Ana Karen Allende

Ana Karen Allende is a Mexican artisan from the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán, who specializes in creating rag dolls and soft fabric animals. The tradition of making rag dolls in Mexico extends back to the pre-Hispanic period with the making of rag dolls reaching its peak in the 19th century. Allende's first doll was made when her sister was about to turn fifteen. For quinceañera celebrations in Xochimilco, it is customary to give the girl her “last doll” as a means of marking her transition from child to adult. Allende decided to make this doll herself, using sewing skills taught to her by her grandmother. Soon after, she began to make dolls for her friends and family, and the attention they received prompted her to think of selling them.

Allende started her own small business called Retacitos (Scraps) in 2002 involving other members of her family, such as her at that time husband Sinhúe Lucas, along with contracting various single mothers in her area to work. She sells directly to the public only on Saturdays at the Art Bazaar in the San Ángel neighborhood. Her other sales are mainly to stores and museums. She receives a number of custom orders including making dolls that look like famous people such as Frida Kahlo and even those that look like the purchaser. Allende states that her goal is to revive the craft of doll making but in a more modern form. She generally sticks to forms familiar to Mexican concepts of cultural identity such as lucha libre wrestlers, angels, traditional rag dolls, horses, mermaids, rabbits, etc. She has been recognized as an authentic Mexican craftswoman since 2010 by the government of Mexico City, her work has been exhibited in various museums and cultural events and has won the 3rd place at the VI Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil Contemporáneo WTA (2012) and the 1st place in the toys category at the Gran Premio de Arte Popular of FONART (2006) among other distinctions.

History

The tradition of making dolls in Mexico stretches back to Teotihuacan, with finds of small clay dolls with movable limbs. While toys have been made since the pre Hispanic period, most archeological samples are in poor condition because of the natural materials they were made with. The making of handcrafted dolls continues in various communities, especially indigenous ones in Chiapas, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Querétaro using various materials, with those made from cloth and ceramic dominating. The making of rag dolls in Mexico reached its peak in the 19th century.

When she moved to Xochimilco, she became involved in the local culture through participation in weddings, religious festivals, quinceañeras and other events. Her younger sister was about to turn fifteen and in Xochimilco it is customary for a girl at her quinceañera celebration to receive her last doll from her godparents, a sign of passing from childhood to adulthood. These dolls have hallmarks of the rite of passage such as shoes with heels instead of flats.

Creations

She says that commercial rag dolls and stuffed animals are impersonal and merely copies. The most popular figures include those from lucha libre such as Blue Demon, Santo, and El Rayo de Jalisco, as well as those Mexico's past such as aluxes, chaneques, calacas and Mayan guardian figures. as well as traditional rag dolls, fairies, horses, centaurs, mermaids and much more. However, she says that except for custom orders, all the pieces made are based on Mexican culture and tradition in some way. So images are not that of popular culture from outside of Mexico but of figures which have been known to the Mexican handcrafts and folk art tradition. A cloth work of hers called "Yaxché, el árbol sagrado maya (Yaxché, the Mayan sacred tree) is part of the collection of French association Fiber Art Fever, which was also included in an exhibition called "Mágico Textil" (Textile Magic) at the Casa Abierta al Tiempo, at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City in May 2011.

She won first prize in the toy category at the Gran Premio de Arte Popular FONART in 2006 and is certified by the Consejo de Pueblos y Barrios Originarios del DF city as an authentic Mexican artisan.