Giant Alebrijes Have Taken Over Downtown Garland — and They Stay Until March
Monumental hand-painted spirit creatures from Mexico City's master artisans fill Downtown Garland Square in a free outdoor exhibition that runs through March 29, 2027 — with a 12-stop Loteria game built around the visit.
Downtown Garland's square is currently inhabited. 'Alebrijes: A Dreamworld in Downtown Garland,' the city's free outdoor exhibition, has placed monumental alebrijes — the brilliantly colored fantasy creatures of Mexican folk art — around Downtown Garland Square, where they remain on view through March 29, 2027.
The sculptures are handcrafted by master artisans from Mexico City in cartoneria, the traditional papier-mache technique, and they combine animals, dreams and mythology into single beings — among the creations reported on the square are a three-headed dragon and a tentacled seahorse. The form traces to Mexico City artist Pedro Linares, who began creating alebrijes in the 1930s; Garland's exhibition pairs the outdoor sculptures with a companion display at the Central Library, 625 Austin Street.
The city has built a game around the visit. Its Downtown Garland Loteria card lists 12 activities tied to the exhibition and the square — photographing the Big Hat, catching live music, visiting the Landmark Museum among them — and a completed card taken to the Garland Visitor Center by March 29, 2027 enters the holder for a prize. Admission to the exhibition itself is free, and Dia de los Muertos weekend is as good a first visit as the run will offer.
