"Over the Rainbow": Fantasy Lands, Dream Worlds, and Magic Kingdoms

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 16.03.02

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Rationale
  3. Content Objectives
  4. Background: Arte Popular Mexicano and Alebrijes
  5. Literature Selections
  6. Fairy Tale or Folk Tale?
  7. Storytelling and Language
  8. Strategies
  9. Activities and Essential Questions
  10. Assessment Ideas
  11. Appendix A
  12. Appendix B
  13. Resources for the Classroom
  14. Annotated Bibliography
  15. Endnotes

Afirmando Nuestra Identidad (Affirming Our Identity): Exploring Dream Worlds and Storytelling through Alebrijes

Mary Carmen Moreno

Published September 2016

Tools for this Unit:

Introduction

This past year, my 7 year old son and I attended the National Museum of Mexican Art’s Annual Folk Art Market that featured unique examples of beautiful folk art, as well as several of the artists that create them.  Upon entering the gallery, it was easy to feel overwhelmed with so many colors, textures, and objects that I couldn’t decide which booth to approach first.  As I quickly scanned the room and headed to the textiles section, I felt a sudden tug of the hand.  In my haste, I had failed to notice that my son desperately wanted to head in the opposite direction towards the area featuring sculptures.  I asked if we could go there second, but he protested and immediately proceeded to walk directly to the table of alebrijes—unique, colorful, fantastical animal-like creatures that originated in the dreams of an artist named Pedro Linares in 1936.  These in particular were carved in wood.  My son had never seen such creatures and had all sorts of questions as he carefully observed their shape, colors and design that incorporated several different animal parts all at once.  He was fascinated!  It had occurred to me that I had never introduced this art form to him, given that our family collects art.  The teacher in me observed him as he moved wide-eyed through the miniature objects and then suddenly turned to discover gigantic alebrije sculptures such as a serpent-eagle and an iguana-bird overtaking the entire next table.  Demonstrating this art form was Jacobo Angeles, a renowned wood carver whose work is collected globally.  He was demonstrating how he carved these creatures from stumps of wood of the copal, a tree that grows in the region of Oaxaca.  As he explained the process of drying the wood before painting it, my son was already placing his hands on the largest of the sculptures, asking if we could take it home.  He asked Jacobo what animal it was and listened intensely as the artist explained that each alebrije represented animal spirits that watch over and guide us.  My son desperately wanted this serpent-eagle to watch over him.  Truth be told, I’d never seen him so intrigued, particularly by the patterns of paint covering these sculptures.  Through these alebrijes, we learned that many of the most prominent pieces are painted using natural materials such as the resin from the copal tree itself, it’s bark, local minerals and fruits such as pomegranate and lime.  We learned about the Zapotec calendar and animal spirit guides.  Having previous knowledge myself of these sculptures, I explained to my son that originally, alebrijes were also made of cartoneria and that today Mexico hosts a parade of alebrijes that people all over the country participate in by creating their own giant sculptures that represent the diversity of Mexico’s beliefs, customs, and regions. 

In one brief moment, my son had learned a wealth of information about our culture, our history, and our traditions.  He was intrigued and proud that this was something from which he could claim cultural heritage because it was Mexican.  Later that day, he decided that he too would partake in collecting art as his parents do by purchasing his first piece of artwork, an alebrije lizard signed by artist, Mauricio Ramirez from Arrazola, Oaxaca.  It has since become his special toy that only he can handle because it is art. 

This story demonstrates the power of art to connect us to a time and space representative of history, tradition, identity and imagination.  Art, like stories, is a vehicle for transmission of culture that engages us, and provides us with ways to connect to our past, to each other, and the world.  For my son, learning about alebrijes inspired invented worlds that he plays in whenever he picks up his lizard.  His imagination is fueled by the object as well as by the many stories and experiences we’ve shared of Mexico and our culture.  His reflections in the literature we read serve as affirmation of his own voice and stories to tell.  These experiences are what I hope to replicate in my classroom. 

This unit is dedicated to the work at hand with second grade students of Mexican origin who reside in the world of two languages as emergent bilingual students within U.S. schools.  Utilizing Mexican and Mexican-American picture books within the framework of a biliteracy continuum, this unit welcomes students into concepts of the “homeland”, that can best be described as that place from which our ancestors come, where our traditions and rituals reside, and where pride in belonging to these rich roots are born.  For many Mexican and Mexican-American students, our lives reside in the story of hope and dreams that our parents imagined for us.  We are part of a greater trajectory whose destination has yet to be defined.  To explore these ideas and more, students will engage with stories that span across geographical spaces, and in particular, visit their ancestral lands of Mexico through the written and oral word, through the visual landscape of el arte popular Mexicano and the dream worlds of alebrijes.  Alebrijes provide students with an opportunity to be inspired in the creation of their own stories with unique characters that reflect their cultural funds of knowledge, incorporating their biliterate and bicultural experiences, and opening the possibilities to unimagined spaces in storytelling. 

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