The History of the Pinata

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

cone	heritage	assignment
staple	originate	celebrations
figure	believe (2)	hemisphere
derive	discovery	back in the day
notice	explore	build/built/built (2)
seed	wire (2)	put/put/put
ashes	Hispanic	bring/brought/brought
gain	indigenous	conquistador
burn	influence	therapeutic
tissue	symbol	come around
glue	hit/hit/hit	traditionally
sin	represent	blindfolded
stick	overcome	appearance
virtue	character	begin/began/begun

 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

And tonight’s Hispanic Heritage Month special assignment, the pinata is a staple in many Hispanic celebrations.

But it’s believed the pinata originates from the Eastern Hemisphere. Tonight we explore how it got to the Hispanic culture.

 

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “It’s believed that the pinata actually derived from Marco Polo.”

A discovery made through travel.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “Marco Polo way back in the days when he was traveling in Asia, he noticed the Chinese people who were actually building figures of animals.”

It’s now a beloved tradition by children. Spanish teacher Adan Martinez says things have changed since the Marco Polo days though.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “They would put seeds in the figures.”

Martinez says the Chinese would break the pinata and then they’d burn it.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “And then the people would take the remains and they would burn the ashes you know to start a new year.”

Spanish teachers believe Marco Polo took the pinata with him to Italy.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “In Italy they still call it a pignata; a pignata, a pinata.”

And it was brought to the Americas by the conquistadors.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “And that was a way for them to actually try to gain the people from the indigenous groups into the church by the use of the pinata.”

With a newspaper cone and a wire, Elizabeth Ortiz gives life to the modern pinata.

She says it’s a job she enjoys — and it’s even therapeutic for her. She knows about the Chinese influence on the pinata.

Elizabeth Ortiz, Pinata Artist: “She says the tissue paper is called “Chinese paper” in Spanish. She says the pinata is glued together by a mixture of flour with water.

Her business Novedes Ortiz recently opened up. Here you’ll find a style of pinata with roots tracing back to the conquistadors and religion.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “In the cones in the pinata used to have seven cones; that represented a symbol of the Seven Sins.”

A star pinata which people traditionally had blindfolded.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “People would come around and they would hit the pinata with a stick. The stick was actually like a symbol of virtue. This is what was overcoming sin.”

Now many children see the pinata has a special appearance by their favorite character on their birthday, a tradition that began thanks to one explorer.

Adan Martinez, Socorro High School Spanish Teacher: “Even though we have that background, we don’t really get to learn about it.”

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

 

Questions

1/2 (One-half). The pinata is believed to have originated entirely in Mexico. True or false?

1/3 (One-third). Did the Chinese put candy and sweets in animal figures? Why and when did they break their figures?

1/4 (One-fourth). Chinese immigrants brought the tradition of the pinata to Mexico. Is this right or wrong?

1/5 (One-fifth). Do only people in China and Mexico break figures?

1/8 (One-eighth). (One-sixth). Are all pinatas manufactured in factories?

1/10 (One-tenth). Is making pinatas hard, grueling, tedious work for Elizabeth Ortiz? Does she consider it a drudgery?

1/100 (One-one-hundredth). What do the cones of a pinata represent? What does the stick symbolize?

2/3 (Two-thirds). What happens during celebrations with pinatas?

2/5 (Two-fifths). Breaking open a pinata is a completely religious ceremony. Is this correct or incorrect?
 
 
 
3/4 (Three-fourths). I have seen pinatas in stores and celebrations in my city. Yes or no?

3/5 (Three-fifths). Do you have a similar custom? How do children celebrate birthdays and other parties and festivals?

3/8 (Three-eighths). Could pinatas become popular in your country?

4/5 (Four-fifths). Are there festival or decorative crafts in your city?

5/6 (Five-sixths). What sort of gifts or presents would you like in a pinata?

9/10 (Nine-tenths). What might happen in the future?