The Mexican tradition of making a "piñata" dates back to 1586, when the first Posadas were celebrated. Now a days, the Posadas start on December 16th and go on every day until December 23rd. During the Posada, friends and family play the story of Maria and Joseph looking for an inn to welcome the birth of their child Jesus. The celebration always ends with the breaking of a piñata.
The traditional shape of a piñata is star with seven points representing the seven deadly sins: Pride, Possession, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Laziness. Traditionally, they were made with a clay pot, covered with paper Mache and decorated with brightly coloured tissue paper. Now a days they are made out of cardboard representing animals and cartoon characters, which are ideal for birthday parties.
A piñata is hung on a string, high up and bounced up and down until one of the blinded kids breaks it open with a stick, and all the sweets and fruits fall down for all the kids to gather them.
I grew up with my brothers, making a piñata every year to celebrate our Posada, as each neighbour will take turns welcoming everybody for the celebration. On keeping with this tradition, I decided to paint for myself this painting called "Piñata". It represents the traditional sever points star, a five star one and the figure of a little donkey to welcome the new forms. The bright colours represent the many colourful strings of the piñatas in the background, just like you find them in the Mexican markets!
