Mexico wigs out for its hairless dogs
Pups cost $5K, but owners say they’re cute, bridge to past
MEXICO CITY — The beasts are brown and hairless except for a wiry mohawk. Their bodies, warm and slightly waxy, call to mind a hot water bottle with four legs.
They routinely win dog shows — in the ugliest category. Far from man’s best friend, they’re notoriously aloof and cunning.
Yet when it came time for Aleph Henestrosa and his wife to get a canine, the decision was easy.
“These dogs are amazing,” Henestrosa said.
And perhaps more importantly: “These dogs are Mexican.”
The Xoloitzcuintle — pronounced SHOW -low-ITS - quintley in the indigenous language of Nahuatl — is a marvel of breeding by the Aztecs more than 3,000 years ago. Today, the dog is enjoying a resurgence among upper-class Mexicans as both a status symbol and a nod to their indigenous roots.
At up to $5,000 a puppy in a country where the average daily wage is less than $20, the breed is most likely to be spotted in wealthy enclaves such as La Condesa, in Mexico City, or Sayulita, a bohemian resort town on the Pacific Coast.
While the people who can afford Xolos, as the dogs are affectionately known, may often be more closely related to Mexico’s European conquerors than to its native peoples, they are helping fuel a renewed interest in the country’s pre-Hispanic past.
The trend can be seen across Mexican culture, in the clothing of Carla Fernandez, a designer who transforms the textiles of Mexico’s indigenous communities into contemporary styles, and in the palate of chef Enrique Olvera, whose Michelin-star restaurant Pujol features dishes that pay homage to classic Mexican street food and indigenous cuisine.
Mexico’s national dog, whose population dropped so low in the 1950s there was an organized effort by the World Canine Association to find purebreds and breed them, is suddenly everywhere.
A goofy Xolo named Dante stars in an upcoming Pixar cartoon set in Mexico. Recently, the owner of the Tijuana soccer club chose Xolos as the mascot of his team in an homage to his hairless pup, Hermoso.
This year, the breed participated for the first time ever in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Back in the early civilizations of Mesoamerica, Xolos were valued for a different reason. Archaeologists believe the dogs were sacrificed and buried beside their owners because they were believed to help guide human souls on their journeys to the underworld.
A less discussed historical fact from that era: The dogs were considered delicacies, and were sometimes eaten at ceremonial events.
The prevalence of Xolos was noted in early observations by Spanish colonizers, who noticed that their lack of hair made them well suited to the hot climate. Since then, the dog has frequently been trotted out as a symbol of Mexican pride.
Artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera collected Xolos and included them in their paintings celebrating pre-Hispanic history. Rivera gave a pair of the dogs to Dolores Olmedo, a wealthy art collector.
Despite their shocking appearance — Xolos have been mistaken for chupacabras, the hunchbacked, bloodsucking beast of Latin American legend — many people find them beautiful.