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The Village People
We were fortunate to recently acquire a whole collection of vintage Mexican paper mache sculptures. Standing approximately 12" tall, these delicate old hand-crafted Mexican folk art sculptures are “The Village People,” undoubtedly so named because they are a series of elderly Mexican villagers going about their everyday lives as they’ve done for decades. Hand crafted of wire and paper mache, and hand painted in muted shades, each figure stands on a 3-3/4" square wood base, is authentically dressed, and shows remarkable expression on its face. How anyone can achieve that much expression on a paper mache face is a mystery to me! Add that to the body language, and you have amazing character studies, not mere figurines. In fact, these villagers are so unique, individualistic, and realistic that it didn’t seem right to call them “its” and Ol’ Swaphos insisted we give each figure a name! That may have been a mistake, because once we personalized them, I felt compelled to tell their stories, and based on their expressions and the various things they’re carrying, it wasn’t hard to imagine a story associated with each one. So meet our villagers who will tug at your heartstrings with their simple agrarian lifestyle and world-weary countenances, but a fierce determination to keep on keepin’ on! They need a well-deserved retirement as prized and appreciated sculptures to display with pride!
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