Public Library, Madison, AL

Preparing a Piñata

MADISON – Susana Vizcarra’s latest workshop at Madison Public Library will explain construction and the history of pinatas.

This free session on March 8 will meet from noon to 3 p.m. This educational program is intended for adults and 10-year-olds and older.

“I have a passion for the Spanish language and Latin-American culture,” Vizcarra said. “My family and I have been living in Madison for several years. I like to share this activity with the people of Madison as a way to give back to the community that I love.”

Most people associate pinatas with a Mexican tradition. “However, pinatas appeared for the first time in Chinese history as early as the ninth century,” Vizcarro said.

Those pinatas were made of clay or gourds, shaped like a cow or an ox and represented a good omen for the coming year, she said.

In the 14th century, Marco Polo brought pinatas to Europe. Spanish Augustinian monks brought clay or paper mache pinatas to America for religious celebrations. Filled with candy (temptations), pinatas had seven points representing the seven deadly sins.

“Today, pinatas are used in Mexico in practically every occasion,” Vizcarra said. “The custom was imported to the United States by Mexican immigrants and today is very popular in children’s parties.”

To make a pinata, participants will use one balloon, tissue paper, a disposable bowl and spoon, glue, flour, water, poster paper, newspapers, scissors and one yard of rope.

The class will make “engrudo paste, a mix of water and flour” and use newspaper strips to cover the inflated balloon. Next, they will make cones for the points. Finally, the pinata is covered in tissue paper for decoration.

Vizcarra is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and teaches Spanish Language and Culture during summer sessions.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin American and Iberian studies and a master’s degree in Spanish at Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in English at UAH.