Thousands watch colorful parade alebrijes in Mexico

It was a boisterous mix of whimsy, colour and fantasy that filled the streets of Mexico City as hundreds turned out to watch a parade of Mexican folk art sculptures, known as alebrijes. Dozens of life-size pieces representing fanciful creatures of Mexican myth and legend made their way down the streets while many event participants donned surreal masks. Alebrijes are traditional Mexican handcrafts made of cardboard and wire and painted with the traditional Mexican bright colours. Dragons, eagles, reptiles, demons and even giant insects were seen by an enthusiastic crowd that cheered and tried to photograph each figure and it creators. All the figures included in the parade were done by Mexican artisans. Alebrijes are magical and mysterious animals whose identities are closely related with their creators' personalities and desires, said artisan Jesus Armando Rodriguez. The parade was organized by the Mexico City Museum of Popular Art. The alebrije parade first debuted in 2007 and its popularity has been growing ever since. Organizers hope to continue popularizing these handcrafts that were created 50 years ago by the artisan Pedro Linares and now are well-known by foreign tourists visiting Mexico. According to Linares, now 73 years old, he imagined the alebrijes for first time in a strange dream. Linares said he was very sick and had dreamt of himself in a forest full of these scary and fascinating figures. When he recovered he began to craft the exotic images.