Artists Include Disney’s “Coco” Alebrijes Creators Jacobo & Maria Angeles

One of the country’s most extensive collections of authentic Latin American folk art returns to San Diego during Bazaar del Mundo’s annual Latin American Festival and Mata Ortiz Pottery Market, Friday–Sunday, August 3-5.

More than 25 artists from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Ecuador and other Latin American countries will take center stage to display their vibrant creations, including colorful wood-carvings of whimsical creatures, handwoven wool Zapotec rugs, hand-embroidered Mexican blouses and dresses, hand-painted pottery and ceramics, dazzling jewelry and more.

Throughout the marketplace, festival-goers will enjoy live demonstrations as artists carve wooden stumps to reveal life-like animal figures; weave hand-pulled and dyed wool into beautiful, traditionally designed area rugs; and skillfully paint delicate designs onto hand-formed clay pots, sculpted figures and animals. Visitors can also enjoy nonstop musical entertainment and feast on mouth-watering Mexican cuisine for sale at the otherwise free event, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Returning to this year’s festival are Jacobo and Maria Angeles, Oaxacan wood carvers whose traditional alebrijes (Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures) were recently featured in Disney’s much-celebrated animated film, “Coco,” for which Jacobo was one of the movie’s consultants. Visitors will delight as Jacobo performs his fast, methodical demonstrations of transforming blocks of wood into life-like creatures, then he and wife Maria bring the animals to life with intricately painted designs using natural, mineral-based paints that they grind by hand.

Bazaar del Mundo, located at 4133 Taylor Street in Old Town, will also overflow with artisans from Chihuahua, Mexico, creating intricate Mata Ortiz pottery, a centuries-old art form renowned for its hand-painted geometric and ancestral symbols.

Additional artists include:

  • Felipe Barbosa: Felipe’s bold, contemporary take on traditional Mexican jewelry designs included everything from earrings to beautiful pendants and handmade chains.
  • Pedro Montaño: A Oaxacan weaver from Teotitlan del Valle showcasing marvelous wool rugs and runners in both traditional and contemporary Mexican designs, and performing demonstrations on his handmade loom.
  • Gerardo Ortega Perez: Gerardo’s bright and whimsical figures of clay include recognizable depictions of colorfully painted roosters riding bicycles, cats and dogs driving cars, and more.
  • Jorge Quintana: A principal Mata Ortiz artist whose work has been displayed in museums all over the world and included in many of the major books on Mexican folk art.
  • Minerva Reina Gonzalez Gutierrez: Minerva brings with her a beautiful selection of hand-embroidered, traditional clothing from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
  • Yolanda Ormachea Velasco: A contemporary Peruvian jewelry artist whose work combines silver with semiprecious stones and other natural elements.
  • Saul Yuritica: A Peruvian artist specializing in traditional reverse-painted mirrors and wall hangings.

The event will also feature performances from Chinelos dancers on Sunday at 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. Popular in the Mexican state of Morelos, parts of the State of Mexico and the Federal District of Mexico City, Chinelos dancers dress in traditional costumes designed to mock Europeans and European mannerisms from the colonial period to the end of the 19th century.

Inside the colorful stores, shelves will be brimming with gifts and goods imported from Mexico and Latin America, as well as a myriad of books on travel, culture, architecture, arts, crafts and food.