A Wonderful Art Excursion - My friends and I loved everything about this experience! Because there were five of us, Cesar brought a friend and we traveled to Arrazola in two vehicles. Cesar shared his knowledge of Oaxaca and the various sites we passed by during the drive. Part of the trip was on dirt roads, and he is a good and safe driver. After we arrived, we listened to Armando Jimenez explain the process of making alebrijes and his family's history with the craft. He spoke Spanish and Cesar interpreted in English. Then we picked a wooden figure and began painting our own alebrije. Let me tell you ... It's harder than it looks! Pro tips: Use a lighter color as your base color. Be sure to let every layer dry before starting a new one. The skinny end of the sticks used to paint dots can be used to paint small details. We loved painting our alebrijes, even if Armando's were so much better! (Of course!) One of my friends said it made her feel child-like, in a good way, and I agree. There is no pressure at all to shop, but we all did, and we all purchased one or more alebrijes. There is a wide range of items available at a variety of price points, including small alebrijes that make great little gifts for 100 pesos ($5 American currently). Arrazola is very small, and we saw no restaurants there. Eat a good breakfast before you go! Cesar will provide you with beverages (water, soda, even Mezcal) and some chips and crackers for a snack. Although it was a warm day, the covered patio where we painted felt fine. Aprons were provided while painting. After our experience, Cesar was kind enough to drop us off in Jalatlaco, where we had a walking tour of the murals scheduled. Four hours was the right amount of time. The drive is about 30 minutes each way, leaving 3 hours for Armando's talk and demonstration + painting + shopping. The time flew by, and we didn't feel rushed. I highly recommend this educational and entertaining activity. Even if you don't know anything about alebrijes and you're not an artist, if you want to enjoy a few hours of playful creativity, you'll love it. Cesar is a great host!

Creative fun afternoon . Don’t miss it - Our guide/driver spoke excellent English and was happy to answer any questions we had about Oaxaca . We loved the history lesson on the origin of this beautiful craft . The Jimenez family was welcoming and the animals we painted were delightful ! Don’t miss this experience .

The best thing I did while in Oaxaca - What an incredible experience. I had so much fun and learned so much. The opportunity to see artists at work creating beautiful animales fantasticos, and also to hear about the history of alebrijes from celebrated artist Armando Jimenez... I am so glad I did this while in Oaxaca!

Magical Time, Magical Creatures. - We loved learning about the history and then painting our own Alebrijes. Probably our favorite part of the whole trip!

A must see and do experience! Do not skip this one!!! - What an incredible experience this was! From the drive out to Armando's home/gallery, our guide Cesar, Armando and his family inviting us into their space and hearing the history of Armando's grandfather, Armando, and now his wife and kids, continuing this intricate art form. They are truly such a talented family! The afternoon was great, choosing our own alebrije to paint, painting in a cool space, and hearing stories from Cesar about the family and the community of artisans. Do not buy any alebrijes in town before you shop in the family gallery. Armando's prices are much less, and the craftsmanship is superb. I can't say enough about this experience!! IT IS A MUST DO/SEE!!!!

A must do while in Oaxaca! - The whole experience was great. From the pick up point to the nice conversation on the way there with Cesar. Meeting Don Armando Jimenez and his lovely wife was awesome. He talked through the process of making the Alebrije and ultimately finishing off with painting our own Alebrije! I would totally recommend this experience!

Really nice time, highly recommended ! - We loved this experience: the explanations given by Armando (and instant translation by Cesar, the very nice host of this tour) were very interesting and the painting process and creativity really what we were looking to experience. Very fun even for just adults !! Highly recommended as an alternative to more classic excursions.

painting is fun - it was lovely to hear the family history with alebrijes and our guide was excellent. I enjoyed the painting very much but would have liked more tips and guidance from the artist.

Fun and relaxing - Small group of four participants, we had a quite nice few hours, learned about the craft and tried it ourselves. Go find your „weird animal“ and bring it to life

Don’t book online. Unprofessional. Patronizing and rude service. - I booked this reservation via TripAdvisor at 5:30am the morning of the tour. The app showed the schedule, and I thought “what great luck. They have a spot today!” The app (viator) showed this was confirmed, I was given a ticket, and charged $70usd. I showed up at the meeting spot 10 minutes early and texted the tour operator to make sure I was in the right spot. He took about 10 minutes to reply, inform me he didn’t have my reservation, and that he was booked. He also claimed I was not confirmed. I asked for a refund and to his credit he notified Viator/Trip Advisor of the mix up on his end. However why this review turned from an annoyed incident to one worth mentioning in the reviews was Cesar proceeded to chastise me on multiple messages, told me this was my fault that I booked the day of, tried to gaslight me by saying it was never confirmed, and then told me “Try to plan in advance, people are not just waiting to serve you whenever you need, this entitlement is not acceptable anywhere in the world”. As a solo female traveler this sort of attitude and behavior is unacceptable and concerning. If I were a traveler to ever consider this service, be prepared for rude and condescending comments even after paying top dollar for a tour that was ticketed and confirmed. If you do choose to proceed, make your reservation well in advance and confirm directly to ensure you’re not let stranded.