Etsy

Saúl Aragon, his wife Alma Arreola, and their daughters Paola and Karime are part of a large family that has been carving wooden animals, called alebrijes, since 1985. They live in Arrazola in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, next to the famed Zapotec archaeological site of Monte Albán.

Exuberantly colored, extravagantly whimsical, both realistic and fanciful, the hand-carved and hand-painted alebrijes have become one of the best-known types of Mexican folk art. In imagination and spirit, they reflect the sun-washed stucco, energetic artisans, and amazing palette of Oaxaca’s valleys and mountains.

Saúl is the president of the Ecoalebrijes Association, a cooperative of 15 families in Arrazola dedicated to conserving the wood of the copal trees used in the carvings. This coop manages copal forests sustainably, promotes the sale of alebrijes, and helps keep families together by stemming migration to the United States

These are the members of the Ecoalebrijes Association:

1.- SAUL ARAGON RAMIREZ
2.- ARMANDO RAMIREZ LO PEZ
3.- PABLO LOPEZ ACEVEDO
4.- CATARINO CARRILLO MORALES
5.- BRUNO EMILIO RAMIREZ ZARATE
6.- MAXIMILIANO MORALES SANTIAGO
7.- FRANCISCO MORALES OJEDA
8.- ANTONIO MANDARIN GOMEZ
9.- LAURO RAMIREZ MARTINEZ
10.- MARTHA SANTIAGO ALVAREZ
11.- GIL SANTIAGO HERNANDEZ
12.- MIGUEL SANTIAGO SORIANO
13.- MARCO ANTONIO ARAGON SANTIAGO
14.- ELEAZAR MORALES RAMIREZ
15.- MARIO CASTELLANOS