Antonio Alonso: Corn on the Cob & Esquites Seller Paper Mache
Antonio Alonso: Corn on the Cob & Esquites Seller Paper Mache
Full of color and humor, this papier-mâché sculpture by Antonio Alonso celebrates one of Mexico’s most beloved street food vendors, the elotero. The cheerful tlacuache, opossum, stands proudly beside his yellow-and-blue tricycle cart labeled “Elotes y Esquites,” complete with pots of steaming corn, chile, and cream bottles, and lime. Alonso’s meticulous hand-painting and playful details bring to life the warmth and everyday charm of Oaxacan street culture, turning a familiar urban scene into a whimsical work of art.
Antonio Alonso is one of Oaxaca’s rising masters of cartonería, the intricate art of papier-mâché sculpture. Working from his studio in Oaxaca City, he transforms recycled paper, cardboard, and wire into expressive figures that celebrate Mexico’s imagination and identity.
Antonio explains that the tlacuache is “an incredible and deeply Mexican animal, present in pre-Hispanic legends yet misunderstood today.” He notes that opossums help control pests, resist snake venom, and don’t transmit rabies, but are often attacked out of ignorance.
