Workshop: Tonas and Nahuales with Ricardo Ángeles

A special hands-on workshop is scheduled for Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m. at the New Bedford Art Museum. Admission is $65.

Inspired by “Resistance: Cultural and Political Narratives in Mexican Art,” the program highlights Zapotec traditions from Oaxaca, Mexico. Tonas and nahuales are spiritual beings, frequently depicted as animals, believed to guide and guard individuals throughout life.

Ricardo Ángeles of the Ángeles family workshop in Oaxaca leads the session. Traveling from Mexico, he continues a carving tradition advanced by master artists Jacobo and María Ángeles, whose work appears in the exhibition.

Participants will paint a small wooden nahualito using a provided kit that includes a pre-carved figure, acrylic paints, brushes, and tools. Ángeles will demonstrate traditional techniques such as fine-line brushing and pointillism, and explain the symbolism behind common Zapotec patterns.