Giant straw sculptures wow crowds at Puebla festival
Puebla, Mexico, Jul 3 (EFE).- A festival featuring straw sculptures more than 20 meters high wowed crowds on Saturday in Atlixco, in the central Mexican state of Puebla.
Families gathered on the first day of the Straw Festival to enjoy not only the giant works of art, but also activities such as zip-lining, rides and food stalls.
The exhibition houses 25 giant sculptures of animals such as elephants, scorpions, mice, hummingbirds and two giant pandas eating bamboo next to a rainbow.
Visitors admired a gorilla more than 25 meters tall accompanied by palm trees and bananas, created with a lightweight metal frame and straw, and which weighed about a ton.
Following the route, they came across a 15-meter-high cobra emerging from a basket.
Nearby sits is a giant jar of honey, accompanied by bees and a honeycomb, representing the production of this food in the state.
Creator Carlos Miguel Ramírez told EFE that he has been dedicating himself to sculptures for 10 years and has participated in more than 30 festivals.
Originally from the Mexican state of Colima, he said that Atlixco is the largest exhibition of its kind in Latin America.
The help of 100 people was needed to give shape and life to the festival over three weeks, as it takes about three days’ preparation for each sculpture, he said.
“It is my pleasure to be in Atlixco and check out the quality of the Atlixco hands, because they worked like nowhere else. You tell them how to make things and they will immediately follow the example. And we were able to refine the pieces faster than in any other places,” he said.
The sculptures will be on display until Aug. 29. EFE
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