That’s one of the many legends you’ll hear on the streets of Mexico about how the late Pedro Linares invented his phantasmagorical alebrijes — strange, elaborate paper maché creatures that skyrocketed him to international fame in the art world and secured his place in history as one of Mexico’s most celebrated artists of all time.

Linares’ son and grandson -- both named Felipe -- chuckled as I recounted what I’ve heard about their family’s notorious late patriarch.

"Well, actually, my father was dying of a stomach illness," Felipe Sr. explained. "His condition was very grave. Eventually he lost recognition of us, his family members. He said he thought he would die very soon."

Eventually, however, his father recovered and related a vision he’d seen during his brush with death. "He told me he saw monsters in the sky," Felipe Sr. explained, "clouds that transformed into very ugly, frightening creatures. When he recovered, he vowed to us that he would recapture the monsters in his art, even though they’d be ‘so ugly that no one would buy them.’ He constructed a figure somewhat human with a head resembling a cow. ‘It is called an alebrije,’ he announced."

That first Linares alebrije caught the eye of a gallery owner in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The gallery soon commissioned additional pieces. Eventually, museums around the world purchased the extraordinary, one-of-a-kind alebrijes, and Linares traveled to participate in exhibitions throughout Latin America, The United States, and Europe.

Meanwhile, Linares’s three sons were following in their father’s footsteps. The eldest son, Felipe, succeeded in taking his father’s art form to still greater heights.

"It occurred to me to turn the bodies into animals, fish, birds, and serpent forms," he said. "I would see a chicken or a snake and get the idea to incorporate those elements into an alebrije. I added chicken feet and claws to the body of a butterfly, for example. The creatures became wilder and wilder."

Connoisseurs and art critics began to buzz about Felipe’s "exceptional creativity." Felipe’s works can now also be found in major museums -- his Leon Mariposa (Lion Butterfly) is on permanent display at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.The family continued to work as a team, preparing substantial orders for exhibitions worldwide.

In 1991, Pedro Linares received Mexico’s National Award for Science and Art, presented to him by then President Salinas de Gortari. One of Mexico’s luchadores (wrestlers) honored the Linares family by naming himself Alebrije. And if imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then the Linares are constantly being flattered by artists throughout Mexico who have been strongly influenced by the family’s work.

Pedro Linares died in 1992, but his three sons and three grandsons continue to fashion one-of-kind alebrijes here in Mexico City. The Linares clan is working hard to produce a major collection of "skeleton fisherman" commissioned for a fast-approaching exhibit in France. The younger Felipe told me that each piece takes weeks to produce. But the project is now just about complete.

"We are very excited," Felipe added. "We really like to travel. It has been very interesting to get to know the world, especially in the context of exhibiting our work. We’ve had the opportunity to meet so many fascinating people."

I asked the father and son if their family is as wild as their creations. They both laughed. "Besides the alebrijes, our family is rather normal, I think," the younger Linares said.

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