Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Zapotec artisans apply some color to Mercedes-Benz SUV

Pre-Columbian tradition met classic German car engineering this week when a Oaxacan artist team revealed their perhaps most unique piece of artwork ever: a Mercedes-Benz G-Class all-terrain vehicle painted with iconography and colors inspired by alebrije art.

Jacobo and María del Carmen Ángeles, artists from San Martín Tilcajete, about 30 kilometers from the capital city of Oaxaca, revealed their latest masterpiece on their Facebook page, as did Mercedes-Benz México.

The company provided the vehicle, documented on social media its trip through Mexico to get to the artists and the work in progress, and showed off the final results to promote the company’s G-class model, one of the granddaddies of all-terrain and sport utility vehicles, first offered for civilian sale in 1979.

Alebrije art is distinctive folk art that originated in both Mexico City and Oaxaca. In the case of the former they are made from papier-mache; alebrijes from Oaxaca are carved from wood.

Jacobo and María have been creating artworks since childhood. Jacobo specializes in wood sculpture, while Maria has always the best in their house at painting the wooden figures.

Mercedes new paint job,Zapotec style.
Mercedes new paint job,Zapotec style.

They are well-known among artisan collectors for their colorful, fanciful works on copal wood.

They recently shared a video on their Facebook page, capturing the days of work they and a team of artisans did to decorate the vehicle. They said they were very pleased with the results.

“It was worth every minute of effort,” they said.

Sources: Excélsior (sp), Expansión (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
President Claudia Sheinbaum, center, poses with smiling government officials and Indigenous community representatives as they hold up two official presidential decrees for the camera.

Sheinbaum creates commission dedicated to ‘justice plans’ for Mexico’s Indigenous peoples

0
Sheinbaum also signed a decree Wednesday requiring that recent constitutional reforms affecting Indigenous peoples be officially published in Mexico's 68 Indigenous languages.
Ronald D. Johnson standing in front of a microphone at a Department of State event. On the lapel of his suit is a pin bearing the flags of the U.S. and El Salvador

Donald Trump nominates Ronald D. Johnson as US ambassador to Mexico

0
A military and CIA veteran, Johnson is credited with large decreases in illegal migration to the U.S. from El Salvador when he was Trump's ambassador there.
Mexican Federal Deputy Sergio Gutiérrez and head of the board of directors of the Chamber of Deputies rings a bell in to open session. He's sitting at a desk at the head of the Chamber with other members of the board of directors sitting on either side of him and other lawmakers standing behind them, conducting other business

Congress rushes to reshuffle 40 billion pesos of FY 2025 budget

3
Lawmakers begin debate Wednesday on US $1.98 billion in changes to President Sheinbaum's budget, including big cuts to the judiciary and INE.