AMNA NAWAZ: They're called fantastic animals,## brightly colored wooden creatures inspired# by the world of Mexican magical realism.

Now giant versions of these animals are on# a tour across the U.S., celebrating Mexico's## rich cultural heritage and promoting diplomacy# during contentious times in U.S.-Mexico relations.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown checked## them out in San Francisco for our# arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: At around 20 feet# high, they are hard to miss,## brightly colored and intricately designed weighing# over 1,200 pounds each, alebrijes and nahuales,## so-called fantastic animals, that have# their roots in Oaxaca and Mexico City and## were on display at the Yerba Buena Gardens in San# Francisco when we saw them earlier this summer.

EFRAIN FUENTES, Woodcarver# (through translator): For us,## it represents our .. JEFFREY BROWN: Efrain Fuentes is# a third-generation woodcarver who## began carving as a young boy in Oaxaca.

EFRAIN FUENTES (through translator):# I learned from my father.

Now I teach## my kids.

They are all grown,# so they're fourth generation.

JEFFREY BROWN: He's the artist behind# one of the nahuales, the coyote,## crafting a smaller version,# then working with a specialized## workshop in Mexico City to make the# grander versions that are on tour.

EFRAIN FUENTES (through translator): We as# artisans made the pieces in a small format,## about 60 centimeters or so.

We carved and painted# it in a special way to eventually make them big.

JEFFREY BROWN: Indigenous artists like Fuentes# rely on cultural tourism to make ends meet.## This kind of exhibition is a rare chance for# their work to be seen on a monumental scale.

ROMAIN GRECO, Project Director, Alebrijes# and Nahuales: I wanted to pay credit and to## pay tribute to the roots of all this art,# which is a popular art, traditional art.

JEFFREY BROWN: Romain Greco, an# arts presenter and producer based## in Mexico City, helped bring the project to life.

ROMAIN GRECO: The craftspeople and these people,# which are artists in my point of view, are not## so much concerned about showing their work.

They# just want to sell their work and live on a daily## basis.

But I think that it's important for the# people to understand the richness of the work.

So, by blowing them, and we make people aware of# the artistic value of these pieces, putting them## at the site of everybody in the context of a urban# architecture.

I think they take all their power.

JEFFREY BROWN: So, it should be seen as a# traditional art form, but now made contemporary?

ROMAIN GRECO: Yes, exactly.# That's exactly what I want to do.

JEFFREY BROWN: Indeed, Carlomagno Pedro Martinez,# director of the Museum of Popular Art in Oaxaca,## who curated the exhibit, says it's important to# understand this work in terms of contemporary art.

CARLOMAGNO PEDRO MARTINEZ, Curator,# Alebrijes and Nahuales (through translator):## There has always been controversy if folk art or# handicrafts is different from contemporary art,## but this art that is presented is# contemporary art, without a doubt,## and the people who are producing it# are artists with all the breadth of## the word.

This is contemporary art from# the indigenous communities of Oaxaca.

JEFFREY BROWN: Also important, he says,# bringing the art of indigenous artists## to a U.S. audience at this particularly# tense moment in U.S.-Mexican relations,## especially over tariffs and immigration,# including protests against ICE raids.

CARLOMAGNO PEDRO MARTINEZ (through translator):# Art is the universal language of humanity,## and amid political and economic tensions# that exist between our countries,## art is the beautiful face of humanity.

It is# the universal message that we humans give,## and this is where there is a# fraternal bond between peoples.

JEFFREY BROWN: Romain Greco# describes it as soft power.

ROMAIN GRECO: It's very important to# use art as a diplomacy instrument,## because sometimes politics can be complicated and# can be tricky, but art is much more universal.

JEFFREY BROWN: Ken Bukowski is the chair of# the board of the Yerba Buena Conservancy,## which oversees the gardens.

For you, does it have an extra urgency now?

KEN BUKOWSKI, Chair, Yerba Buena Gardens# Conservancy: I think it has an extra urgency,## because it just is one more way to# show that level of respect, where maybe## people from Mexican ancestry aren't getting# their respect throughout the rest of the## country and with the politics going on now.

But,# here in San Francisco, we do value that history,## we do value that culture, and we want# to show that by showing this art.

JEFFREY BROWN: The eight-piece# sculptural installation has now## moved on to a national tour in# public spaces across the country,## Nevada and California this year,# moving farther east in 2026 and 2027.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm# Jeffrey Brown in San Francisco.