Ensenada’s Singing Sculptor and his “Baby Art Shower”
text by connie ellig; photos by david hopps & connie ellig

“Baby Art Shower” at La Lagunita

Nationally and internationally recognized as one of Baja California’s leading sculptors, Alfonso Arámbula Robles did not realize his true potential as an artist until a relatively late stage in his life. Born in Ensenada in 1953, Alfonso’s introduction to his family’s work ethic began at age eight when he began working for pay at his grandfather’s machine shop – sweeping floors, cleaning equipment, and forming small sculptures from bits and pieces of found objects. As he grew older, he began his own successful enterprises and became established as a well-respected local businessman. He was an active politician and became a Presidente Suplente (Vice-Mayor) of Ensenada at age 29. And then one day in the year 2000, at age 46, he gave it all up.

“I felt the need to express myself with what I have in my soul, not with what I have in my head or my need to make money,” declares Alfonso. “I finished up everything in my past, then jumped into the world of art since I knew it was the world I wanted to live in the rest of my life.

“My family was extremely supportive of my decision. As mentors and critics, gallery owners and friends like Berta Armas, Armando González, Joly Lacarra, Adalberto Pérez Meillón, Francisco Burgóin, Luís Lutteroth, Benjamín Díaz and Russell Pablatt have always been there for me, suggesting how to expand my art and giving me ideas for the best way to grow.”

Although Alfonso took several art courses at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, he is basically self-taught. A small portion of his works are paintings (patinas on metal) but his main passion is object art, assemblage and installation sculpture utilizing copper, brass, aluminum, stainless steel, wood, leather, wire, rock or other natural and recycled materials. “The soul of my inspiration is based on my love of nature and the universe, particularly of Baja California,” he states. “I find inspiration everywhere. I might be walking, talking or driving, and something occurs in my mind. I have thousands and thousands of projects that I haven’t created yet.”

But within the moderately short time period of six years, Alfonso has produced an impressive body of more than 1,500 works, the smallest of which is a half-inch spider fashioned from copper wire, the largest a 22-foot angel made of aluminum.

Among Alfonso’s most notable sculptures are:
- “Insectos Galacticos (Galactic Insects),” a collection of 35 six-inch arthropods formed with copper wire and pebbles that were the subject of his first professional art exhibition in Anchorage, Alaska in 2001.

- “La Vaca Remojada (Wet Cow),” object art created from an old washing machine. This experimental work won first place in the sculpture category of the 2001 Bienal Plástica visual arts competition organized by the Instituto de Cultura de Baja California (ICBC). The original work is part of the state collection at the Centro de las Artes in Mexicali, but Alfonso created a replica that he donated to the City of Ensenada in 2002. Ensenada’s “Wet Cow” can be found near the children’s playground at Plaza Ventana al Mar.

- “Un Velero Llamado Libertad (A Sailboat Named Freedom),” made of stainless steel and on permanent exhibition since 2002 at a New York City office building.

- “La Diosa del Desierto (The Goddess of the Desert),” fashioned from copper and brass and on public exhibition at the United Nations office in Colombia.

- “Sirena del Mediteraneo (Mermaid of the Mediterranean),” a 15-foot-high, 550-pound sculpture of copper, bronze and black steel that was originally created for the opening of an art gallery in Ensenada.

- “Tiburón Ballena (Whale Shark),” a 22-foot-long steel, copper and rock sculpture that resulted from a FOECA scholarship and financial assistance from several patrons of the arts. In 2003, Alfonso donated this piece to the community of Bahía de los Angeles, where it resides in the town park near the museum. Nearby are two other remarkable works, “Cola de Ballena (Whale Tail)” and “Lobera (Sea Lion Rock),” the results of a CONANP-sponsored, collaborative art education project between Alfonso and the people of Bahía de los Angeles.

- “El Angel (The Angel),” a 22-foot-high sculpture welded from aluminum that is installed in San Angel, a private housing development in Tijuana.

- “El Quijote de la Mancha,” an 11-foot-high, stainless steel and rock sculpture that is stationed on Ensenada’s “Esquina de la Democracia” at the corner of Av. Guadalupe & Calle 2. Donated to the City of Ensenada in March 2006, Don Quijote will soon be joined by his horse, Rocinante, a work in progress, and later by Sancho Panza, his burro, Rucio, and a windmill.

- “La Familia, Nativos de Baja California (The Family, Natives of Baja California),” a set of six rock and steel figures, and “Nautilus,” comprised of metal, glass and used leather gloves from workers in the port. Both are permanent installations at the Centro de las Artes in Mexicali.

In Baja California and Baja California Sur, Alfonso’s sculptures are featured in various fine art galleries like Galería 256 in Tijuana; Galería Del Mar and Galería Giorgio Santini in Rosarito; GaleriAH, Arts & Stuff and Galeriá Pérez Meillón in the Ensenada area; and Galería La Perla in Todos Santos. Alfonso was also part of the artistic team that helped to create Foxploration Theme Park at Fox Studios Baja, south of Rosarito.

In Southern California, nearly a dozen of Alfonso’s pieces are on rotation at the Museum of the Living Artist of the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI), of which he is a member. Additional works can be found in private collections and public exhibitions in numerous states in the United States, as well as cities in Japan, Spain, England and other European countries.

“My commitment of creation is to invent manifestations of art that inspire others to develop art, and to expand the spaces of self-expression and the most noble values of the human being” is Alfonso’s mission statement, and his success in achieving this altruistic goal has not gone unnoticed. In 2005, he was selected as a member of the consulting board of the Instituto de Cultura de Baja California (ICBC), a state-funded institute responsible for the preservation of Baja California’s cultural, historic and artistic patrimony as well as the development, cultivation and promotion of fine arts and cultural values. During Ensenada’s 124th anniversary celebration in May of this year, Mayor César Mancillas presented a handsome plaque to Alfonso in recognition of his artistic contribution to the city. Most recently, the sculptor received a letter of commendation from the Friends of the United Nations citing his 2005 activities promoting the International Day of Peace (September 21) set by the United Nations General Assembly.

In addition to his talent as a visual artist, Alfonso is a gifted tenor and performing artist who sings operatic arias with Pro Música Ensenada’s choral ensembles. Although his favorite genre is romantic Mexican music, Alfonso is equally at home with the songs of Agustín Lara as those of Frank Sinatra. On July 16, the singing sculptor made his professional concert debut at the Latin American Music Festival in Los Angeles.

With great ability, perception, joy and inner peace, Alfonso Arámbula Robles expresses his unique vision of Baja California and the universe through his magical and magnificent, whimsical and wondrous works of art. Discover his amazing creations while traveling through Baja or visit his web site. To contact Alfonso in Ensenada, call (646)149-3866 or e-mail

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