Alebrijes

Properties Design by Laura Merrill

Teatro Visión (San Jose, CA) October (2026)

by Georgina Hernández Escobar

Directed by Rodrigo García

A mythologized telling of the life (and almost death) of the little-known alebrije creator, Pedro Linares. Join La Muerte as she chases Pedro, and his three tonas (totems) in this family-friendly Day of the Dead celebration of fantastical Mexican folk art. Follow Pedro on a nostalgic visit to Mexico City, discover his special relationship to his animals, and join him in his journey through a psychedelic Oaxacan jungle (or is it the afterlife?). Balancing the weight of mortality with delightful comedy, beautiful colors, and traditional music, Alebrijes: A Día de Muertos Tale is a joyful story that celebrates the fantastical journey of life and the art that unites us all, even across realms.

Some notable pieces created for this production include:

• Judas (2)

  made from small cardboard boxes and cardboard tubes I made them to help cover Pedro’s Cartonero cart when he sells his wares at the festival.

• Pedro’s cart

  Pedro has his cart with him often in the play. I needed to find an elegant way to make this cart simple and apart of the time (1930’s). I used a small lawn cart for the chassis and affixed a wooden body to the outside. I also painted everything to look weathered and sun bleached. For the wheels I cut some spoke wheel shapes out of cardboard and glued them on the outside of the rubber tires.

• Shadow puppet Alebrijes (6)

  Shadow puppets needed to play in the background in Pedro’s arrival to their world. The puppets are made from cardboard, dowels, string, and hot glue. All puppets were equipped with simple string mechanisms that moved either their tails or legs.

• La Muerte Mojiganga

  The base of the large Mojiganga puppet was made years back by our director Rodrigo García. I have had to put her back together for quite a few years now so I can say she’s quite a lot of my own work now too. Her ribcage had to be redone fully this year. It’s made from newspaper, glue, water, floral wire, and is pained on acrylics. Her skirt was layered with red lace to match our La Muerte actor’s costume and decorated with blacklight paper flowers.