"Last weekend, four small, colorful alebrijes figures by artist Fernando Escartiz were swiped from the exterior wall above the entrance to the San Jose Jazz Break Room on the corner of First and San Carlos streets in downtown San Jose. Surveillance video on the Break Room entrance Friday night shows someone on a bicycle stopping, going out of frame and then getting back on the bike with at least one of the figures."
"'When it happened, it was rough,' said Monique Valenzuela, San Jose Jazz's business and education development coordinator, who was the project director for all the public 'Alebrijes' events this summer. 'It was literally the last element we had that was coming down after Dia de los Muertos, and to some degree it robbed us of that closure we were anticipating from the exhibition.' She talked to Escartiz and said the artist would not let the theft deter his passion for public art."
Four small, colorful alebrijes figures by Fernando Escartiz were stolen from the exterior wall above the San Jose Jazz Break Room entrance at First and San Carlos in downtown San Jose. Surveillance footage captured a bicyclist stopping, leaving frame, and returning with at least one figure. The remaining three figures, made mostly of wood, papier-mache and foam, were removed from the building for safekeeping. Monique Valenzuela described the theft as robbing the project of anticipated closure after Día de los Muertos. Escartiz intends to continue creating public art and emphasizes the loss of the offering to the community and the need for respect.
Read at The Mercury News
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