Jacobo Angeles

Jacobo Ángeles Ojeda
Angeles and wife at presentation of book at the Museo de Arte Popular
Born	(1973-04-17) April 17, 1973 (age 43) San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca
Known for	alebrijes
Spouse(s)	María del Carmen Mendoza
Website	[1]

Jacobo Angeles (born March 14, 1973) is a Mexican artisan from San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca who is known for his hand carved and distinctly painted alebrije figures. The town is noted for its production of these figures which generally are carvings of animals painted in bright colors and bold designs, and Angeles grew up carving the local wood they are made from. The artisan’s work has become distinguished for the painting of fine, intricate designs over the base paint, often inspired by Zapotec and other indigenous designs. He works with his wife María del Carmen Mendoza, at the couple’s home and workshop in their hometown. While Angeles continues to create alebrijes, much of the production of the workshop is done by younger members of the Angeles family, which is a tourist attraction in the town. Angeles travels frequently to promote alebrijes and Zapotec culture, especially in the United States, and his work has been shown in major venues in Mexico and abroad, as well as featured in two books. In 2014, he was invited to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis and set alebrije nativity scenes and Christmas tree ornaments.

Angeles and his wife María del Carmen Mendoza were both raised in subsistence agricultural families in San Martin Tilcajete, a Zapotec community in the Central Valleys of the state of Oaxaca. In his youth, Jacobo learned to carve wood from his father, and was interested in the twists and turns of copal trees, that lent themselves to alebrije shapes. However Angeles’ father died when the artisan was twelve, requiring him to support the family, which he did, in part, by carving alebrijes.

Angeles’ works and runs his business with wife María del Carmen Mendoza. Jacobo generally carves and paints pieces, and María generally designs, decorates and creates paints from natural materials.

His work is distinguished by the carving style but particularly in the way his alebrijes are painted. Like other Oaxacan alebrije makers, the wood is soft copal, in his case collected from the nearby Sierra de Cuicatlán, and worked only with hand tools such as machetes, chisels and knives. The carved pieces range from centimeters to meters in length or height. The animals are generally recognizable can include jaguars, dogs, bears, owls and more, often doing something such as flying, scratching itself or fighting. One distinguishing elements in much of Angeles’ work is the appearance of human faces in otherwise animal figures, such as an armadillo with a woman’s head with braids. This reflects a Mesoamerican belief in nahuals, humans who convert into some kind of animal at night, as well as Jacobo’s own personal belief that everyone resembles an animal in some way.