This Mexican snake is a tiny treasure. It was completely hand carved out of a single block of copal wood, which is considered sacred by Zapotec Indigenous people. Zapotec people live in Oaxaca since pre columbian times and in the small town of San Martín Tilcajete, they make the most magnificent  wood carvings of animals and fantastic figures commonly known as Alebrijes. 

As shown in Coco, the movie; Zapotecs believe that every person has a guardian or spiritual guide. Such protectors are called Tonas and are linked to the qualities of a particular animal. This  snake alebrije can be considered as a  Tona since  for the Zapotecs is a symbol of abundance linked to good crops, fertility, and continuous transformation towards a better state.