Do you believe in spirit animals? Are you an artist? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, perhaps you were at the Otter Student Union (OSU) last Thursday evening painting your own alebrije.
At least two dozen students stopped by the Rookery in the OSU on Nov. 30, to put their artistic skills to the test. Attendees were greeted with an abundance of acrylic paints and canvases piled high, and a few artists from Salinas who demonstrated their creative process of illustrating a personalized alebrije.
An alebrije is a brightly colored totem or “spirit animal” which is believed to have a link to an individual’s soul in Mexican culture. For example, there are several alebrijes seen in the Disney film “Coco.”
One of the illustrators, Jose Ortiz, mentioned how “we worked with the Otter Cross Cultural Center (OC3) before, and I think it’s terrific what this program is doing. Uniting different cultures and different people with diversity, embracing diversity, that’s what drawing and painting is all about – it’s about showing your beauty.” Ortiz has been illustrating since age 4, and works with kids to connect them with their inner artistic ability.
This event was organized by the OC3, specifically by third-year Moncerat Navarro Carpio.
“I’m an artist… I find [art] to be very therapeutic, so I felt like [painting] would be really helpful for students especially during this really stressful time,” said Carpio. “[This event is] also a way to connect to culture and learn more information about other cultures that you may not be aware of.”
There was an abundance of unique alebrijes brought to life with vibrant colors. There were several birds, reptiles, insects and many more. Despite this being an effort to de-stress students during finals, a couple of students attended for the sake of school work.
First-year Michael Garland said “I was told by my ethnic studies professor [about this event], and I also have to be here for an assignment that I need to turn in by the end of the semester.”
Another participant, Jarsaid Lopez, mentioned how he attends Hartnell College, and that “I had to [attend] a cultural event for my chicano studies class, so I chose this.” With a pencil in hand, Lopez said, “I like to draw and color, my drawing is a bird, an ehécatl … the god of wind for the Aztecs.”
Attendees joyfully left the Rookery with a new representation of their spiritual identity in hand, likely having learned something new about their own or their communities’ cultural identities. What does your alebrije look like?