New public art display at Raspberry Island
celebrates Mexican folklore

New public art display at Raspberry Island celebrates Mexican folklore
By Tim Spitzack | Editor | July 2025

Sixteen mythical creatures have inhabited Raspberry Island and will remain there all summer and fall. They are large, colorful and made of papier-mâché, so they will require frequent attention by the artists who created them and help from the public to keep them safe.

The sculptures are part of a new exhibit by the Minnesota Latino Museum called “Alebrijes: Keepers of the Island,” presented through October 26. It features eight Alebrijes (ah-leh-bree-hehs), each up to 16 feet tall, and eight Nahuales (Mexican spirit animals), each up to four feet tall. The creatures are a Mexican folk artform that conjoin multiple animals into one. For example, one might have the body of a jaguar, the head of a shark, goose wings and a snake’s tail.

Papier-mâché artist Pedro Linares created the artform. He developed it in Mexico City in 1936 after falling gravely ill and experiencing fever-induced hallucinations, during which he envisioned himself walking through a lush forest and seeing strange multicolored animals. As he walked along, the creatures began shouting in unison “Alebrijes! Alebrijes! Alebrijes!”
 
The Minnesota Latino Museum, a project of (Neo)Muralismos de Mexico, a St. Paul-based nonprofit focused on Mexican and Latino arts and culture, worked with the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage in West Chicago, Ill., to bring the exhibit to St. Paul. The Alebrijes were first presented at an exhibit three years ago outside of Chicago. It was the largest exhibit of Alebrijes sculptures outside of Mexico and was a widely popular event, attracting nearly a half-million people. Those on display at Harriet Island were created by four artists from Mexico City: Miriam Salgado, Alejandro Camacho, Edgar Camargo and Alberto Moreno. Next year, the exhibit is headed for Virginia.

Aaron Johnson-Ortiz, executive director of the Minnesota Latino Museum, knew of the exhibit due to his relationship with Fernando Ramírez, executive director of Mexican Cultural Center DuPage. The two are close friends and co-founders of the Mexican Cultural Arts Alliance, a national coalition of Mexican-led cultural organizations. Johnson-Ortiz said Raspberry Island is a fitting location due to its proximity to St. Paul’s District del Sol and the Mississippi River, which “connects with the Gulf of Mexico, to Mexico, to our homeland and our heritage.” He also said the project fits perfectly with his organization’s mission of showcasing the work of Mexican and Latin-American artists.

(Neo)Muralismos de Mexico hopes to build the Minnesota Latino Museum in Harriet Island Regional Park in the next few years to celebrate the arts and cultural heritage of the approximately 400,000 Latinos living in Minnesota. For more information on the exhibit and the museum, visit mnlatinomuseum.org.

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