug. 8 and will be on view at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose through Sept. 28 on the first leg of its two-year North American tour. Once the festival closes, the exhibit will be open to the public starting Aug. 12.
The sculptures are well-traveled, having debuted at the Lille3000 Festival in France in 2019, inspired by Mexico City’s annual Desfile de Alebrijes parade, which features approximately 200 papier-mâché alebrijes. The installation has been given a 21st-century update in the form of LED light sequences programmed into each sculpture to animate them after dark.
In another contemporary touch, San Jose Jazz is hosting an Alebrijes-themed drone show on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 9:15 p.m. on the main stage at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
“Alebrijes” is curated by Carlomango Pedro Martínez, director of the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca. Its sculptors come from the Oaxacan tradition of carving figures from lightweight, native copal wood that evolved in isolated mountain communities where Zapotec woodcarving traditions were passed down through generations.
“As someone born in Oaxaca, seeing these monumental alebrijes come to life in the heart of downtown San José feels deeply personal and powerful,” Mezcal restaurant owner Adolfo Gomez said in a release. “In a time when immigrant communities are often politicized or erased, it’s more important than ever to uplift and honor the cultures that shape this city.”
To that end, Gomez organized a Noche de Alebrijes Gala on Aug. 6 to highlight cuisine by Mexican chefs from his and other downtown San Jose restaurants. The event is one of several organized in conjunction with the exhibit.
Other events include “Sueños Fantásticos: Alebrijes & Nahuales,” an exhibition of original handmade alebrijes on view during business hours in the tower lobby of San José City Hall. Through Sept. 28, the original artworks on which the sculptures in “Alebrijes En San José” are based will also be displayed.
Those interested in how the larger sculptures were built can head to The Tech on Sept. 14 for a discussion with Alireza Lahijanian, co-founder and principal of Rbhu Engineering in Berkeley. Rbhu is a minority- and women-owned business that specializes in engineering large-scale artwork and entertainment structures. Lahijanian’s presentation will explore how creative vision meets structural reality and showcase some of the projects Rbhu has engineered over the past decade.
For more information on “Alebrijes En San José,” visit https://alebrijes.sanjosejazz.org. For the full Summerfest lineup and tickets, visit https://summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.
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