La Piñata
“La piñata tiene caca, tiene caca, cacahuates de a montón…”
The piñata has pee, pee, pee-nuts, peanuts a bunch… is my loosely interpreted version, not literal, of a phrase sung as the piñata is hit.
Growing up I made piñatas. My mom taught me how to.
This was the 80s and I remember making piñatas at home and at the rancho. We went there every Sunday after church to visit my grandparents. We would ask Flavia, my grandmother, if she had an old clay pot. She would look around in the kitchen for a pot she could no longer use to cook beans, she would find it and I would upcycle it into a piñata.
Yes, the original piñata has a body-core of a clay pot. Handmade clay.
Leading up to preparing for the piñata making activities I would set aside some of my father’s old newspaper. I used to collect it for business purposes because I used to sell it at shops as wrapping paper. This was one of my gigs, a way for me to make some money in those years. So, come December I would carry the paper on the bus on our way to the rancho. There, we also made the paste to glue the layers of paper to the pot. On an occasion or two we used blown balloons if there were no clay pots left, or used old boxes and made dice-shaped piñatas.
Designing and making piñatas was very exciting and challenging at the same time because we all, my siblings and mother, had to agree on what design we wanted to make. The process also took a while, the layers of paper needed to dry, etc. My recollection is that I was the one finishing the project and once the piñata was done we would fill it with all the goodies. This required going to the market first. We had colación, a special candy only used in the season (never wrapped, of course). La colación is a colorful hard-covered-sugared-candy. Some have a peanut or an almond, or orange peel inside. The original piñata also carries oranges, tangerines, pieces of sugar cane (like segments of the cane), jícamas, tejocotes (Mexican hawthorn; just looked it up so my non-Spanish speaking people know what I am writing about), lots of colaciones, and peanuts hangin’ loose. All winter products.
Adults, usually a mom, would line-up the kids and youth, from the shortest or the littlest to the tallest. Everyone who wanted to got a chance to hit the piñata three times only. Starting with the mid-size kids and up, we’d get our eyes covered with a paliacate (bandana) and be made to turn and turn to sorta to get dizzy and then be guided toward the piñata and start hitting it. The rest of the kids and adults would sing,
“No quiero oro ni quiero plata, yo lo que quiero es romper la piñata.”
I do not want gold, nor silver, I only want to break the piñata.
Once the piñata was broken, usually by the taller or bolder of the kids we would run to grab as many goodies as possible. This was a dangerous game. Injuries did happen, most times. Imagine over a dozen kids running, scrambling and pushing each other and throwing themselves to the ground where there is broken clay while having a kid confused, with their eyes covered and a stick in hand and all the rest are trying to grab the best candy or fruit? Imagine? Imagine fruit like a piece of sugar cane or a jícama falling on your head?
Here I must confess that I was afraid of the piñata breaking process. Always.
This probably was because I wasn’t a forceful child. I wasn’t tall or bold. I also didn’t want to look like a fool if I didn’t hit the piñata “properly.” I wanted to do a “good” job even with my eyes covered. Now, remember, the piñata is not static. One can’t really tell where it is swinging as the adult moving it up and down when pulling the lazo is making sure it does not get hit so easily. The piñata ought to last a bit to create more excitement, suspense and even elevate the challenge and get more laughter out of the participants around. When you are there, eyes covered with a stick trying to attack that flying piñata you can only go by the sounds; mainly kids’ deceiving shouting and singing,
“Dale dale dale, no pierdas el tino, porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino.”
Hit it, hit it, hit it, don’t lose your target, if you lose it, you lose your way.
Reflecting on this I am in awe of the tradition and that not more, and worse injuries happened. Perhaps this, among other experiences, is what made us strong(er), in a way. There we were; a society of kids, giggling, singing, running around, competing, negotiating, exchanging fruit or candy… And, also crying in disappointment or feeling the best when giving the piñata its last blow and having made goodies rain from the sky. Yes, there we were, we were there, putting our lives at risk at an early age, just for fun!
Over the years I was surprised to see how piñatas were used for all kinds of occasions, like birthdays, baptisms, even weddings, etc. I recall going to a classmate’s birthday; it was the spring of 1983. I was a little girl and I remember. She had a BIG piñata full of chicle (little packets of chewing gum). I was shocked! ‘Wow, her parents must not know that piñatas are not for birthdays,’ I thought. Little judge-girl over here. Yes, I must have felt, and still many times feel, as the unassigned cultural attaché of the Mexican people. A know-it-all about culture-d things and able to point out what’s wrong when people mix up traditions. Anyway, I subsequently moved to forgive them. ‘They are Germans, what do they know about this?’ I thought.
Originally piñatas are really used only during the posadas. A posada is generally a place to stay. It is an inn or today’s hostels or a motel, an affordable stay or just a sofa to lay during the night. Posada is also the literal request for shelter. This takes place from December 16 to the 24. That is it. On each one of these nine nights people organize themselves to enact the nativity scene and this is done by walking and carrying small statues of Joseph and Mary, or having kids or adults dress-up as them. They go door-to-door knocking and there is a call and response singing of verses requesting shelter. The inn/posada opens and the party begins with other songs and breaking the piñata followed by eating and playing around the bonfire.
The most traditional piñata is in the shape of a star with seven points symbolizing the seven deadly sins. The story goes that by breaking the star there is a victory over the sins, misguided tendencies or evil. In México and other countries where the Spaniard colonizers went to, they utilized this symbol to Christianize the original peoples of Mesoamerica and others.
If you like piñatas you can make them or buy them anytime of the year. No need to wait until December or to be a religious person. I won’t judge you for breaking traditions because I have done the same. Yes, I have made piñatas for my child’s birthday parties. So, I am part of that rule-breaker team now.
And… this is my piñata story.
Following is how to make the homemade paste (engrudo) and a basic couple steps to make a piñata.
Ingredients: Cornstarch, boiling water. You guess your own measurements, I just eye it.
Preparation : Add cornstarch and keep mixing with a spatula. Let it cool. Then, use a brush or your bare hands to apply the paste to glue the paper on.
Piñata making: Think what kind of piñata you want to make. Keep it simple! Have newspaper and tissue paper in the colors you want according to your desired design.
Rip the newspaper in long strips and start pasting layers to the pot, box or blown balloon and let it dry. Add as many layers as you see necessary. The more layers, the thicker, thus longer, potentially, the piñata will last hanging.
Use paste to add the decorative tissue color paper.
