Linares family

The Linares family is a multigenerational group of artisans from Mexico City associated with cartonería, the Mexican craft of forming durable sculptural objects from paper, cardboard, paste, and related materials. The family is especially known for highly colored alebrijes, animated skeletons, skulls, Judas figures, masks, piñatas, and other imaginative figures. Their work combines popular religious and festival traditions with satire, social observation, and fantastic animal forms. The family’s connection with cartonería predates its most famous member. Relatives in Xochimilco made papier-mâché objects for Holy Week and other festivities during the nineteenth century. Francisco Linares became associated with Judas figures intended to be burned on Holy Saturday, while Celso Linares expanded the family’s production into papier-mâché piñatas, masks, and human figures. José Dolores Linares learned these techniques and passed them to his son Pedro, who also worked in agriculture and shoemaking before making craft objects for sale in Mexico City markets. Pedro Linares transformed the family’s reputation through the development of alebrijes. The family’s account places the beginning of this work around 1936, when Pedro, ill with a high fever, dreamed of bizarre hybrid animals and heard the word “alebrijes.” He later recreated these creatures in papier-mâché. Pedro also acknowledged that the forms evolved over time rather than emerging as a single finished invention. The creatures typically combine recognizable animals and imaginary features in vivid colors and elaborate patterns. The family first sold piñatas, carnival masks, Judas figures, and later alebrijes in traditional markets such as La Merced. Their work gained broader recognition after being displayed in more fashionable parts of Mexico City and after attracting the attention of artists and collectors. A gallery owner in Cuernavaca helped bring Pedro’s work to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Rivera commissioned unusual figures for his collection, and works made for him are associated with the Anahuacalli Museum. International visibility increased substantially through the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, for which Pedro and his sons produced life-size skeletal figures representing athletes. The work also reached a wider audience through Judith Bronowski’s 1975 documentary. Museums, galleries, and collectors in the United States and Europe subsequently sought the family’s pieces. Pedro received Mexico’s National Award for Science and Art in 1990 and died in 1992. The workshop tradition continued through Pedro’s three sons and at least three grandsons. Family workshops occupy neighboring houses in the Colonia Merced Balbuena area of the Venustiano Carranza borough, near the Mercado de Sonora. Each household generally maintains its own workshop, but relatives cooperate on large commissions. Apprenticeship helps preserve a shared visual language, allowing several artisans to work on separate components of a large sculpture while maintaining stylistic and structural consistency. The family’s best-known subjects remain animated skeletons and alebrijes. Skeletons may dance, skateboard, drive streetcars, perform occupations, or represent contemporary social types. Their skulls range from small objects to large, approximately human-scale or taller pieces and may depict popular characters, vendors, bullfighters, Don Quixote, or stylized Day of the Dead imagery. The family has produced commissioned and exhibition work for institutions including the British Museum and has exhibited in museums and cultural venues in France, the United States, Scotland, and elsewhere. Demand is strongly seasonal, with Day of the Dead generating the busiest period, although international exhibitions and commissions provide additional outlets. The family has also trained other cartonería artists, while objecting to unrelated sellers presenting imitation pieces as authentic Linares work.

The Linares family’s craft history is rooted in the cartonería traditions of Mexico City and nearby Xochimilco. Family accounts trace work with papier-mâché objects to the eighteenth or nineteenth century, while documented family activity in the nineteenth century includes Holy Week objects, Judas figures, piñatas, masks, and human forms. Juan Bautista Linares of Xochimilco made objects for religious and seasonal celebrations. Francisco Linares specialized in Judas figures, which were traditionally burned on Holy Saturday. Celso Linares, Pedro Linares’s grandfather, helped develop papier-mâché piñatas as an alternative to piñatas made around clay pots. José Dolores Linares continued the practice and taught it to Pedro. Pedro Linares was born after the family moved from Xochimilco to the area now associated with the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City. He initially made familiar market goods, including piñatas, carnival masks, and Judas figures, selling them in markets such as La Merced. His importance in the family’s history comes from his development of alebrijes, fantastical creatures made from shaped and hardened paper and cardboard. The family describes the origin as a fever dream in which Pedro saw hybrid animals and heard the word “alebrijes.” Pedro later indicated that the style developed gradually, and the finished tradition reflects years of experimentation rather than a single isolated episode. Alebrijes enabled the Linares workshops to move beyond seasonal market production. The family sold pieces in central markets and in more affluent parts of Mexico City, where they encountered artists, scholars, and collectors. This visibility helped them survive periods when Judas figures were restricted or less commercially viable, including the aftermath of a 1957 warehouse explosion associated with the burning-figure tradition. A Cuernavaca gallery owner introduced Pedro’s work to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Rivera commissioned unusual figures and reportedly valued the family’s ability to realize forms other artisans could not produce. Some of this work is connected with the Anahuacalli Museum. The 1968 Olympic Games were a decisive turning point. Dolores Olmedo commissioned Pedro and his sons to make life-size skeletal athletes. Although skeleton imagery was already part of Mexican Day of the Dead culture, the scale and public setting of the Olympic project gave the family a new international platform. Judith Bronowski’s 1975 documentary further extended their reputation. Museums and galleries in North America and Europe began exhibiting their work, and the family developed a practice of producing both individual objects and large institutional commissions. In 1986, Felipe Linares made a major Day of the Dead installation commemorating the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. Known as “La Muerte Temblorosa,” the work used more than fifty life-size skeletons to portray the disaster and its aftermath, including victims, rescuers, firefighters, soldiers, injured people, and a looter. The controversial work was also used to raise funds for earthquake victims in Europe. Pedro Linares received Mexico’s National Award for Science and Art in 1990 and died in 1992. His three sons and three grandsons continued the family practice, adding subjects such as prostitutes, drug users, sports participants, and other contemporary social figures. The family’s workshops operate from neighboring homes in Colonia Merced Balbuena, behind the Mercado de Sonora. They generally work independently but cooperate when large orders require many artisans. Apprenticeship is central: a shared method and visual vocabulary allow several relatives to construct different sections of one commission. The two dominant bodies of work are animated skeletons and alebrijes. Skeletons appear in occupations, leisure activities, popular culture, and social commentary. Skulls are made in multiple sizes and may portray vendors, bullfighters, literary characters, or highly decorated Day of the Dead motifs. Alebrijes use bright colors and combinations of animal features to create imaginary beings. The family has exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, the British Museum, the Fowler Museum of Cultural History, and the Royal Museum of Modern Art in Glasgow, among other venues. Its work has also been collected or commissioned by well-known entertainers and institutions. The family has trained other cartonería artists, but it has raised concerns about sellers falsely attributing unrelated alebrijes to the Linares workshops. While the word and general form of alebrijes have entered Mexico’s broader folk-art vocabulary, authenticity and regional attribution remain important issues for the family.

• 1992

  Pedro Linares dies

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pedro Linares dies, while his sons and grandsons continue the family’s workshops and international practice.

• 1990

  Pedro Linares receives the National Award for Science and Art

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Mexican government recognizes Pedro Linares for his artistic contribution.

• 1986

  Earthquake memorial installation is produced

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  Felipe Linares creates a large skeleton installation commemorating the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.

• 1975

  Judith Bronowski documentary broadens the family’s audience

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  A documentary about Pedro Linares helps promote the family’s work internationally.

• 1968

  Life-size Olympic skeletons bring global attention

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family creates life-size skeletons of Olympic athletes for the Mexico City Games.

• 1957

  Judas-figure production faces restrictions after a warehouse explosion

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  A warehouse explosion contributes to pressure on the Judas-figure tradition, increasing the importance of the family’s other cartonería products.

• 1936

  Pedro Linares begins developing alebrijes

  [1]Linares familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pedro Linares starts making fantastical hybrid creatures in papier-mâché, establishing the work for which the family becomes internationally known.

A heritage Mexican cartonería practice positioned between folk art, festival craft, collectible sculpture, and museum-quality contemporary artisan work.

• Fantastical papier-mâché sculpture · 1936

  Alebrijes

  Brightly painted hybrid creatures combining real and imaginary animals. The family’s alebrijes are built from shaped paper and cardboard and are distinguished by elaborate silhouettes, intense colors, and patterned surfaces. They range from small market objects to large exhibition commissions and are the Linares family’s most internationally recognized form.

• Day of the Dead cartonería

  Animated skeletons

  Articulated or posed skeleton figures depicting dancers, workers, athletes, streetcar drivers, skateboarders, and other recognizable social types. The figures reinterpret Mexican death imagery through movement, humor, occupation, and contemporary commentary, and are produced in both individual and life-size formats.

• Festival sculpture

  Decorated skulls

  Cardboard and papier-mâché skulls made in several sizes and decorated with flowers, birds, folk motifs, literary references, occupational themes, and popular-cultural imagery. Some imitate the richly ornamented appearance of sugar skulls while remaining sculptural cartonería objects.

• Traditional festival craft

  Judas figures, masks, and piñatas

  Earlier and continuing forms in the family repertoire include Holy Week Judas figures, carnival masks, and papier-mâché piñatas. These products provide the technical and visual foundation for the family’s later alebrijes and animated skeletons.

• 1986La Muerte Temblorosa

  Mexico · Europe

  Felipe Linares created a large Day of the Dead work portraying the 1985 Mexico City earthquake through more than fifty life-size skeletons.

  Outcome. The work was controversial but was also used to raise money for earthquake victims in Europe.

  Source
• 1968Mexico City Olympic skeleton figures

  Mexico · International cultural audience

  The family produced life-size skeletons representing Olympic athletes for the Mexico City Games, translating a Day of the Dead motif into a large public commission.

  Outcome. The project significantly increased public and international awareness of the Linares workshops.

  Source

• 1968

  Expansion into life-size public sculptureProduct launch

  Background

  The Mexico City Olympic Games created an opportunity to present cartonería at an unprecedented public scale.

  Action taken

  Pedro Linares and his sons produced life-size skeletal athletes for the Olympic program.

  Aftermath

  The commission helped shift perceptions of the family’s work from market craft toward internationally exhibited folk art and sculpture.

  Source

• 1936

  Development of the alebrije formProduct launch

  Background

  Pedro Linares sought to recreate fantastical hybrid creatures associated with visions during an illness and developed them through continued experimentation.

  Action taken

  He began producing brightly colored imaginary animals in papier-mâché alongside the family’s existing festival products.

  Aftermath

  Alebrijes became the family’s signature form and a major vehicle for its international reputation.

  Source

• Use of cooperative family workshops and apprenticeshipStrategy

  Background

  Large commissions require multiple artisans while the family seeks to preserve a recognizable shared style.

  Action taken

  Separate household workshops cooperate on major orders, using apprenticeship and common construction and painting practices.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement allows the family to undertake large institutional works while retaining a multigenerational production model.

  Source

1. 1Linares familyen.wikipedia.org