La piñata 

If you have ever been to a kids party, you may have experienced being blindfolded, given a thick wooden stick, and spun around and asked to take blind swings at piñata floating above your head to break it and let all the goodies out. The piñata is a traditional figure in Mexican culture that is made of cardboard and paper mache, it’s derived from art form famous in Mexico called “cartoneria”. The more modern practice has been stuffing it with candies, fruits, toys, sometimes even money! In Mexico they are traditionally used during celebrations like Las Posadas or birthdays. These types of effigy's have existed in Mexico for hundreds of years, from the piñata to 12 foot carboard effigy's of Judas that are burned during Holy week. 

Cartoneria is a paper art form that has evolved over time due to the circumstances of the those living in Mexico. Paper art has existed in prehispanic times since the Mesoamerican period. During the Mesoamerican period, “papel amate” which is an art form that is made by using a tree bark from a tree called amate After the Spanish conquest, the Spanish banned its production but thankfully production did not cease. In the Huasteca region – the Nahua, Otomi, and Tepeha - amate paper is still made to this day. The state of Puebla to the east of Mexico City is known for their amate paper production and the artisans in small town San Pablito, of Otomί ancestry, continue to practice this ancient tradition of paper making. To the southwest in the State of Guerrero, amate paper is brightly decorated with beautiful scenes depicting everyday life of the villagers, such as the harvest, fiestas, weddings, religious customs and wildlife. Mexican's have been utilizing every little scrap available to them since prehispanic times to create beautiful, ornate arisan works. 

Papier-mâché & Cartoneria

After the Spanish tried to ban the production of amate art, Mexican's began to use “papier-mâché” as a way to make objects for churches utilizing the european paper that was forced upon them. Over the years the use of papier-mâché has evolved and been further developed although the art form is still used to make traditional figures and objects for religious, ritual, festival and decorative use as well. This art form is especially popular in central Mexico where cartoneria art is made for yearly celebrations such as Holy Week, Christmas and Dias de los Muertos. 

For a long time the people of Mexico have been utilizing cartonería as a functional way to create the items they need for their religious and ceremonial holidays and there has been an intense amount of dedication by those families that have been creating this skilled art for years. Yes, including piñatas!

Cartoneria today

It is hard to speak of cartonería without highlighting alebrijes and the Linares family that helped popularize the art immensely in the 20th century. Fortunately as Mexico continues to further industrialize - many more are partaking to help uplift this creative ancient art. The government has been helping expand the known traditional arts and putting artists like Pedro Linares and Carmen Caballero Sevilla in the center stage by creating cultural centers such as CONACULTA and exhibiting inside well known museums such as the Popular Culture Musuem of Toluca.

Pedro Linares and his family was well known since the 18th century for the large Judas sculptures that would sometimes reach 10m(32ft) in height and are burned during Holy Week in February as well as traditional birthday piñatas. When he first introduced his creation, the alebrijes, many thought they were ugly but he continued to paint them anyway... Find out more about Pedro Linares and the alebrijes in our next blog post!