This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Mojigangas are giant paper-mache puppets used for…read moreweddings (bodas) parties (fiestas) birthday parties (cumpleaños) and holidays (feriados). They are usually seen daily in San Miguel de Allende but right now, during Covid 19, big public parties are not allowed.
This is a multigenerational family business with decades of experience. Hermes, our teacher, has been teaching for 35 years. In addition to making Mojigangas, he and another fairly member teach special needs children.
Depending on the complexity of your piece, you will go 4 or 5 times and learn the process. Apparently Meryl Streep paid them a visit and only came one day and did a quicker project. As a family of 5, we are doing a skull mask, parrot, dog with wings, a whale and a skull mobile. We had two hours today for $500 pesos a person ($20) and we will go back Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. They are attentive, funny, kind and so proud of their work and Mexican traditions. Paulina speaks some English but they can show you how to do things. If you don't speak any Spanish you might lose out on some of the history but will still get the experience. The workshop is gorgeous! During Covid they take temperatures, hand sanitizer, masks and they steam clean everything before students arrive to make the mojigangas. This is an incredible, reasonably priced and very rare experience. Every member of my family loved it. Our children are 10, 16 and 18 but they can teach smaller children too. They even have monarch butterfly chrysalis in the back yard. During Covid, we worked our on the courtyard. We adore this family and can't believe we get this experience.
Hermes Arroyo won a contest out of 24 artists to be part of a delegation to the Vatican. He is extremely talented as is his family. They work together. Very kind, happy people.
