Pinatas

My mom grew up in San Antonio.  Pinatas are a very big part of every celebration in the very mixed melting pot of that city.

When I was growing up, Mom always insisted that I have a pinata at my birthday party.

No, we never got any of those fancy-schmancy pinatas that you find at the party stores.  Mom insisted on making her pinatas from scratch.

It was a time consuming process that took a week or more.

First. she would blow up a balloon.  This balloon would be the base for the pinata.

Next, she would tie the balloon up by a string.  She would usually suspend the balloon outside, hanging upside down off of a stick.  Sometimes she used a stick between the rungs on a ladder, sometimes she would use the hanging part that sometimes held a hanging plant.

Newspapers were next.  She would tear the newspapers cross-wise, about one inch apart, making long strips.  These would go out next.  They were to be the covering for the balloon.

And then, my favorite part.  The paper mache.  Mom made hers from scratch.  Made with about a 2-1 mix of flour to water in a pie pan, Mom would mix the flour in the water until it made a gooey, thick glue.

One strip at a time, she would dunk a newspaper strip into the glue until it was saturated, and then she would wipe the excess off, and put the newspaper strip onto the balloon.  The process was repeated until the entire balloon was covered with strips.

She would wash the pie pan outside, worried that the paper mache would clog her kitchen sink, and then leave the newspaper balloon outside overnight until it dried.

The next day, she would repeat the process.

And then, she would do it again.

After 3 layers, Mom would let the balloon covered mess dry outside in the hot sun for 2 more days.

Next came the tissue paper.

Long strips were cut, each about an inch wide.  She would then cut a fringe into the tissue paper along one edge, about 3/4" in from the side, leaving the other side intact.  She would then run scissors up the side of the paper, causing the fringe to curl.

Carefully and patiently, she would use Elmer's white glue to cover the uncut edge of the tissue paper.  Starting at the bottom and working in a circle, she would cover every square inch of that balloon in colorful tissue paper.

Once again, the balloon was left outside to dry overnight.

If, by any chance the balloon was still inflated and actually supporting the weight of the pinata, mom would pop the balloon at this time.  She would then cut a small hole in the top of the pinata, pull out the balloon, and fill it with candy.

She used a hold puncher to punch three holes in the top of the pinata, and then she would tie string through the holes.  This string was used to suspend the pinata for my party.

I still vividly remember the pinata strung up in the side yard of the house, by the garage.  Dad would rig up a line between the house and a tree, and put a pulley in the middle.  He would then stand well off to the side and pull the pinata up and down as one, by one, we approached the pinata blindfolded and armed with a baseball bat. 

Once the pinata erupted all over the yard, we would scramble around, searching for candy.