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Iliana de la Vega and
Reyna Mendoza
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Woodcarving 
Nearly 50 years ago, a handful of artists in two valley villages, Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete, started carving and painting animals of copal wood. The copal tree wood has a lovely sweet odor; its resin has been burned in incense braziers since ancient times (and still is). The sculptures are also called “alebrijes”, a misnomer that has stuck. Manuel Jiménez from Arrazola, now world famous, rich and 80 years old, is usually given credit for being the originator. Whoever started first, what began with a few families has turned into a booming business almost taking over the economy of these and other towns, and converting hundreds of families from agricultural workers to folk art producers.
The Oaxaca wood carvings are an international craze (the best-selling Mexican folk art in the U.S.), and the artists are recognized names in the world market. So many foreign buyers are on the phone to the villages (usually the village’s public phone), that shops in Oaxaca have stiff competition filling orders. It looks as though this is not a temporary fad; but the future will probably belong to the crafts people who do the best quality work and have the cash to buy wood. There is no copal wood left in San Martin Tilcajete so they buy it from San Pedro Taviche and other towns, and their suppliers are now making figures of their own. It is not a craft that can be learned overnight, and as more people get into the act, quality fluctuates. The most famous craftsmen, such as Gerardo Ramírez, Epifanio Fuentes and Manuel Jimxnez, work mostly for export, and their prices are hefty.
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In a great variety of subjects and sizes, the painted wood figures are carved from copal wood using the natural shape to inspire the sculptural form. If representing snakes or animals with tails, for instance, the tail takes the winding form of the tree branch. Copal wood is easy to carve while green. An uncomplicated piece such as an armadillo 10 inches long, takes about three days to carve. After drying in the sun for another three days it becomes light weight and hard. A sealer is applied to protect it from insects. Men do the carving, and the women paint, everybody working up to 15 hour days. The prosperity of many of the artisans is an amazing turnaround in villages where 15 years ago many were wondering how to make a living.
Little chairs and tables, picture frames, boxes, and chests are made in San Martín Tilcajete by some of the same families who paint the wooden animals. The furniture is also decorated in similar fashion in bright, acrylic paints with flowers, animals, leaves, and many other motifs. Chairs and tables often have scenes on them.
The artistic quality of the work is improving all the time, with constant copying between carvers of popular themes. The competition is stimulating, and the some of the best work is on a level approaching fine art. (LA MANO MAGICA gallery purposely promotes the liaison between the folk art and paintings.) At the moment the most popular subject matter includes armadillos, dogs and cats, snakes, iguanas, frogs, devils, angels, and pigs.
Entire scenes of village life are constructed of dozens of pieces: weddings, funerals, fiestas, processions. Animals never seen in Oaxaca have entered the fray: gazelles, giraffes, zebras, polar bears, Chinese dragons, and other monsters. Artists have specialties: Rogelio Blas from San Pedro Cajonos makes lobsters and crabs in a pastel palette so exquisite no one could copy him; María Jimxnez in San Martín Tilcajete has no peer in the production of miniature barnyard animals. The feisty lions and tigers in hot colors by José Hernández in Arrazola are instantly recognizable, as are the mermaids of Avelino Pérez from La Unión Tejalapan. Thus the high quality work by certain specific artisans is eagerly sought by collectors abroad, as well as the ordinary folks who simply see a piece and can't leave the store without it.
Folk art has that characteristic: it's appeal and addiction are immediate. Most of the work from Oaxaca is now created on special order and while some families have become very commercial, turning out hundreds of the same pieces, others refuse to do so many of the same thing simply because they get bored and are in a financial position to pick their buyers. The latter are often the superior artists.
The best carved and painted sculptures for sale in Oaxaca are usually found in the better shops rather than the markets or street stands. But good pieces can be found everywhere, and even dealers pick up pieces walking through the parks and market places.
You can learn the names of new artists and which village they live in from the signature on the bottom of their work. Many of the most successful dealers started out knowing little Spanish and finding their way around the villages, getting to know the artists one-by-one. The crafts people are extremely courteous and hospitable.
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Learning about quality doesn’t take long. The better work is well thought out, with balance and sculptural logic, captivatingly alive even if a fantasy figure. The quality of the details is very important, also uniformity and smoothness of the surface meaning that the glue at the joints and marks of the knife have been well sanded. The paint should neatly delineate the features because the artist took time and care; and good work has no splinters, rough spots or nail-heads sticking out. A greater value is given to pieces made from a single piece of wood, especially when they have long, curving tails. Some buyers are unpleasantly surprised back home with their pieces, when pinholes appear on the surface and a fine dust underneath. It is the tiny copal insect boring away; fortunately these bugs do not migrate to other wood like termites, and can be eliminated by squirting a syringe of kerosene, gasoline or lighter fluid into the holes. Putting them in the freezer for two weeks also does the trick. Sculptures from La Unión Tejalapan are more prone to insect damage than those from other villages.
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The best way to visit woodcarvers and maskmakers in the area is to book a Private Car & Driver service with Oaxaca Tours. This exclusive service allows you to 'set the compass and the clock' as you delve into the wealth of treasures Oaxaca has to offer. Our drivers are rich with information and are more than happy to make helpful suggestions and take you to places other tourists might not have access to.
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 MAP OF OAXACA CENTRAL VALLEYS: Archeological sites and craft villages.
Archeological sites in Oaxaca: Monte Albán, Mitla, Yagul, Dainzu, Mogote.
Craft villages in the central valleys of Oaxaca: Tottitlan del Valle (weaving), Atzompa (greeen pottery), Arazola (wood carving), San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), Ocotlan (clay figures, woven baskets).
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