04:21Mexico: ‘Baby Jesus’ figures painted as pop culture characters become Candelaria hit
Ricardo Bahena is an engineer from Cuernavaca, Mexico, who has recently been selling 'Baby Jesus' figures painted and customised as famous people and fictional characters from popular culture.
As seen in footage from Tuesday, Bahena has a workshop where the ‘Baby Jesus’ is transformed into the Joker, the DC Comics villain, Goku, the protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga, and Freddie Mercury, former lead singer of the band Queen, among other pop culture figures.
Bahena says that he thought "my friends are going to like it, I thought that if they like it there would be others who like it too." Bahena did not think that his ‘Baby Jesus’ would become a sales success outside his city.
Candelaria, or Candlemas, is celebrated on February 2, with the tradition in Mexico being that Catholic families dress the figure of the 'Baby Jesus' in the clothes of different saints, although in recent years the tradition has been modified and it is possible to see figures dressed as a carpenter, doctor, musician, or football player.
Bahena went further and decided to include pop culture figures and sales have reportedly rocketed.
The whole process of painting and customising is done by hand, and the work on each figure can take up to four hours. Each figure has a price ranging from $18 to $30 (€16 to €27), depending on the size and complexity of the design.
04:21Ricardo Bahena is an engineer from Cuernavaca, Mexico, who has recently been selling 'Baby Jesus' figures painted and customised as famous people and fictional characters from popular culture.
As seen in footage from Tuesday, Bahena has a workshop where the ‘Baby Jesus’ is transformed into the Joker, the DC Comics villain, Goku, the protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga, and Freddie Mercury, former lead singer of the band Queen, among other pop culture figures.
Bahena says that he thought "my friends are going to like it, I thought that if they like it there would be others who like it too." Bahena did not think that his ‘Baby Jesus’ would become a sales success outside his city.
Candelaria, or Candlemas, is celebrated on February 2, with the tradition in Mexico being that Catholic families dress the figure of the 'Baby Jesus' in the clothes of different saints, although in recent years the tradition has been modified and it is possible to see figures dressed as a carpenter, doctor, musician, or football player.
Bahena went further and decided to include pop culture figures and sales have reportedly rocketed.
The whole process of painting and customising is done by hand, and the work on each figure can take up to four hours. Each figure has a price ranging from $18 to $30 (€16 to €27), depending on the size and complexity of the design.